On our last night before leaving Liangdeng Village, there was no water left for us to use. Wu Guozhuang, a villager, suspected that the pipe up on the mountain was blocked. Despite the lightning and thunder in the sky, he fetched several buckets of water in the dark.

Mr. Hu distributes the water.

In the small courtyard of Wu Guozhuang’s home, Mr. Li convenes a meeting to emphasize the importance of conserving water.

Hiking, scaling walls, crossing fields, plein air painting, and experiencing water shortages… During these days in Liangdeng Village, many volunteers encountered unprecedented experiences.

Everyone sweated profusely every day, drying and then becoming damp again. Because of the difficulty with water, we relied on the sun, mountain breezes, body heat, and the passion within us to evaporate the sweat, feeling the stickiness from neck to ankle, and then lying down on uneven, mud floors at night, with the added “massage” from the floor when we turned over. We slept on mats laid out on the ground, opening our eyes to see old beams and tile roofs, the wood gradually showing signs of age but still holding up the house.

During the day, we could see “stars” through the holes in the roof, which was especially worrying during rainstorms.

Notice the floor in the upper right corner.

After distributing art supplies brought by the volunteers to the village children, all the meaning lay in our interactions with each other. We began our “field investigation” of Liangdeng Village with our brushes, to understand this impoverished yet peaceful and serene place.

We crossed ancient forests and cornfields, walked over gravel paths, and jumped from someone else’s chili field, staying close to the edge of the vegetable plots as we made our way across the fields, reaching a high point overlooking the entirety of Liangdeng Village.

Led by Wu Fan, a local child from Liangdeng Village, we crossed through the ancient forest.

Treading a path through grass taller than our waists.

Crossing various fields.

Few households remain inhabited in the first group of Liangdeng Village, where chili peppers and grains are laid out to dry.

The old houses, with blue-black tiles, yellow earth walls, and aged wooden beams, exude an air of rustic simplicity and the quiet passage of time, maintaining their original and authentic state, subtly grounding everyone who comes here.

However, young people have left for work elsewhere, the roads are difficult to traverse, and tourists rarely visit. The elderly and children are the only ones left in the village, with weeds taking over the courtyards and cracks between the bricks.

Looking down at the entirety of the first group of Liangdeng Village from above.

Village children set out with the art supplies donated by volunteers to paint en plein air.

Encountering villagers returning from picking wild vegetables.

Mr. Li Jie instructs the children in plein air painting.

A peasant family’s courtyard.

Butterflies, unseen for a long time, came to join the festivities.

Children painting en plein air in various positions.

From the first group of Liangdeng Village, we hiked up to the second group, passing through narrow paths beside rice paddies buzzing with bees, painting vibrant scenes and picking bunches of joyfully swaying foxtail grass.

Cartoon-like skies, farmhouses, and fields.

As we passed by the rice paddies, the sound of bees filled our ears.

We scaled stone walls loosely piled together and entered the courtyard of artist Huang Yugang, who has been creating here for over 20 years.

Clearing the courtyard to begin painting.

A sparrow perched on a pear tree, watching the children paint.

Taking the village children to eat at Heiqi Jiaotou Inn.

A simple inn run by the villagers, serving us the most authentic Xiangxi Miao-style smoked pork and firewood mushrooms.

Watermelon grown by the hospitable innkeeper.

Our super dedicated “photographer” Mr. Yu, capturing moments throughout the event.

The paintings created by the children during “Pure View® Liangdeng Miao Village”
And Wu Guozhuang’s diary entries from Liangdeng Village.

“Tonight, light rain falls. Maple leaves flutter to the ground around my old house. I sit inside, writing in my diary. There are so many things I want to write about, but I don’t know where to start. It is quiet around the old house, almost melancholic and lonely.

Young and strong men from the village are busy building cities, while a few elderly men and women guard the ancestral wooden houses. They can no longer tread the stone-paved alleys. The stone paths are covered in moss during the rainy season, and weeds grow wildly in the cracks, making them look desolate and frightening…

I put down my pen and walk to the old camphor tree at the entrance of the village, listening to the entire village. No chickens or dogs can be heard, just silence. Perhaps the few elderly men and women have gone to sleep.

I stand for a moment, feeling the cool rain on my face.
This year, my health isn’t good. Another man remains in Liangdeng.

The rain continues, and mist envelops the mountains in the distance. From the village, you can faintly see terraced fields. I return to the old house, close the door, soak my feet in hot water, and lie down on the old wooden bed, alone, feeling the vicissitudes of life…

The children’s plein air paintings and daily routines.

“I want to return to Liangdeng.
Liangdeng – the land that bore and raised me. The wooden structures and earthen-walled tile-roofed houses are well-preserved.
In the morning,
I carry firewood back from the mountain, and a magpie perches on the roof, calling out a few times. When I was a child, my grandfather told me that if a magpie calls, guests will come.
Liangdeng – the last pure land in Xiangxi Fenghuang.
Surrounded by mountains, dense forests, and misty clouds that shroud the peaks like a fairyland, it is a secluded paradise.
After years of wandering and drifting,
a tired traveler’s heart…
I want to return to Liangdeng.
Lie in your arms, full of earth, listening to the passage of time and the vicissitudes of life, chasing youthful dreams…
And feel the loving care of a mother.
I want to return to Liangdeng.
Guard the ancestral home passed down for a hundred years.
Raise chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and rice fish.
I want to return to Liangdeng.
Work in the fields during the day, planting and sowing,
and at night,
wear Miao clothing, spin thread, weave cloth, and spend time with children and elders, watch the stars and moon,
listen to the sounds of frogs and insects at night,
and welcome friends and guests from afar with laughter.
Liangdeng,
‘Waiyan Mu’ (Miao language: I love you)
‘Yan Mu Dan Jiu Dao’ (Miao language: I will always love you).”

Some of the plein air paintings created in the village.

Some of the daily routines after plein air painting in the village.