Eric's Beijing Diary

Pulled out of Langmusi a while back. The guy sitting next to me just spit on the floor, and I reprimanded him severely. Now he spits out the window every few minutes.

What can I say about Langmusi? First of all, it is a very beautiful place. If you like mountains, you'll like Langmusi. The town and its surroundings feature rocky mountain grandeur on the Sichuan side, and rolling hills of various greens on the Gansu side.

The second thing I would say about Langmusi is that it is becoming a bit touristy. Before I came here this summer, I had never been to Gansu Province, and didn't know that much about it, except that it is often used as an example of very poor communities with limited educational opportunities. In making my decision about which villages to visit, I read a description of Langmusi that said Langmusi was a good choice because it was not listed by tourist agencies. But I read the statement too quickly. A guy from Australia who had been privy to the same source reminded me this morning what it really said: "an ideal destination for backpackers as it has not been listed on the itinerary of any Chinese travel agency." So you don't have Chinese tour groups coming through Langmusi. But tour groups of every other variety are abundant. I had never heard of Langmusi. I thought no one else had either. Boy, was I wrong! And since I was looking at the Gansu map and not the Sichuan map, I missed the fact that Langmusi is on the route to Jiuzhaigou, which everyone has heard of. Bottom line: Langmusi has loads of tourists. They come from all over the world.

But I still like the place. The main street is not paved, and the town is simple. Although an attraction to foreign tourists, it is still quite remote, and is not likely to become a booming metropolis anytime soon. And I can't imagine an airport in the near future. That is critical. There are lots and lots of tourists who just won't go somewhere if they can't fly. They won't be coming to Langmusi for some time to come.

Two main people groups predominate in Langmusi. They are the Tibetans and the Hui. This is what caught my attention when I first came to Langmusi. I was walking out toward the edge of town, when I met a little shepherd girl. I assumed that she was Tibetan, but I was perplexed because her Mandarin was impeccable. Later, I met her mother, who explained that they were Hui Muslims. Most of the Tibetans I met while I was in Langmusi do speak Mandarin, but they are definitely not native speakers. But, shy as they are, they are actually very friendly people. Early this morning, I was hiking up the canyon on the Sichuan side, when I discovered someone walking behind me. I stepped aside to let him pass, and noticed that he did not have a backpack, and was not carrying any gear. I asked him where he was going, and he said he was going to visit his parents. Curious, I followed him for a few minutes. We rounded the bend, and came upon a beautiful canyon in the meadow. He led me to his family's tent. Turns out he lives in town with his wife, and walks out to the meadow to tend the sheep with his family. They invited me in for a very filling breakfast of mutton dumplings. Really nice people. If you ever have a chance to go to Western China, I think you will find the Tibetan sheepherders to be among the coziest you have ever met. A lot of the Tibetan men comment about my beard. One of them said, "How do you grow a beard like that? I shave and shave and shave, and my beard still doesn't get that way." Well, I wasn't quite sure how to tell him that in order to grow a beard, you need to stop shaving.