Why ride to Huanglongxi—D10: Songpan—Maoxian

▲Today’s journey is relatively long, 140km, almost all downhill, except for a gentle ascent when approaching Diexi Town.

▲Punch in at the road sign at the 700km hour mark. Next to the road monument is a post-earthquake road reconstruction shed. Almost everywhere in this section has been rebuilt.

 

▲Going down the river, I don’t know what the river is called, all the way to Diexi Town, it merges into a large reservoir.

 

▲Driving 48km to Diexi Town, the altitude dropped to 2250m, the same altitude as Xining, and the temperature began to rise.

 

▲Starting from Diexi Town, there are several turns downhill. There are many construction trucks and they dare not go downhill. The maximum speed is 47km/h.

 

▲Encountering strong headwinds, I couldn’t reach the speed of 10km/h while pedaling downhill, so I didn’t arrive at Maoxian County until 4:30. Otherwise, I could have ridden another 40km to Wenchuan.

 

▲Punch in at the road sign on the hour of 800km.

 

▲The ancient village of Qiang Township in Mao County

 

▲Baishi Qiang Village

 

▲Maoxian County is the largest core settlement of the Qiang people in the world. Qiang Township Ancient Village is an emerging tourist attraction carefully planned on the basis of restoration and reconstruction after the "5.12" earthquake, integrating the resources of two ancient villages that retain the essence of historical and traditional Qiang culture.

 

▲The Qiang language "Mou" means heaven and the sun, and "Tuo" means "official" in Qiang language. The two words "Mutuo" together mean "Heavenly Official". It is said that in ancient times, Moutuo was a place with outstanding people, the place with the most officials and the largest titles.

 

▲The word "Mutuo" is also said among the people in the Qiang area: the Qiang people are the children of the sun. Where there is fire, there are people and the reproduction of the ethnic group. The Qiang people will be cremated after they die. The soul will turn into a wisp of smoke and return to the place where the gods live, so "Mutuo" is also called a place where "fire" grows.

 

▲When I went there, there was no charge for this ancient village and there were no tourists.

 

▲I was very tired today, so I decided to take a rest early and visit the farmer’s market.

 

▲Eat a bowl of spicy and fragrant authentic Sichuan noodles. Food and accommodation in Maoxian County are still very cheap.