Street life
Behind its touristic façade, life in the narrow streets of Fènghuáng is a mixture of old and new traditions.
The city is now devoted to tourism: shops sell souvenirs of varying quality, while stalls offer local delicacies. Yet the general feeling is that people live in a traditional way: goods are moved with barrows or by hand. People are wearing traditional outfits, not only for hassling tourists with pictures. And if you wander long enough, you may end up in the studio of a third generation artisan.
This is the legacy of an ancient frontier town that once marked the boundary between Han civilisation in the central plains and the Miao, Tujia and Dong minorities of the southwest mountains. Since then Fènghuáng prospered as a centre of trade and cultural exchange. And since then local traditions are an element of pride.
Street life
Behind its touristic façade, life in the narrow streets of Fènghuáng is a mixture of old and new traditions.
The city is now devoted to tourism: shops sell souvenirs of varying quality, while stalls offer local delicacies. Yet the general feeling is that people live in a traditional way: goods are moved with barrows or by hand. People are wearing traditional outfits, not only for hassling tourists with pictures. And if you wander long enough, you may end up in the studio of a third generation artisan.
This is the legacy of an ancient frontier town that once marked the boundary between Han civilisation in the central plains and the Miao, Tujia and Dong minorities of the southwest mountains. Since then Fènghuáng prospered as a centre of trade and cultural exchange. And since then local traditions are an element of pride.