Feng Huang
I'm now in western Hunan, in a tiny, ancient town called Feng Huang. It's home to a minority hill people called the Miao (pronounced like the call of a cat). They wear bright, elaborate costumes and black headwraps, similar to turbans. They pack their babies standing up in round wicker baskets with a flat bottom, which they carry on their back like a backpack. Today I took a photo of one of the women from behind, with only the pink pompom of the baby's stocking hat sticking out of the basket. It was cute.
The streets here are narrow and windy and made of gray stone. The buildings are from the 18th century. They rise up the hillside from the river. Craploads of bamboo boats float down the river. Streets are jammed with people and livestock. A lady stir-fries cabbage. A guy fillets a catfish. An old man barges through through the crowd, hauling a fake leather couch on his back. Ah, lovely.
