2015 China

20 March, Likeng
Lijia Khezan Guesthouse 110CNY

Likeng village is strung like a bead necklace along two streams which converge at Tongji Bridge, 300 years old and arched in stone. The streams are each paralleled along one side only by narrow, uneven, flagstone pathways. Simple, rail-less bridges, constructed from wood or stone, link the pathways to shops, restaurants, guest houses and homes on the opposite banks. A village was founded here during the late Song Dynasty (960-1279AD) “at a time when reading was the prevailing activity among the villagers” (cits.net). Likeng draws a multitude of tourists who today thronged the slender walkways under colourful umbrellas and a gentle drizzle, paying brief visits to old homes and pagodas. The village is surrounded by sunshine-yellow rapeseed fields and vendors sell rapeseed flower head garlands to adorn the dark hair of Chinese girls, happily shopping for camphor wood carvings, chrysanthemum tea, calligraphy ink wells, and sesame seed brittle. We spent a wonderful morning and afternoon strolling the river banks, taking care not to fall in, nudged by a distracted selfie-taker. We were particularly pleased to find a couple of “spirit walls” mentioned in passing in our guide to China.  Spirit walls are “used to shield an entrance gate in traditional Chinese architecture ...  positioned either on the outside or the inside of the gate ... Spirit screens are tied to the belief that evil spirits cannot move around corners, hence the spirit screen blocks them from entering through the gate they shield. Practically, they allow natural light and air circulation to enter a room, while obstructing vision. A solution that allows for privacy and cooling in an era without air conditioning” (Wikipedia). In Likeng’s case spirit walls act to reduce the sound of cascading water.