Fugong County

For the first 30 km north of Liuku the scenery is much the same as around the capital. Hills rise up from either bank, but not too steeply, nor do they reach the heights of those further north. Lisu villages lie next to the road wherever strips of alluvial land allow for stony but fairly level farms. Villagers dress in ordinary clothes except for the shoulder bag and occasionally a cotton cape, with thin grey and white stripes and sleeves at the shoulders. Other villages lie scattered up on the slopes.

Then the scenery suddenly improves, heralded by a tall, thin waterfall on the left bank, with two major cataracts of about 20 metres each. A bit further, just before Chengga township, an even prettier fall cascades over a near perpendicular cliff, each cataract slightly bigger and thicker than the one above it. Just beyond the settled area of Chengga a huge block of bare stone sits on the right bank, while the other side of the river is banked by a sheer cliff rising straight up over 200 metres.

From Chengga on the mountains are progressively higher and steeper, the villages more densely hug the slopes, waterfalls spill off more cliffs and the Nu River roars so loudly it so ds like a convoy of log-laden trucks perpetually passing by. Augmenting the beauty of the environment is that of the local ethnic costume, for the Lisu in this part of Nujiang belong to a different subgroup-the Black Lisu-and are more old-fashioned and likelier to wear their traditional clothing for everyday use, especially the older women. Nu nationality villages are interspersed with Lisu and the women wear similar costumes-long pleated skirt, sleeveless, side-fastened vest over a long-sleeved blouse and a tight cap of beads and shell discs.

About 40 km north of Chengga, and 87 km north of Luiku, the road crosses a bridge to the left bank and runs up the eastern side of the river until just before Gongshan, another 161 km north. Just beyond Pihe township a rough branch road climbs up the mountain 16 km to Zhiziluo, a large Nu settlement on an elevated plateau. Several smaller Nu villages cling to the surrounding slopes. The township enjoys a great view, especially of the nearby peak of 4206 metres on the watershed crest of the Biluoshan range.

Keeping to the road alongside the river, it's 45 km from Pihe to Fugong, the county seat. Halfway up, on the right bank opposite Zilijia, one of the larger Gaoligongshan streams dashes over the rocks at Yinpi Falls.To get close requires crossing the pedestrian suspension bridge one km north of Zilijia, then doubling back south. These suspension bridges have pretty well displaced the rope-bridges of the past in the southern part of the county. They are strong enough for fully loaded tractor-trailers and have been erected near every major riverside village on the right bank, connecting the Gaoligongshan villages with the highway.

Townships along the river on the route to Fugong and beyond are not very big, comprising at most a couple dozen buildings. Fugong itself is smaller than Liuku. From the centre of town it's 15 minutes walk in any direction to the rural areas. Peaks of over 4000 m rise on either side, while the Lisu village of Shangba climbs the nearest mountain, which slopes right down to the main thoroughfare. On the next hill north another Lisu settlement, much smaller, hugs the slopes just below the peak.

The business district includes the main road and one running parallel between it and the river for about four blocks. The lower road leads south to the main suspension bridge, but besides the city's middle school and a small cluster of shops the western side of the river is mainly rural. Farms and houses lie along the right bank and a torrential stream gushes down from Gaoligongshan into the Nujiang. Its last stretch is a popular picnic retreat for city residents. From the small village on the right bank north of the bridge a smaller, pedestrian bridge crosses the river to the top end of the market area.

Continuing north, 2 km past the settled area the road passes Lebuya Falls, just off to the right. Its three narrow cataracts drop over precipitous cliffs at least 150 m high. A lateral dirt road 7 km north of the falls winds its way up the mountain, passing several small villages and hundreds of terraces another 8 km to Dapuluo, a large Lisu village serving as the administrative centre for the area. The tall peak in the immediate vicinity measures over 4300 m. The ridge east of Dapuluo is the border with Diqing Prefecture, with a view of the Lancangjiang valley.

From back at the turn-off to Dapuluo the road continues along the river straight north, at intervals crossed both by pedestrian suspension bridges and the occasional old-style rope-bridge. The most sophisticated of the latter is at Walong, 32 km north of Fugong, which has a carriage car on a steel cable. At Walong the road begins rising higher above the river. Soon, towering dramatically to the northwest, the peak of Stone Moon Mountain catches the eye.

The outstanding feature of this jagged peak is the huge oval hole very near the summit. The cavity measures 60m by 32.7 m. According to local legend the hole has its origin in the love affair between the divine shepherd Adeng and Ala, the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea. Because her father opposed the liaison the couple fled to earth. But the Dragon King sent a great flood upon Nujiang, where the lovers had hidden. With his magic crossbow and arrow Adeng shot a hole in the mountain, through which the waters escaped and receded.

 

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