Rongchang County is located in Garze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in the west of Sichuan Province£®Five rivers merge here, the Greater and the Lesser Jinchuan£¬the Geshedra£¬the Donggu and the Dadu£®The area is characterized by towering mountains£¬deep valleys and swift¡ªflowing rivers£®Scattered among the mountains below the snowline are Tibetan¡ªinhabited villages such as Zhonglu£¬Pujiaoding£¬Dazhai£¬Jiaju and Badi with their own distinct architectural styles£®The stepped¡ªback red stone houses£¬shaded by many different kinds of tree£¬have a beauty beyond the ordinary£®

In front and behind the houses grow apple£¬pear and walnut trees£¬and in autumn there are lust too many fruits to be harvested£¬so they simply fall to the ground£®Sometimes£¬the sound of fruits dropping to the ground can be heard deep into the night£®The villagers and nature live in great harmony here£®Besides£¬there are many sites herein Rongchag that shed light on the mysterious past¡ªincluding stone coffins dating from 5,000 years ago and£¬perhaps the best known£¬its ancient watchtowers£®

Some contend that the people of Rongchag are descended from the royal family of the Westem Xia (l038¡ª1227)£®After their kingdom was destroyed by Genghis Khan£¬the surviving remnants of the royal family fled south across the Gannan Marshland and Hongyuan Grassland in Aba£®One group settled in the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan river valleys£¬rebuilding the homeland of their dreams£¬shedding their noble sweat in this sunny land blessed by fine weather£®

I saw women getting water from a river and then carrying the water jars home on their backs£®The leather straps securing the water jars were crossed across the chest£¬cutting into their Tibetan robes and emphasizing their breasts£®Bright beads of sweat rolled down their rosy red cheeks£®Their legs were muscular and their delicately braided hair danced in the wind£®Now and then£¬droplets of water would spill from their jars£¬these water beads like colorful butterflies£®In the brightly painted houses£¬babies eagerly awaited their mother¡¯s return so that they could be fed£®I even saw old women carrying heavy sand up the mountains£¬for building houses£®The most important labor was not the building work itself, but the carrying of materials£®

They were walking at such a pace that suddenly they were¡¢alongside us and just as quickly disappeared£®Not much later£¬we met them again in the village£»when we arrived there I discovered I knew nearly half the villagers already£®The Tibetan¡ªstyle houses were scattered here and there£¬and cattle droppings could be seen on the dusty roads outside the wattle fence£®Unlike in urban areas£¬here cattle dung in the streets was not considered dirty stuff£¬but rather a kind of display£®Though the village roads were empty of people£¬the cattle droppings symbolized the village¡¯s vitality£®The dung blended nicely with the land and looked rather clean in this context£®Besides£¬the dung did not stink£¬rather it gave off a mixed sort of smell£¬combining animal droppings and plants£®

Two lama monks in red robes walked towards us£¬carrying a large drum£®They looked very young£¬and their shaven heads were showing signs of re¡ªgrowth£®I knew that a Buddhist ceremony was about to take place and so I asked them about it£®The result was that they took us to the home of Yeshe Dorji