For old time's sake

The government counts these people, whom the locals address as "migratory bird people", as travelers although they usually live in Bama for months, even years. It is estimated more than 100,000 of these "migratory birds" live in the houses of local farmers or the houses they helped the local farmers build.

In the morning and evening, hundreds of people dance and do exercises in front of Baimo Cave, a tourist spot that is believed to have the best air quality. Besides the cave is a deep valley through which the Panyang River flows where people line up to drink the water, which they believe to be the elixir of longevity.

Ten years ago, Bama received about 260,000 visitors. Last year, the number soared to about 5 million, and they accounted for more than half of the county's economy.

Concrete buildings dot the mountains. Almost all the fami-lies in the villages along the Panyang River, the core longevity region, manage homestays, eat-eries or specialty shops, selling local cereals, beans, corn and bar-becued pork.

Some villagers, who had gone to work in neighboring Guang-dong province, have returned to cater to the needs of tourists.