三訪化屋村

李貴云 趙相康

化屋村坐落在貴州省黔西市新仁苗族鄉(xiāng)，原名“化屋基”，意為“懸崖下的村寨”。化屋村所處屬于喀斯特地貌，被綿延無盡的一道道山谷封存在崇山峻嶺之中，交通不便，土少石多，不宜耕種，村民出門主要靠山路和小木船。1998年，化屋苗寨還是一個極度貧困的山寨。當時的化屋村受限于自然條件，路不通、電不通、水不遙，“通訊靠吼，交通靠走”，村民之間雖然看得到對方，但見面要走上幾個小時。

一訪化屋村 黔路難于上青天

1998年4月8日，我受邀與朋友同行去化屋村采訪苗族傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日跳花節(jié)。當時，通往化屋村的路只有兩條：一條是山路，需要徒手攀爬筍子巖的一條小路，山路窄處，要甩手扒著巖石上下，當?shù)卮迕穹Q之為“手扒巖”。這條路是化屋人祖祖輩輩出村的首選，但爬一次要幾個小時。

另一條是水路。1995年東風湖水電站建成，這里的水情變得溫和了許多，形成了著名的“烏江源百里畫廊”風景區(qū)，村民們乘船出行有了可能。當時我進入化屋村走的是水路，從東風湖發(fā)電廠借來一條小船，順著鴨池河進入了化屋村。

河邊，是苗族同胞傳統(tǒng)眺花坡的地方。三條橫木拼搭成簡易的門，門周圍布滿綠樹紅花，門上貼著紅彤彤的對聯(lián)歡迎貴賓。美麗的苗家姑娘們站在門前，笑臉盈盈地捧著大紅花，端著酒杯，等待著賓客的到來。

河水邊，兩根電線桿之間拉著一條長十多米的橫幅，上面寫著“共慶苗家花坡節(jié)”。數(shù)百人站在花坡場的周圍，等待著跳花坡話動的開始，還有許多村民將背簍放在地上，擺上自家的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品，供大家選購?；ㄆ鹿?jié)的儀式感很強，活動開始前三天，小伙子們到山上砍來一棵高大的常青樹，剝?nèi)淦?，保留樹冠枝葉，將其栽在花坡場上，并在樹頂掛上貴重物品和—條紅綢。節(jié)日當天，主持人先到花坡上生火，再在路邊擺上迎賓酒，連放幾十響禮炮，用來通知苗家男女老少入場。

化屋村苗族同胞的生活環(huán)境雖然不好，但他們依然保持著不屈不撓、樂觀向上的精神?；ㄆ聢錾弦粡垙埦`放的笑臉表達了苗族同胞對美好生話的向往。米酒的清甜、苗家人發(fā)自內(nèi)心的歡快和熱情，以及那種淳樸和對生話的熱愛，讓人記憶深刻。

懸崖之下，山石壘砌的民居屋頂上蓋著茅草，房屋前的空地上苗家人正牽著耕牛在犁地，希望可以在自家院子里多種植一些苞谷，來年可以有個好收成。

東風湖水利工程鎖住了奔騰不息的烏江洪流，形成了一個美麗的高原平湖，造就了神奇的“烏江源百里畫廊”。東風湖喀斯特峽谷湖水清澈，倒影沉碧，寧靜秀麗，兩岸峰壁氣勢恢宏，斷層壁畫神秘多姿，鬼斧神工，風光迷人，形成了融高峽、平湖、溶洞為一體而雄奇壯美的山水畫廊。

烏江在化屋村至清鎮(zhèn)市暗流鎮(zhèn)沙田村河邊寨有一段河道長20千米，穿行于苗峙之間，河谷深切，水流湍急。兩岸通行難，難于上青天。沙田村河邊寨對面是黔西縣鐵石鄉(xiāng)米新寨，為了解決兩岸趕場物資交流，村民集資修建了鴨池河上的草繩溜橋。

溜繩是由兜山毛草加竹筋條混合編制、浸泡桐油后晾干而成，可用一年，第二年再換。草繩溜橋暫時解決了鴨池河兩岸百姓趕集的困難，甚至接親的轎子也是走的草繩溜橋。但隨著國家通村公路建設步伐加快，以及索風營水電站2002年12月18日截流，水流上升將草繩溜橋淹沒，政府修建了碼頭，使用了輪渡，草繩溜橋退出了歷史舞臺。

再訪化屋村 天塹變通途

2011年5月傳來消息，新仁鄉(xiāng)至化屋村的通村公路建成了，時隔14年我叉踏上化屋村這片神奇的土地。

2016年7月，在距新仁鄉(xiāng)化屋村直線距離幾百米處的貴黔高速公路鴨池河特大橋建成通車，這是世界上跨徑最大的鋼桁梁斜拉橋，也是當時世界第二高的斜拉橋，目前其高度世界排名第五位。

2016年11月18日，成貴高鐵鴨池河特大橋，世界上最大的跨徑中承式空腹鋼混結(jié)合提籃拱橋，正式合龍。成貴高鐵貴州鴨池河特大橋是成貴鐵路跨越鴨池河的一座高速鐵路特大橋梁，位于黔西縣鐵石鄉(xiāng)米新寨與清鎮(zhèn)市暗流鎮(zhèn)沙男村。這是鴨池河上的第五座橋梁。

在清鎮(zhèn)市暗流鎮(zhèn)沙田村河邊的草繩溜橋和黔西縣新仁鄉(xiāng)龍井溝貴黔高速鴨池河大橋之間，有一處歷史遺跡：1935年11月，中國工農(nóng)紅軍紅二、紅六軍團在賀龍、任弼時、蕭克的領(lǐng)導下，長征途經(jīng)清鎮(zhèn)市衛(wèi)城鎮(zhèn)，先頭部隊戰(zhàn)斗神速，控制了鴨池河渡口，兩軍團強行渡過了鴨池河。在“強渡鴨池河遺址”旁有一座始建于清代的鴨池河鐵索橋，還有一座建于1997年的鋼筋混凝土大橋——“鴨池河大橋”。鴨池河上飛架的五座橋梁是貴州交通變遷的一個縮影，見證了貴州城鄉(xiāng)經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展和老百姓生活的變化。

有道是：“蜀道難，黔道更難?！苯?，貴州大力投資交通基礎(chǔ)設施建設，目前已實現(xiàn)縣縣通高速公路。高速公路通了，高速鐵路也通了，原來開車要12個小時才能到達的地方，現(xiàn)在乘動車1個多小時或走高速公路3個小時就可抵達。交通改變了貴州的面貌，帶動了地方經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展，“人無三分銀”的標簽已經(jīng)一去不復返了。

三訪化屋村 苗家人的幸福生活

2021年2月26日，我第三次探訪化屋苗察。化屋苗寨已經(jīng)發(fā)生了巨大變化，成為貴州省級著名景區(qū)“烏江源百里畫廊”旅游線上一顆璀璨的明珠。為了更好地保護長江生態(tài)環(huán)境，化屋苗察村民們放棄了傳統(tǒng)打魚營生，把打魚船換成了旅游觀光船，開發(fā)旅游項目，經(jīng)營民宿，開設農(nóng)家樂，實現(xiàn)了勤勞致富。

傳承苗家傳統(tǒng)工藝的化屋苗寨家庭作坊式民間蠟染和刺繡工藝規(guī)模不斷擴大，形成商品化，推動了農(nóng)民經(jīng)濟收入的增加?！啊?，傳統(tǒng)的也是時尚的。它既是文化又是產(chǎn)業(yè)，它既能夠弘揚民族文化、傳統(tǒng)文化，又用產(chǎn)業(yè)來扶貧，用產(chǎn)業(yè)來振興鄉(xiāng)村，可以作出貢獻。”在旅游開發(fā)的帶動下，化屋苗索還種植大棚花卉、苗木。經(jīng)過村民的努力，化屋苗寨年人均收入從1998年的214元增加到2019年的10 600元。到2021年3月，化屋村145戶704人整體脫貧，過上了小康生話。

繡娘們則以針為筆，用一雙雙巧手在布匹上書寫新的錦繡生活。她們用指尖的銀針改變自己的生活，繡出家庭團圓、國家富強的景象，將大山深處的苗繡文化與現(xiàn)代時尚結(jié)臺，讓苗繡走出國門，為鄉(xiāng)村振興作貢獻。

Three Visits to Huawu Village

Huawu Village is located in Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi City，Guizhou province .Its original?name was huawuji meaning “village underthe cli ”. The village is situated in akarst landscape， surrounded by valleysand di cult to access. Adding to the dif- culties of life in the village is the scarcityof arable land caused by an abundance ofrocks and a shortage of soil. The villagers?could once only rely on the mountainroads and their small wooden boats for transportation.

This was Huawu Miao Village in1998， an extremely impoverished mountainhamlet. Given its limited naturalconditions — with no accessible roads，electricity or water——communication? and transportation were both challenging.The mountain roads were?so rugged?and long that while the?villagers could?see each from a distance，a meeting could mean hours of hiking.

The First Visit： A Toilful Journey

On April 8th， 1998， I was invited by a friend tovisit Huawu Village and report on the Miao people’straditional festival， Jumping Flower Festival. At thattime， there were only two routes to the village： one wasa mountain road which required visitors to literallyclimbing up one steep rock a er another on a narrowpath called “Hand-Scraping Rock”. This road was infact the preferred route for generations of Huawu villagers，even though it involved hours of climbing.

The other route was a waterway. After the completionof the Dongfenghu Hydroelectric PowerStation in 1995， the water in the region becamecalmer， which has not only created the famousWujiangyuan Hundred-Mile Gallery Scenic Area， butalso allowed villagers to travel by boat. At that time， Itook the water route. I traveled along the Yachihe Riverto reach the village on a small boat borrowed from theDongfenghu Power Station.

Along the riverbank was the traditional venuefor the Miao Flower-jumping. There was a makeshiftgate made from three horizontal wooden bars piecedtogether. Red couplets with welcoming words wereattached to the gate， which was surrounded by greentrees and red flowers. Beautiful Miao girls stood infront of the gate， holding large bouquets of red owersand cups of wine， waiting for guests to arrive.

Between two electric poles on the river was along banner that read “Celebrating the Miao FlowerFestival”. Hundreds of people stood around theflower mound， waiting for the start of the event.Many villagers also put baskets of their produce onthe ground for everyone to choose from. The FlowerjumpingFestival had a strong ceremonial sense. Threedays before the start of the event， young men wouldgo up the mountain to cut down a tall evergreen tree.They would peel o the bark， keep the crown branches，plant it on the flower mound and hang valuableitems and a red silk scarf on top of it. On the day of thefestival， the host would make a bonfire on the flowermound and set up an inviting wine station by theroadside. He would also set o dozens of recrackersto notify the villagers to enter the venue.

Although the living conditions in the village wereless than favorable， the Miao people of Huawu stillmaintained an indomitable and optimistic spirit. Onthe ower mound， from their smiling faces， I could seetheir yearning for a better life. I was indeed impressedby the sweet taste of rice wine， the genuine andheartfelt joy and enthusiasm of the Miao people， andtheir simple love for life.

Below the cliff were homes built of stones andmountain rocks， with thatched roofs made of grass. Isaw the villagers plowing their elds with oxen in frontof their houses. They were expecting a better harvestnext year， growing more corn in their yards.

The Dongfenghu Water Control Project sloweddown the surging Wujiang River， creating a beautiful lakeon a plateau as well as the magnificent “WujiangyuanHundred-Mile Gallery”. The water in the karstcanyon of Dongfenghu is clear and green， tranquiland beautiful， with majestic peaks on both sides andcolorful paintings like cli walls. It is a stunning andbreathtaking landscape where high cliffs， calm lakes，and water-eroded caves are found.

A 20-kilometer section of the Wujiang Riverpassed from Huawu Village to Shatian Village in AnliuTownship， Qingzhen City. With the Miao Mountainsstanding tall on the sides， the valley was deep， andthe water was once turbulent， which made transportationextremely di cult for the people living onthe banks. Across from Shatian Village is MixinzhaiVillage of Tieshi Township， Qianxi County. To assistthe exchange of goods and materials between the twobanks， the villagers raised funds to build a grass-ropesuspension bridge over the Yachihe River.

To make the rope， workers combined the grassfrom Doushan Mountain with bamboo strips， soakedthem in tung oil and dried them in the sun. The ropewould last for a year and then be replaced the nextyear. The bridge temporarily mitigated the transportationdi culties of the people living on both sides ofthe Yachihe River who wanted to go to the fair. At thattime， even the sedan chairs carrying young brides hadto cross such a bridge to reach the other bank. Withthe accelerated construction of roads and the completionof the Suofengying Hydroelectric Power Stationon December 18th， 2002， the rising water level submergedthe bridge. The government then built a dockand launched ferry services. The grass-rope suspensionbridge eventually became history.

The Second Visit： Now Reachable！

In May 2011， upon hearing that the village road from Xinren Township to HuawuVillage was completed， I decided to set foot on this magical land once again after 14years.

In July 2016， the Yachihe Bridge of Guiyang-Qianxi Expressway， located just a fewhundred meters away from Huawu Village， was open to traffic. The bridge was theworld’s largest long-span steel truss cable-stayed bridge， and at the time the world’ssecond highest cable-stayed bridge. Currently， its height ranks fifth in the world.

On November 18th， 2016， the Yachihe Bridge of the Chengdu-Guiyang HighspeedRailway， which is the world’s largest long-span half-through reinforced concretevierendal X-arch bridge， was officially completed. The bridge， crossing the YachiheRiver， connects Mixinzhai Village， Tieshi Township， Qianxi County， and Sha’nan Village，Anliu Township， Qingzhen City. It is the h bridge built on the Yachihe River.

There is a historical site located between the grass-rope bridge of ShatianVillage in Anliu Township， Qingzhen City and the Yachihe Bridge on the Guiyang-Qianxi Expressway in Xinren Township， Qianxi County. In November 1935， underthe leadership of He Long， Ren Bishi and Xiao Ke， the second and six regimentsof the Chinese Red Army passed through the town of Weicheng in QingzhenCity during the Long March. The vanguard troops quickly took control over theYachihe crossing， and the two regiments crossed the river despite all odds. Nextto the “Yachihe River Crossing” site， there is an iron chain bridge built during theQing Dynasty， as well as a reinforced concrete bridge named “Yachihe Bridge” thatwas built in 1997. These five bridges together embody Guizhou’s transportationchanges， witnessing its economic development and the changes in local people’slife.

There is an old Chinese saying that goes：“The road to Shu （Sichuan） is difficult， butthe road to Qian （Guizhou） is even more so.”In the past decade， Guizhou government hasmade signi cant investments in transportationinfrastructure and constructed a networkof highways connecting every county. Inaddition， high-speed railways have also beenestablished. What used to be a 12-hour cardrive is now an hour train ride or a three-hourdrive on the highway. The transformation oftransportation system has rebuilt the image ofGuizhou and add impetus to local economicdevelopment. Guizhou， which used to becalled a place where “people owned no morethan three cents”， is no longer what it was.

The third Visit： Life is Joyful

On February 26， 2021， I visited Huawu Village forthe third time. By that time， the village has undergonetremendous changes， and become a shining pearl of the“Wujiangyuan Hundred-Mile Gallery”， a now celebratedprovincial-level tourist attraction. In order to betterprotect the ecological environment of the Yangtze Riverin the area， the villagers have given up their traditionallivelihood of fishing. The boats they pilot now are nolonger for fishing but for sightseeing. They have developedtourist projects， set up bed-and-breakfast inns，and opened agritainment restaurants， achieving prosperitythrough their hard work.

The villagers have also expanded their home-basedMiao traditional crafts of wax printing and embroidery，earning more from commercializing the hand-madeproducts. To quote Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commentson Miao embroidery， “...， tradition is also fashion.It is both culture and industry. The promotion of thesecrafts can also promote ethnic and traditional culture.The commercialization of them can li people out of poverty，revitalize rural areas， and eventually contribute tosociety.”

As part of the tourism development， the villagers?have also started to grow greenhouse owers and seedlings.As a result of the villagers’ hard work， the percapita income in the village increased from 214 RMBin 1998 to 10，600 RMB in 2019. As of March 2021， theentire village of Huawu with 145 households and 704people have been li ed out of poverty and now live acomfortable life.

The embroiderers who use their needles as pens topaint a new and beautiful life on cloth have used theirown hands to transform their lives and created theirown versions of a prosperous China. Their combinationof Miao embroidery， which was once hidden in thedeepest of mountains， with modern fashion has allowedMiao embroidery to go abroad and contribute to ruralrevitalization.