Rhythms of an ancient life

Pan Yuying, 97, has lived in Huangyao for 50 years.

A resident sells homemade fermented black beans on the street.

The other attraction is the almost intact Ming and Qing-style architecture giving the town a poetic feel with its small bridges, canals and wooden houses.

A typical mountainous area of karst formations, Huangyao boasts more than 300 ancient complexes.

Unlike the water towns of East China, Huangyao is surrounded by hills, protecting it from a tourist onslaught.

Even today, people are up with the sun and retire at sundown, much like their ancestors did. There are no pubs and KTV bars blasting loud music.

At night, visitors will only hear the sound of rain and wind, and the occasional bark of a dog.

A walk in the morning is an intensely pleasant experience as you weave your way through age-old houses, temples, shops, theaters and archways. Moon-shaped bridges straddle crystal clear rivers, and the old streets are paved with beautiful blue flagstones, typically associated with 14th century European castles.

All along these flagstone paths we saw the locals, especially women in twos and threes, washing clothes by 3-meter deep wells fed by mountain springs, whose waters ran into nearby rivers.