Laiyuan

During a picturesque bus ride through the mountains and rural countryside, I began to notice a layer of smog and a flattening of the landscape. We had arrived in Laiyuan, an isolated town in Western Hebei. I wanted to come here to see Geyuan Temple which contains one of the oldest wooden buildings in China, dating from 966 CE. I was not impressed with towns wall-to-wall white tile buildings. I did notice that behind these ghastly pieces of architecture, there still existed some traditional hutongs. I doubt they would be there for much longer. Even Geyuan temple wasn’t hemmed in by a buffer zone of traditional architecture. It was there on its own, powerless in the white-tile onslaught.

Two of the temple’s three buildings were under renovation. Thankfully, the Wenshu Hall (the building from 966) was not under renovation and could be visited. The building was definitely in need of restoration, as it featured fading paint, sagging timber, and murals that were covered in white plaster. Overall the temple was a disappointment. With two of the buildings under renovation, it didn’t have a good feeling too it. Perhaps when the renovations are finished, the temple will be worth visiting.

Yuxian

This small town is located in Western Hebei, just north of Laiyuan over a beautiful mountain road. Descending to the plain upon which Yuxian sits, a familiar landscape of dusty roads and ugly buildings returns. After ugly Laiyuan, I was not expecting much from Yuxian, the dusty town that greeted me at the bus station seemed to reinforce my expectations. However, once taken into the old town, I discovered that hidden behind the ugly new town outside, Yuxian still had an interesting old town.

I researched Yuxian prior to coming as I did the rest of my off-the-beaten track destinations. I have a Chinese Hebei travel book which I looked at, and I also consulted photos that people had uploaded to Google Earth. The most interesting site that Yuxian had to offer was called the Jade Emperor Pavillion (玉皇阁). When I asked the three-wheel car driver to take me there from the bus station, he didn’t even know where it was, which tells you how many people visit the place. It was up a dusty alley fringed with old hutongs, built into the old city wall. Dating from the 14th century, it is a two story pavilion and a few outbuildings. I’m not sure what the purpose was, but it seems that it was some sort of temple. I did encounter two other tourists there, both of them from Beijing and about to return.

I spent the rest of my time in Yuxian’s old town walking around to various points of interest. A temple near the pavilion was closed, but I did get to see the drum tower, a pagoda surrounded by hutongs and a temple that had been converted into a museum. Besides these key sites, I also enjoyed the old architecture of Yuxian. I truly hope that the local government tries to preserve what they have. If done correctly, I could see Yuxian becoming a successful site like Pingyao, although it would take at least ten years to develop the requisite infrastructure to accomplish this.

Returning to the bus station, I was incredibly surprised to see a group of four foreigners! Never did I expect to see foreigners in an isolated place like Yuxian. It turns out they were doing a Chinese immersion summer program and had come here as part of their studies. Yuxian truly surprised me, and I just hope that other people might also discover its hidden charms.