Western Sichuan 6 Danba: Zhonglu and Suopo

Zhonglu and Suopu July 26, 2007, Sichuan All photos ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

This is a continuation of several postings about Western Sichuan and the Danba area. 

Twenty odd years ago when I first started travelling in Sichuan I became fascinated with the towers of northwestern Sichuan. I first saw them on trips through Maowen and Wenchuan County on the way up to Songpan or Maerkang. I never got close to one, however, as they were usually located on the other side of a river or other obstacle. Later in the mid-90s I encountered them again, with my husband, in the Kongpo area of Eastern Tibet TAR and could walk and climb inside a few. On this trip to Danba in 2007 we saw them in many places, some villages had only one or two, others like Suopo (last image above) several. In this area most are four-sided but there are a few rare ones that are eight-sided. All in all they total around 100 in the Danba area. According to historical research most were probably built before the 16th century, with many of the original towers being destroyed in the wars of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. There is much speculation as to what the original purpose of the towers actually was. A general conclusion is that they were used as both forts and defense towers, storehouses, beacons and landmarks (just like some Chinese pagodas) and also as status symbols (local tradition say they were sometimes built to commemorate the birth of a son).  

Some of the towers we visited had the first entrance window placed so high off the ground (several meters) that they could impossibly have been used as a storage area, it was just too impractical. This kind was maybe used as a place to escape to in times of trouble with a ladder up to the entrance that could be withdrawn into the interior of the tower when beseiged. Most of the towers in the area look locked up, surely both for protection of the tower and also for safety from accidents. 

Anyone wishing to know more about the towers can read Frederique Darragon’s Secret Towers of the Himalayas, which can be bought at the Foreign Language Bookstore in Chengdu. ISBN: 7-80709-043-X/K.2 Price 160 yuan. Darragon heads a drive to protect the towers under the Unesco World Heritage program.

Note: All of the pictures above are of the village of Zhonglu, located in a parallel valley to Jiaju. Zhonglu is famous for its Sichuan pepper (huajiao) which was being harvested when we visited. What a wonderful smell there was in the air around us! You can read more about my infatuation with huajiao on my posting from Feb 05, 2008: Red chilis and Sichuan Pepper: A match made in Heaven or Hell? The last image is from the village of Suopo. Both Zhonglu and Suopo have several towers but Suopo has a very old (700-800 yr old) star-shaped tower.

Western Sichuan 5 Danba: Jiaju Tower and hilltop shrine

Jiaju, July 2007. All photos ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

This is a continuation of several postings about Western Sichuan and the Danba area.

On our two days of walks around Jiaju we found many things: small shrines and watermills, running rivers and stunning views, even a vein of garnet stones and large crystals. One day we hiked up to the temple shrine and large fortification tower situated on the ridge to the north of Jiaju. We had packed a picnic lunch of nuts, corn cakes, chocolate and fruit and walked through apple orchards and brambles to get up to the shrine high up on the mountain. It consisted of several stupas (or chörtens as the Tibetans call them) bedecked with prayer flags, tsa-tsas, incense and butter offerings. A local family had the same idea in mind and visited with us, the older women making numerous circumambulations of the shrine, counterclockwise in local Bön fashion. 

After this we parted ways and continued on through the brush to the tower and abandoned building further up. Along the way we encountered a man who was the "appointed caretaker" of the tower. He asked for 5 yuan "entrance fee" which we gave him, he looked as if he had very little money to his name. His coming along turned out to be a great benefit. We met other locals on the way and we all had a long chat near the tower, facilitated by the old man's presence. A lady passed by and paused for a visit. She was very hard of hearing, but the old man knew her and could tell us a little of her story: It turned out she was well over 80 and our guide himself was not much younger. 

Asking these people about the tower in front of us was quite futile. Like most people that live near the towers, they haven't a clue to how old they are or what they were used for, only guesses and hearsay. The tower here was connected to a fort-like structure. We asked to be let in but our "guardian" said he didn’t have the key. He could go get it if we wanted but it would take several hours so we unfortunately declined and made our return to Jiaju below. Later we would visit more towers in Zhonglu and Suopo. (See posting nr 6, Feb 19).

Western Sichuan 4 Danba: Tibetan vernacular architecture of the Gyarong Area

All photos Jiaju, July 2007 ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

This is a continuation of several postings about Western Sichuan and the Danba area.

The houses of the Jiaju area are particularly interesting and beautiful with coloured stripes that remind me of Sakya in Southern Tibet. But whereas Sakya has slate grey, painted walls the houses of Danba are striped and the towers have horns capped with prayer flags. The colouring has special meaning: symbolizing the sky, moon, sun, earth and stars and it is believed to bring luck and protection to the house and its dwellers. Doors can also be elaborate affairs, brightly painted with religious iconography and sometimes topped with a yak skull and garuda bird like the picture above. Most houses are quite massive, built of wood and stone with several stories and flat roofs used to dry corn, chilis and grain, and for the family to soak up sun in the daytime. Individual logs serve as ladders with small steps cut out in a single row up the tree trunk. Windows are multi-paned and made of latticed wood, painted in distinct Tibetan fashion with a black trapezoid border around. The interior of the dininghall/meetinghall where we ate our meals was extremely elaborate with numerous built-in painted cabinets and niches, small low-standing tables and belt-in benches and beds around the edges. Every surface was painted in a kaleidescope of brilliant colours, making every meal a bit of a psychedelic affair!