When we were within 53km of Jinxiu, the road began to climb as we ascended Dayaoshan. Jinxiu's town centre, made up of one solitary street is a sleepy hollow. It also doubles up as the local market. We were fascinated by a stall selling dried rats as a local delicacy and intriqued by another displaying an unending row of herbs. According to official records, 2,300 different kinds of plants are found in this region. The Yaos are remarkably friendly and are quite ready to stop for a chat or offer a cup of tea. While minding their stalls, some knit, sew or do hand embroidery. Although most of the womenfolk wear trousers and Chinese jackets, the peculiar hats they don mark their Yao ancestry.

The doctor is in, a Yao hebal doctor with her bags of herbs

At Jinxiu we checked into a newly built local hotel, a smallish affair of five storeys.We had to trudge with our luggage up to the fourth floor as the building had no lift. The double room was minuscule and once all our bags were inside, we couldn't move around without stepping on them. We were not complaining,however, as the price was only something like S$15 and it came with a flush toilet and shower. From our windows we could also see the sunset over the distant hills. The Karoke, located just above our bedroom, was another matter. It effectively prevented us from getting a good night's sleep. As it gets chilly at Jinxiu in the evenings we were invited to a dinner of dog meat which, the Chinese believe, can keep the body warm. Of course, we demurred but our guide and driver decided to accept the challenge. We sat at separate tables where we whey-faced Singaporeans, ate from a dogless menu while our gusty China friends tucked into man's best friend. Eating dog meat we observed was also accompanied by the revelry of finger-guessing games followed by rounds of wine drinking.

YAO VILLAGES

Jinxiu is a good base to outlying Yao villages. The first we visited was Meng Chun(Dream Village)which is 8km from the town centre. Situated on a hill it gives a lovely outlook of ricefields nestling in the valley bed beneath the folds of the Dayaoshan Mountains. Life must be hard in this village,which still follows traditional methods of farming, but I was moved to observe the blithe insouciance among the robust peasantry as they husked and sieved their grain.

Further south, is the Min Su Chun (People's Village) which represents a typical Yao community. The villages are built straggling up a slope and the whole village is linked by a network of rocky alleys, lanes and paths. A hog snorts nasally as our clatter disturbs its noonday lethargy.Most households in this village rear a pig, not for sale but for consumption as, according to Yao customs, a pig must be slaughtered for the Lunar New Year celebrations. The meat that is left over from the festivities is then smoked or salted and can be kept and eaten for the remainder of the year.

The houses in this village are flamboyant and decorative which is, perhaps, reflective of the Yao's personality and lifestyle. Each house has a flight of flagstone steps leading up to an eye-catching gate, painted in gorgeous hues depicting motifs of flowers, birds, insects or fish.

Above the entranceways hangs an ornate board with auspicious words inscribed on it. The second storey, normally used as the sleeping quarters, features a slender, wooden balcony with carved balustrades. In days of yore the balconies were reserved for romantic interludes and a Yao male would woo his lady love by climbing up the railings. On our visit, these balconies seemed to be performing more mundane functions as we spied vegetables, grain and clothes hanging out to dry.

YAO NATIONAL MUSEUM

Not far from the town centre is the Jinxiu-Yao National Museum. A two storey building situated on a knoll, the architecture is a snythesis of the various Yao groups. Inside is a treasure house and record of Yao culture, history, customs and practices, including an array of 66 sets of Yao national costumes and head-dresses.

The cultural value of this museum is so great that it moved a Chinese scholar to comment that if China can be considered an international centre for studies on Yao culture then Jinxiu should take the status of the national centre.

OLD MOUNTAINS

The Old Mountains, which is part of the Dayaoshan range, is located 16 km from Jinxiu. Our mini van was put to the test as it slogged up a narrow, ungravelled road, grinding past lonely,wooded ravines. To our disappointment, the mountains were thickly shrouded in mist,which seemed to get thicker as we gained height.

At one stetch, we could barely see within 50 metres and the condensation on the windscreen was so bad that our guide had to constantly wipe it with a cloth. We were literally driving through a sea of clouds which made the journey suddenly dangerous. Just as we were despairing of getting any good view, our van shot through the cloud path and we were in bright sunshine. With fleecy clouds floating on the valleys below and the sky an incandescent blue above, we could make out the thread-like footpaths used by the Yaos to reach their sequestered mountain homes.

HOLIDAY STOCKADE VILLAGE

In the same vicinity as the Old Mountains is the Yao Zai Du Jia Chun (Holiday Stockade Village) which has been recently developed. Reaching this hideaway entailed a half-hour trek uphill and down dale. The Holiday Stockade attempts to recreate the ambience of a Yao stronghold which is hidden and secluded deep in the dappled forest glades.

Screened by fragrant trees, with Yao-styled wooden cabins which are built on stilts and set into the verdant slopes, the Stockade exudes that back-to-the woods feeling. Each cabin contains a double bed and costs about S$10 per night.

When we arrived, chickens squawking and clucking, were running wild while a Yao lass, armed with a net, panted up and down trying to catch one for our group's lunch. The Stockade does not have running water but hollow bamboo rods, laid on the hill slopes, act as pipes to lead water down from flowing mountain streams. The sound of mountain water rushing through the bamboo rods

fills the whole Stockade with its own piped-in music. Besides exploring the surrounding pristine forests, nature buffs who stay at the Stockade may go on hunting trips, track down a river for a spot of fishing or simply enjoy crabbing at some secret pond. In a clearing at a lower level of the Stockade are massage cabins built of bamboo.

Inside each dark cabin is a bamboo bed where patrons needing treatment are tended wo with soothing Yao herbs. Presumably, such treatment is a much needed luxury after the rigours of romping through the Dayaoshan range. A 45 minute massage would cost aboutS$8.

SILVER CHINA FIR RESERVE

Our last stop was the Yin Sha (Silver China Fir) Forest Reserve nearby. The Reserve, stretching over eight kms, was specially set up to protect the Yin Sha Tree (Silver China Fir), which is considered one of the world's rare endangered species. The underside of the Yin Sha leaves are streaked with silver and when a breeze rustles through the forest, the leaves shimmer with a silvery glow. The Chinese equate the rarity of the Yin Sha with that of the Panda and four full-time foresters are engaged to look after the Reserve.

According to scientific research, Yin Sha trees flourished in Europe, 300 million years ago, where their fossil remains can still be found. In the Dayaoshan Reserve, there are Yin Sha trees of all ages. In fact,like a Chinese household, five generations of the Yin Sha trees live under one forest roof. One patriach,known as the king of the Yin Shas measures 30m high and is 490 years old. We could almost smell a primeval nip in the air as we walked in the company of these grand old centenarians or "living fossils", and heard water gurgling eternally over rocks in ancient streams.

Silver China Fir Reserve

In a volatile and changing world, the Yaos and the Yin Shas impressed us with their immutability. As we left the Reserve, we prayed that the Dayaoshan Mountains would remain their sanctuary for many more aeons.

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TRAVEL NOTES

The Dayaoshan Mountains are located in central eastern Guangxi Province. The nearest big town is Liuzhou, which is connected by rail to Nanning, the provincial capital in the south, and Guilin, the tourist city in the north. Nanning and Guilin in turn are connected by air and rail to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
The nearest small town with rail connection is Luzhai. Jinxiu is the mountain village and centre of Dayaoshan. It takes five hours, more or less to travel by winding mountain road from Luzhai to Jinxiu. For accommodation, at the time of our visit there was a local fan dian and a zhao dai shuo (Guesthouse)