http://www.zhideng.net/

(Above is the webpage for this beautiful temple).

As an local guide in Chengdu for over 8 year, i now like to explore different hidden places for my lovely visitors in and out of Chengdu. Some of these places are not as fully-equipped as popular scenary spots, but there is another type of tranquil beauty of it. 

Yun Feng Temple is away from the noisy city, the first time when i went there, i was so surprised and so happy. I was surprised because it was hidden in the forest, but still quite huge, built about 1400 years ago, it has witnessed the time changing the world with its forever-young hands.

I am also surprised to see there are some young people even kids there to learn meditation. If time permits, i would love to spend some days there and enjoy the peace.

Jin feng Temple(Which means Gold Phoenix Temple) was first established in the early Tang Dynasty(about 1400 ago), and was prosperous in Song Dynasty(about 1000 years ago). In Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt by monk Seng Zong, it is about 3km away on the western side of the city Ya'an, lying along Qingyi River and standing next to Mengding Mountain, looks like a flying Phoenix. It is so famous for the greenary and elegant view, it is also one of the 8 ancient relics of Ya'an and has been famous from generation to generation.

with an elevation of 1,500 meters, Mt.Mengding is situated in Mingshan County of Ya'an City.150 km away from Chengdu ，at the joint point of the southwest rim of the Sichuan Basin and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  Mt.Mengding has five steep and towering peaks, which are in the shape of lotus. There is an old saying: The Yangtze River tops the waters, the Mengding tea is the best of its kind" . Mt.Mengding is widely known for its elegant landscape and tea  culture. The average temperature is 14.5 ·C, with an annual rainfall of 2,000-2,200 milimteters. Such a special ecological environment is ideal for growing tea, especially for developing its fragrant elements.

   Mt.Mengding is one of the origins of Chinese tea culture

According to the historical records it is the first and earliest place to grow tea. Growing tea dates back to the Western Han Dynasty more than 2.000 yeas ago. in 53 B.C., a farmer named Wulizhen found that wild tea could be used as medicine. He planted seven tea trees in a sunken spot among the five peaks, which are alive for two thousand years.  Wulizhen is regarded as the " father of tea", the first person who grew tea in the world.  Since Tang Dynasty, Mengding tea has been listed as one of the tributes presented to emperors. The emperors either drank it or offered it as a sacrifice to their forefathers. this tradition lasted until the Qing Dynasty. 

In the Song Dynasty, a monk ChanHui who served in the temple of Mt.Mengding created the three wonders of Mengshan tea culuture: tea technique, tea Kongfu and tea art. 

the traditional celebrated teas on Mt. Mengding 

There are 1,250 mu of high-quality tea fields and 40 square km of forestland. Dew, Yellow Bud, Stone Flower, Spring Silver Leaf and Evergreen. Spring are well-know tea brands with a long and distinguished history. in addition, advanced green tea, roasting green tea, frying green tea, jasmine tea, cake tea are all members of the Mengshan  tea family.  Mengshan tea has a history of over 2,000 years. the production procedure of Mengdingshan tea , from picking, processing, assembling to packing, is closely monitored in order to guarantee quality and taste.  

Yaoji Township (硗碛）is a small village in Baoxing County, Ya'an, with an average elevation of 2500m, an area of 880 square kilometers, and with a population of only 5000 people. The current village of Yaoji is nestled in a couloir, carved out by a glacier many eions ago. The village was formerly located in the valley below, but was flooded by a hydroelectric project and reservoir in 2003. only 150km from Sichuan basins, Yaoji is one of Sichuan's "gateway" to the Tibetan plateau. Given its close proximity to Ya'an and Chengdu, the culture of Yaoji shows strong influences from Han culture and lifestyles. historically Yaoji was an important gathering oint for Jiarong speaking Tibetan peoples, and a trading center between Tibetan and Han ethnicities. It was the seat of the Muping tuisi( 土司） or ethnic Tibetan hereditary headman recognized by the Qing and later Nationalist governments.

Furthermore, the village is near the site of the Long March crossing over Jiajin mountain. the Long March ( October 1934-October 1935) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang( KMY of Chinese Nationalist Party) army. The main long march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934. The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an inexperienced military commission , was on the brink of annihilation by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Jiangxi province. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed over 5,000 kilometers ver 370 days. The route passed through some of the m ost difficult terrain of western China before concluding in Ya'an. where the Communists established a base and began their resurgence.  Jiajin Mountain(5000m +) was the first high mountain crossed by the Red Army, whose soliders were ill prepared for the snow and the cold, and many of whom perished. There is a memorial commemorating their efforts not far from Yaoji, which has become an important destination for modern history buffs and political pilgrims. 

Residents of the village are Gyalrong/Jiarong(嘉绒） Tibetan. in the past, Jiarong was a topographical and political refernce to a far wider area than the present day linguistic demarcation. The legendary 18 kingdoms of the Jiarong extended down as far as the present-day Muya territory. By contemporary linguistic definition, the 150,000 speakers of the different Jiarong languages are distributed across serval counties of central and southern Aba Prefecture, and corners of Ganzi Prefecture and Ya'an District. These Qiangic languages have traditionally been divided into Sibaba(northwestern) , Chabao( northeastern) and Situ( eastern). Situ, referring to an area formerly governed by four kings( Tusi), is the most widely spoken form of Jiarong and has at least two dialects. Outside the larger towns, Jiarong is still widely spoken across all ages and domains of society. Many older Jiarong people are monolingual, but Sichuan dialect is becoming widely spoken by the young and middle aged.

Jiarong tend to be people of the valleys, farming the land in terraced plots up the mountainside, though a few take to the high plateaus where they live semi-nomadic tending their yal. The Jiarong culture: their impressive stone houses decked with praer flags, ancient stone watchtowers, and women clad in colorful hand-woven belts, aprons and headresses. most Jiarong Tibetans worshop mountain gods and practice Tibetan Buddhism, though about 10% follow the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon.

Possible Topics to Explore:

1. Local culture and lifestyle, compared to Han Chinese and otherr Tibetan-subgroups 

2. History of Yaoji, including pre-Communist history. and any knowledge 

3. Changes in the village, way of life, and residents' attitudes over time

4. How China's economic boom has affected Yaoji

Under the Jiajin Mountain, there is a long-history minority town called Yaoji ( Qiaoqi in mandarin, local people call it Yaoji ), 5000 people in the town , 95% ae Tibetans . located on the upstream of the Qingyi River, the closest Tibetan town to Chengdu. people speak Jiarong Tibetan language, as well as Sichuan dialect. the altitude is between 2000-3000meters in this area.

In the process of historical evolution, Qiaoqi culture has been in a diversified and dynamic development. 

        The local Tibetan people love dancing , which is necessary in their wedding, parties and celebrations. the dancing is surrounding a fire, people dance in a circle. which is called in Guozhuang in Chinese. it's created from their daily life such as working : harvest wheat. washing clothes etc. very happy and entertaining . there is a saying : if the Tibetan people can speak, they can sing, if they can walk, they can dance.

    recently , UNESCO, One Foundation and some other orgnizations are trying to teach the local people to record their life by camera , to reflect their surrounding natural environment, daily life and traditional culture

by private car 

public bus from Chengdu-Ya'an-Baoxing-Qiaoqi( Yaoji) 

We take a leisurely one- to three-hour hike through beautiful Bifengxia Gorge.  The gorge is complete with flowing waterfalls and bamboo groves, and provides a gorgeous backdrop to our hike.  Our hike will also take us pass the area where the first westerner first spotted a panda in the 19th century.