LEAF-go-VSO
Old Simao
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Old Simao |
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The Old Town There's not much 'old' architecture left these days in Simao's Old Town. Even the oldest buildings are probably little over 100 years old, and most probably date from the 1950s (i.e. after the formation of the PRC). Because of the primitive construction materials (mud bricks, crude timber) and periodic earthquakes it's not surprising that this is the case. The destruction wrought by the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) isn't the only reason for the lack of architectural antiquity.
Small enclaves of old two-storey houses still exist, usually surrounded on all sides by towering new housing blocks. Most of these older buildings are in poor condition, but a friendly "village" atmosphere still persists. I would guess, though, that these buildings' days are numbered.
There are even a number of old wells where locals still come to draw water - perfectly drinkable according to this lady.
The traditional adobe brick,
wooden-beamed housing roofed with grey fired clay tiles is beautiful to look at,
but these buildings will no doubt be lost as they're knocked down and replaced with sterile new apartment blocks.
The right-hand picture was taken on Dragon King Well Street up near Xi Ma He
reservoir.
These pictures (above) show the Ancient Noodle Shop (our name) at the junction of Bian Cheng Lu ("Town/High Street") and the Old Street (Nan Zheng Jie - "South Main Street"). This is the heart of the old town. These buildings are probably getting on for 100 years old, and the shop here has been selling noodles for as long as anyone can remember.
Across the road from the Ancient Noodle Shop this grand archway (above left) marks the entrance to a small landscaped park, built in the summer of 2008. It lies in front of the Shiping Huiguan, an old meeting place for merchants (tea, of course). It was originally a Taoist Temple, built during the reign of Emperor Qian Long in about 1750, but by 1895 it was a busy trading outpost. The present Shiping Huiguan building (above right) is probably 70 or 80 years old. These days it's used as an upmarket private teahouse. At this time numerous customs/trading offices were built in
Simao for tea merchants, of many nationalities. The French especially were
influential - their sphere of influence extended from Indochina into the Chinese
provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan, but unfortunately they failed to leave behind a
legacy of fresh coffee drinking, crunchy baguettes and faded colonial
architecture...! Simao was also British Treaty Port (along with Tengchong
further west). The British were here seeking trade routes between Yunnan and
their powerbase in Burma. In 1898 the Acting Chief Commissioner of Customs
was Augustine Henry, famous as an amateur plant hunter who sent back thousands
of specimens from China to Kew Gardens. At the turn of the century Simao
suffered a severe malaria epidemic which reduced the population to 2000, and
further national political problems (downfall of the Qing Dynasty and the Boxer Revolution) meant that the
foreign powers had to make a hasty withdrawal. By the time Joseph Rock (an
American explorer, plant hunter and ethnologist) passed through Simao in 1922
the foreigner presence was down to a couple of British customs officials and a Danish
missionary.
Also in the old town (within spitting distance of each other) are a holy trinity of buildings of worship: the Buddhist Temple (above left); the town's Mosque (above centre); and Simao's Church, a grand-looking pink building (above right). The Church and the Temple are very new buildings (though the temple is built on an site of long-standing); the Mosque is a little older - the present building dates from 1993. Unsurprisingly, the history's of Simao's mosque mirrors that of the
fortunes of the fairly large population of Muslims in Yunnan, descendents of a
13th Century Mongol invasion. Established in 1807, it was destroyed in 1865
during the Muslim Rebellion (1855-1873), at the end of which a large percentage
of the Muslim population was brutally massacred. The mosque was rebuilt in 1937
(during Yunnan's brief period as a Kuomintang stronghold against Mao's Communists) but
it didn't stand for long. The official history states that the building was
weakened by earthquakes and fell down in 1945. Call me cynical if you want, but
the true story probably has something to do with the end of the Civil War and
the rise of Communism
throughout China at this time! Later on, the Cultural Revolution was also a bad
time to be a Muslim in China.
Nearby is the Confucious Pavilion (above left) in the grounds of Simao's No.1 Middle School (once touted as a tourist site, see top of page!). The building only dates from 1998 (it's currently the school library), but there has been a temple at this site for nearly 150 years. The "Grande pagoda pres de Se-mao" wood engraving depicts the original, more extensive, structure. Pictured on the right is the Zhuan Yuan Bridge which leads over the pond before the pavilion's entrance arch. In olden times a "zhuan yuan" was the scholar who topped the results in the imperial examinations.
These wood engravings (published in 1872) are from sketches made by an artist who travelled with a French expedition up the Mekong from Laos in the 1860s. On the left is a beautifully proportioned and very extensive temple complex ("Grande pagoda pres de Se-mao"); on the right an old Simao street scene complete with thatched two-storey houses, turban-wearing locals (they still do), and the familiar low surrounding hills. The centre photograph shows the scene at the site of the temple 140 years later - the Confucious Pavilion - no original structures exist anymore; the buildings, gate, bridge and pond have all been rebuilt (see below).
The scenes above are typical of the many peripheral, and poor, villages now incorporated into the expanding main town, often on the edge of the tea plantations. This faded and weathered old mural we saw in one (above centre) is a reminder of the Mao era. The script says "Ready the military equipment, prepare for war!" Some Old Signs
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