A Lost World Along the Lychee Ancient Trail, Sichuan China

In this episode, we're exploring eastern Sichuan and somewhere ahead in the mountains, a village waits for us. Quiet, old, with the elaborate tombs untouched by the modern world. Following the Lijian ancient trail, I walk past old relics and houses and hidden in the dense forest, you can still see century-old tombs crafted with incredible details and gives you a feel for how people here once viewed their afterlife. Now so much has changed in this fast-moving world. Let's see what still waits to be found here. Morning everyone, we're in northeastern Sichuan. As you can see, it's all mountains around here. It's pretty rugged but also really fascinating. There are many old stuff, ancient relics in this area just scattered along these forest paths. And right now we are at one stop of Lijian ancient trail. It was an ancient trail once connecting the capital city of Tang empire, Chang'an and Sichuan regions but nowadays it's not in use anymore. So today we are going to explore part of this trail and we'll see how it goes. Back in the 8th century, this trail took on its name through a single task, delivering fresh leeches to the Tang emperor. Later, it became the main route people traveled and trailed on from the mountains to the northern plains. See there's a tomb and beside it there's a little shrine. Till these days, we can still find old relay station for postal horse, small pavilions with altars, even large tombs along this trail. I think we should be very close. There are plenty of bamboos. So in the past, people usually planted bamboos in front of tombs to show some good characters of the deceased persons like his integrity and also pray for the prosperity of their family. So there are two tombs here side by side. The one on the left holds four people and on the side wall, there is a large inscription that reads Yong Gu, meaning lasting forever. Now we are moving on to the second tomb. The entire structure appears much more vibrant in color and at the very center, it is carved with Tian Guan Ci Fu, that means blessings from deities. Higher up on the tablet, it says Liu Fang Bai Shi. It was meant to be remembered for generations and to carry on his spirit. And the whole structure is densely packed with narrative carvings. Every section tells a different story. From scenes of war and traditional opera to folk tales and mythological legends. Here you can see very little influence from organized religion or burial rules imposed from the outside. Carved at the very top are statues of the tomb's owners and those small stone figures around them, probably their kids and rest of the family. And in front of the tomb tablet, the stone still tells more about the life of the tomb's owner. Its upper structure has collapsed though, now lying broken on the ground. Along this once busy route, tombs with such design could often be seen. They didn't seem to mind leaving their final resting places open to passing travelers. So I followed the trail deeper into the forest and found an even older tomb right at the crossroads on the ancient path. So here it says Wan Shou Ting, 10,000 years of longevity. There's a little hole here. It was used to tie horses. This tomb sits right on the mountain ridge. Travelers once used it as a landmark. Once you reach here, the village ahead wasn't far. Locals call this tomb Hua Fen and was covered by a pavilion, though the roof tiles have been replaced. Some of the old tiles were left in the corner of the tomb. So here is the ancestral home of two families. The layout is just like it was when it was first built in the Ming dynasty. But at one point, the emperor had it burned down. So all the wooden structures here we see today were rebuilt by the Pu family's later generation. You see those stone steps? They survived the fire, of course. So it was left from the Ming dynasty. And all those buildings were left from Qing dynasty. One of their ancestors, Pu Yutong, served as the governor of both Hubei and Hunan in the Ming dynasty. But he was later accused of corruption. And to avoid brutal punishment and protect his family, he chose to end his life in this house. Despite that, the emperor still ordered the house burned down and took his head back. And he ended his life in this room by swallowing gold. This looks like some old stuff. Here I noticed the coffin placed in the room. It's just not uncommon in rural areas. They would prepare it in advance. This house is so big. It's empty here. It's like a storage room. Empty. No one living here. But in the past, it should be a bedroom. Before being divided and used as storage by each family living here, this room at the center of the courtyard, they call it Tangwu or Taowu in Sichuan areas, was where ancestors were honored and also served as a living room for receiving guests. It was usually decorated with intricate wood and stone carvings inside. Is this a coffin? There's no one living in Taowu. Oh, it's full of people living here. I came down from this side. I came down from this side first. Then I'll go this way. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye, bye-bye.