day 71: 襄汾(xiangfen) - 丁村 (dingcun) = 12,2km

This is me after precisely one thousand kilometers:

Feels good, I can tell you that.

A time to celebrate, a reason to get down:

Okay, it’s stupid. But the very last bit when I’m trying to pick up my stick always makes me laugh.

…

As nice as it is, I can’t allow myself to get caught up in the moment. Gotta keep walking.

Right next to the highway, covered up in the snow, there’s a tiny place called 闫店 (yandian). They have a tree growing from an empty building there:

This structure used to be a gateway over a medium-sized road. The locals tell me that the last Emperor’s mother herself once traveled on this ancient road and marveled at that tree.

No one really knows how, but the tree apparently got there completely by itself. And it looks like it’s there to stay.

…”the locals” - really an inappropriate description for a bunch of interesting and very charming folks. I got some pears and sat down for a chat in the back of a friendly old man’s store. His wife was busy fixing some clothes and allowed me to snap a picture:

I loved the design of the old sewing machine. “Made in Shanghai” - cool.

Then I was back out in the cold. Very few people outside.

I had some fun playing with colors:

…red.

…green.

Then I arrived at 丁村 (dingcun), a remote tiny village featuring an another ancient courtyard:

Much like 常家庄园 (December 20th ), 乔家大院 (December 22nd) and 王家大院 (January 1st), this is a wealthy merchant’s private estate as well.

This particular place seems very unspoiled though.

Maybe it’s because of its remote location, but the traditional customs have been preserved remarkably well:

Another attraction of 丁村 is the archeological excavation site:

晚更新世动物群 - a site discovered in the 50s.

I don’t know much about old bones though.

But I liked this place and it’s been snowing heavily outside anyways.

So I happily accepted a family’s offer to stay with them.

Soundtrack: Kool & The Gang - “Get Down On It”

—total: 1010,5km