Traveling to Jiangyou Sichuan

A Blur On The Rails

While riding the train between major cities such as Chengdu and Xi’an, you are sure to pass by many desolate railway stations. You usually can’t help but fantasize about what it would be like to hop off the train at a random stop and explore an unknown city. Jiangyou (江油) in northern Sichuan is a city a random city such as this.

With no massive temples or world-renowned mountains nearby, Jiangyou is a city that is only famous in the eyes of the locals. What really puts them on the map is claiming to be the hometown of historic poet Li Bai. From dramatic monuments to logos on sides of taxis, Libai singing to the moon has become a local emblem for Jiangyou.

Other than their local celebrity, there are just a handful of other landmarks that Jiangyou is home to which can pull in tourists. Noted for being a stop on Mao Zedong’s famous Long March, you will find a few statues and plaques commemorating the glorious Red Army. But ultimately Jiangyou is a town where you can explore an unknown side of China, away from all the lights and glamour of the major cities.

Looking for more off the beaten path cities in China? Be sure to travel to Dandong!

A Slower Pace of Life

In a major city such as neighboring Chengdu, they use “slash and burn” tactics when it comes to tearing down decades-old city blocks and replacing them with glistening new modern high rises. When living is a place such as this, you will see much of the city’s charming yet gritty old neighborhoods become rubble in the blink of an eye. Life in Jiangyou, however, moves a bit slower.

The warped wooden doors, brick houses, and terracotta rooves may seem quite desolate on the surface. But the red couplets and lanterns swaying in the breeze add a sense of warmth and intimacy to some of the oldest neighborhoods of Jiangyou. With its sprawling outdoor markets and maze-like alleys, Jiangyou still preserves a way of life that is gradually being phased out in the rest of China.

The Great Wall isn’t just made out of stone. Check out the dirt wall in Inner-Mongolia here!

Taibai Park (太白公园)

For anyone wanting to take a look at authentic China life, all you have to do is stop by one of the local parks in the city. Their elaborate gardens are not a mere patch of grass as you would think of a park in another country. China’s parks consist of rounded gateways, bubbling brooks, ornate pavilions, and lively courtyards. The traditional design of the public parks makes them a living museum of Chinese culture, where one can take in everything from rock gardens to classical shrines.

Jiangyou’s Taibai Park embodies everything that makes a Chinese garden great. With its towering rocks and pagodas roosting overhead, small cascading waterfalls that add a natural sound of music to the air, and lush gardens full of bamboo, you can not find a better place in Jiangyou that preserves centuries-old Chinese traditions.

Sanxiarenjia is another place famous only to the locals. Read more about traveling to this unknown destination here!

The Soul of China

As beautiful as the terracotta-roofed pavilions and winding stone pathways are, it is the people that truly breath life into the parks. Staying in step with the rest of Taibai Park, locals flock to the courtyards to partake in traditional exercises ranging from kung fu to sword dancing. With a classical Chinese backdrop, you would have thought that you have stepped back in time to the age when Emperors ruled the Middle Kingdom.

It’s not only exercises that you will find among the gazebos and halls of Jiangyou. Groups of elderly folks can be seen stringing traditional instruments such as the erhu and playing flutes while overlooking the tranquil waters of Taibai Park. With classical Chinese melodies being carried through the air, wandering the paths of this intricate garden is like stepping into a dream.

Yulin is another city well off the beaten path. Read more about this notorious city here!

A Mix of Cultures

The major cities in Eastern China were the first places to have the waves of the Cultural Revolution crash down in full force. During this time religion and culture were stamped out under the heavy boots of the Red Guard. To this day, many cities are struggling to revive an identity stolen from them during this self-righteous purge. While many of the temples have been rebuilt, they are a mere shell of the life that once flowed through them.

Sichuan and towns like Jiangyou are situated in the west of China proper. This mountainous region did not receive the full force that was the Cultural Revolution. Therefore you can still find many temples that are just as lively as they were decades ago.

Being on the Silk Road, you can also find a fair share of mosques and Muslim districts in Sichuan. Jiangyou’s own mosque seamlessly blends together Chinese culture and Islamic art in its calligraphy and carvings. Being a lesser-known town off the beaten path, you can expect a warm welcome regardless if you decide to visit the Buddhist temple or Muslim mosque.

For a real adventure, look at crossing the border from China into Laos!

The Caves of Foyedong (佛爷洞)

The entire landscape of Sichuan is lined with layers of mountains with caves digging deep into the depths of the earth. Over time, man entered these caves and carved elaborate religious shrines into the ancient rock. One of these sacred hidden temples is located 20km north of Jiangyou and goes by the name Foyedong or simply Buddha Cave.

The interior of these caves is beautiful in their own way. The tacky neon lighting takes away from the jagged works of art nature has already created. Amongst the limestone and the rhythmic dripping of water echoing throughout the cave, statues depicting China’s version of hell portray torture and death.

Other than the caves themselves you will find bamboo rafts to take you down the river. With the lime-green waters sloshing against the sides of your boat, you can take in the valleys of Sichuan with its classic muggy haze hanging over the treeline.

If you find yourself in China’s far west you won’t want to miss Kashgar in Xinjiang!

Unknown China

It is a shame that in a country as big as China, many places outside of the confines of Beijing and Shanghai are considered off of the beaten path. Most travelers make a beeline from the airport directly to the Great Wall or the Forbidden Palace. While most of the adventures and authentic beauty of China are anxiously waiting to be explored just a short train ride away.

While Li Bai’s childhood home and the caves of Foyedong are not enough to make you want to go out of your way to visit Jiangyou. It is the journey into the unknown and exploring a city seldom visited by foreign tourists that will give you the real thrill. Jiangyou is just one of many cities in China that are yet to be discovered by the international community. It just takes getting off at some unknown train station to find yourself in the middle of a new adventure.