Explore Journeys > Days & Detours > Painters & Peasants

PAINTERS & PEASANTS

The so-called New Year Painting Village set on the slope where the Sichuan basin collides with the Longmen Mountains is within striking distance of the provincial Chengdu, yet it feels a world apart. It’s a village whose ethos embodies the community spirit and warm heartedness of rural China, and it’s also got a whiff of fantasy – the houses all have old-style so-called ‘New Year Paintings’ painted on their exterior walls. Elsewhere in China these paintings are found in museums – such as the National Art Museum in Beijing – but in Year Painting Village these paintings are still on the farmhouses’ exteriors as they were thousands of years ago. The style of the paintings constitutes one of the four main sub-genres of Chinese New Year Paintings in China. 

Painted in greens and reds and charcoal-black, and sometimes other bright colours, some paintings are almost comical, depicting child-like figures doing wholesome country things such as fishing, harvesting, dancing, playing musical instruments. Others show old wizened men engaged in academic or cultural pursuits, or even having banquets. In either case, the symbolism mostly conveys the wholesomeness of rural living such as harmony, freshness, joy, love, civilization, etiquette, and the freedom of the human spirit; some have Chinese characters that express prosperity and happiness.

The village itself wallows in the same kind of bliss depicted in the paintings. The old-style peasant’s houses are built in the traditional style, with tiled roofs and exteriors of white stucco on which the paintings are rendered. Terraced fields step up the gentles slopes – there are many orchards of loquat, pear, and peach. Trills of birds reverberate out of copses of trees, and rivulets of waters are channeled among the fields for irrigation.

The village is one of a cluster of habitations that have existed from thousands of years, a hinge along the route of Han civilisation that arose in Xian, and came south to Chengdu via Guangyuan and Mianyang and Mianzhu along the edges of the Sichuan basin. Yet few people know of the village’s existence – it’s not mentioned in guidebooks, it’s not on the itineraries of tour groups, and it’s seldom visited by tourists from outside the neighbourhood. If you decide to visit, you’ll be showered with wholehearted hospitality.

If you’re passing through Chengdu, or Sichuan, we can organise a trip to the village and the area ranging from two days to several days – there are also some other outstanding attractions in the region. This tour is only open to private groups of one or more individuals. Depending on your time, there are various possibilities; below we list some possible attractions and activities in the area – have a look and then write to us to tell us what you would like to include.

Below is a list of places to see, and things to do:

New Year Paintings Village

It doesn’t take long to see the tiny New Year Paintings Village, though the value of the village is just to linger and soak in the rural atmosphere, as well as mingle with the outgoing villagers. We can organise various farm experiences. One of these could be to experience a tea plantation: you can visit or work at the plantation, learning about the cultivation of tea, and the processing of tea. There is also a new large tulip and rose farm, spread over 100 hectares, which is being partly run as a farmer’s cooperative; a small factory attached to the plantation is now producing products from the flowers such as soap, perfume, rose tea, and so on. In the slopes near the village, there are also many orchards of loquat, peach, and pear – you can simply visit the orchards, or work in them for a day, depending on the season (seasonal chores include grafting, hoeing weed, and picking up the fruits).

If you would like to work at any of the farms – or all of the farms – you would need to stay longer. One possibility would be to spend one day working at the tea plantation and a second day working at the tulip and rose farm. If the season is right, you can also spend a third day working at a fruit orchard. You could also opt to spend more than one day working at each farm – there is no limit to the length of time you would like to spend: it’s up to you. In each case, irrespective of how long you will stay, lodging would be in the New Year Painting Village – see more on lodging conditions below.

Hot Springs

There are also hot springs gushing out of the mountains in the neighbourhood, and a spa and resort has been developed at the hot springs. You can include a visit to the hot springs and spa in your itinerary: this can be a morning or afternoon spent at the hot springs and also doing some spa treatments if you desire (the spa treatments are professional – write to us to enquire about what treatments are on offer).

Mianzhu Opera and Shadow Puppetry

An old-style, wholly authentic style of Sichuan opera survives in Mianzhu, an old town that’s the closest town to the New Year Painting Village (the road to the New Year Painting Village passes through Mianzhu). It’s a type of opera that’s more authentic than possibly any that are found in Chengdu, where the Sichuan opera has been tampered with over the years. In Mianzhu, the opera is authentic and slightly different in style – perhaps the oldest style of opera that exists in Sichuan. The same applies with shadow puppetry: the same theatre group performs some authentic shadow puppet drama that has largely disappeared from other parts of China.

Unfortunately, shows are only held by prior arrangement as the theatre-group does not have enough customers to hold regular or scheduled shows. The performers have other day-jobs, and they continue to put up the performances as a labour of love and in order to keep the skills of the traditional Mianzhu opera from dying out altogether. If you’re interested, we could arrange a show of opera and/or shadow puppetry in your itinerary.

Hanwang Earthquake Memorial

About 30km away from the New Year Painting Village, Hanwang is a former industrial town that was severely damaged by the earthquake that hit Sichuan on 12 May 2008. Now the town has been completely abandoned as it’s beyond repair – a new Hanwang has been built about 4km away from the old Hanwang – and the old Hanwang will be preserved as it is as an earthquake memorial. There are plans to build museums, and eventually open the town as a tourist sight – at present, part of it is open although most of it is barricaded by a fence which is manned by police (within the area barricaded by a fence, it’s only open by special arrangement – we can secure permits to enter the area inside the fence, which is the part of the town hardest hit). The town is a sight that will amaze you: it lies ruined, as though hit by a nuclear bomb. And it’s almost haunting; snooping around the gutted apartment blocks, you feel like you’re peering into private lives: posters of pinned to the walls of bedrooms, clothes hanging from clothes lines, wardrobes with doors hanging open, and so on. Who knows what happened to those private lives – may mercy be with them. It’s also a sight that provokes thoughts about the power of nature, the fragility of life (how life could be shattered in a blink), and the cycle of life and nature (grasses are now taking root in the ruins, doves and pigeons and swallows now nest in the half-ruined houses, and even the odd tree is sprouting out of cracks). We can include a tour of Hanwang in the itinerary; it would take a morning or afternoon to visit.

Trip Options

Explore the different possibilities we detail above, and then write to us to tell us how many days you would like to stay, what attractions and performances you would like to see, and how you would like to experience the farms (whether you simply want an educational tour of the farms or whether you actually would like to work on the farms). Minimum you can stay is two full-days (one night), and in two days you can see all the things listed here in a breezy schedule.

Start & Finish: Chengdu

Accommodation: Accommodation is in a home-stay at the New Year Painting Village. You will get a clean and comfortable private room, either kitted with a double bed or single bed, and then you share the toilet with the host family members (toilets are clean and modern).

Food: Eating is with the host family. You can opt to share meals with them – in which case you would be served what they will eat – or you can have them cook food especially for you. Levels of hygiene are good, and the food is excellent country-style Sichuan cuisine that has many specialties, such as the delectable home-made sausage and cured meats, as well as an assortment of other dishes, including many fresh vegetable grown by the villagers and sautéed in black bean paste. Meals normally consist of an assortment of dishes; if you’re vegetarian, or have any special dietary needs, the meals can be tailored to your needs.

Price: Price will depend on length of stay, use of vehicle during your stay, and whether you eat with the family hosts or in a village restaurants. If you visit for the minimum of two days, then you would need a vehicle to take you around at all times; stay longer and you can opt to cycle around. No price is published for this trip as it can fluctuate wildly depending on your choices – please write to us to enquire.  

Dynamic Prices & Arrangement: You can also stay in luxury if you prefer – there is new upscale resort in the area, and it’s attached to the hot springs and spa. You would then have the option of either eating with family hosts in the New Year Painting Village or eating in the hotel’s restaurant, or another restaurant in the area.

Terms & Conditions: For FAQs, and the general terms and conditions that govern our tours and operation, and for Frequently Asked Questions, please see Nitty Gritty (FAQs).