Ancient Town on the Loess Plateau

By staff reporter ZHANG XUEYING

A doufu seller on the banks of the Yellow River at dawn.

QIKOU is a small town about 6 hours’ bus ride from Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province. From the 17th century to the 1940s, it was the wealthiest town on the Yellow River. Qikou harbor is halfway along the Yellow River, and oil giant Mobil once had its China branch office there. Former Chinese financial tycoon Kung Hsiang-hsi also had a business in Qikou. It began to decline in the 1940s, but is still site of the largest country fair on the Shanxi-Shaanxi border.

The Yellow River Hotel commands a magnificent view of the Yellow River and the Loess Plateau from the watchtower on its top story. It is the best-known and most comfortable hotel in town. Hotelier Chen Youfu explains that this hotel was once the biggest store in Qikou, and that its owner used the watch tower to observe and decide a purchase price on produce arriving at the dock. The hotel is a five-story cave dwelling complex, 40 caves of which are hotel rooms. It also has a 33-room annex and courtyard. Chen bought the complex years ago at a low price, with the aim of improving his family’s living standard. He had no idea its patronage would include such notable guests as the Chinese vice premier, as well as large numbers of overseas visitors from America, France, Italy and Japan. Films are frequently shot there, and it is a favorite spot for students of fine arts and photographers.

Chen lives here with his wife, and parents-in-law. Their three children all study at boarding school and only come home on school vacations. As the Shanxi provincial government is prioritizing conservation of old township dwellings, the value of Chen’s hotel has considerably appreciated. Encouraged by the popularity of his hotel, Chen equipped his hotel with more modern facilities in 2003. It now offers showers, flush toilets, heating and innerspring mattress.

Old residences in Lijiashan Village.

The Chen family was formerly a wealthy and influential clan in the area whose fortunes declined over recent generations. Chen Youfu’s great grandfather made his living selling family plots of land for cultivation. His grandfather was a shepherd. During the land reform of the 1940s, the Chen family, along with other local rural dwellers, was allocated housing and land for farming. During the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976), all the gold and silver in his cousin’s house was looted and antique furniture and old paintings and photos burned. As the town elders passed away, one by one, young people lost interest in the history of their hometown. Now only the old shops and paving stones speak of its past.

To the west of Qikou Town is the Qiushui River. An hour’s walk along the mountain path through two mountains takes you to the most complete and well preserved cave dwellings in Lijiashan Village in the mountain valley.

Lijiashan is on a mountain slope. It comprises nine layers of cave dwellings that rise from the very bottom of the valley to the top of the cliff. More than 800 villagers live there. Qikou’s prosperity had considerable impact on this small village, many of whose residents went there to work as apprentices and later opened their own businesses. According to local records, about 132 of Qikou’s shops were run by Lijiashan villagers. Local custom dictated that women could not serve in such shops, so the wives and children of these merchants stayed in luxurious family mansions built for them in the village. The most well known residences in Lijiashan Village are the East and West Mansions.

Built in 1866, East Mansion comprises two levels of cave dwelling facing west. Its gate is the most ornately decorated in the village. On top of the column is carved an angel riding a kylin (Chinese unicorn) through a cloud. A kylin is a mythical animal in Chinese folklore that is believed to bring male descendents to a family. Despite the passage of nearly 150 years, the carvings on the gate are as clear and vivid as ever. The owner of East Mansion has long since moved to town, and its gate is locked.

As most young and middle-aged residents have gone to find work in the city, those remaining are largely elders and children.

The West Mansion, whose most notable feature is its livestock shed, gained eminence later than the East Mansion. Its residents grew wealthy from camel caravans for the transport of commodities. Li Quansheng and his cousin Li Haiping are the present owners of this mansion. The Li fortunes went into decline during the mid-19th century after a family member besmirched the family’s business reputation. The Lis, in common with the majority of villagers, now rely on date growing for their livelihood.

Since implementation of the reform and opening policy in 1980, many villagers went to big cities in search of work, but Li Quansheng has never had any desire to leave his home village. He enjoys singing and playing folk instruments; his wife Yang Yanmei is also a good singer who has won an excellency award at the provincial farmers’ singing contest. The couple’s singing and playing at weddings and funerals in the village earn them 1,000 to 2,000 yuan each year. This they supplement by letting out rooms in the mansion to fine art school students that come here on sketching excursions. After adding these sources of income to that from sales of dates, they generally earn around 5,000 yuan a year.

Delicious locally made cakes.

Since 2003, however, Li Quansheng, in common with many parents with children about to graduate from senior high school, has felt the financial pinch. His second son, who has been studying at the best middle school in the county, wants to go on to college, which demands of Li Quansheng a still greater income. In slack seasons, he is obliged to earn extra cash by working as chef in the county.

As most young people in the village work and live elsewhere, Li Quansheng’s second son has no interest in staying in Lijiashan. He dreams of going to college, graduating and finding a good job in the city.

The village has seen dramatic changes over the past two decades. Running water is in every household, so there is no longer need to walk for half an hour to the mountain valley for drinking water. In 2002, villagers pooled funds to build a Li ancestral clan hall where they offer sacrifices to their ancestors.