Li Keng , founded in 1010 by a hermit, is a water based village maybe 1000' across at it's longest dimension. The buildings are 2-400 years old, best I can learn, as absolutely no natives speak English. I changed hotels today, moving up much better, same price, $5.33.

My last hotel had a nice balcony that overlooked where 2 rivers converge in the village center. they each have dams and sluces which are ornamented a little indicating the male dragon o the right, looking up stream, and a female dragon on the left.

Over the millennium, the rivers, less than 20' across, 2' deep have been channeled out, vertical stacked stones maybe 8' high, with frequent foot bridges across to access from either side the numerous open shops that are the first floor of 2-3 story buildings that are set back 6-10' from the river edge. The street is of big fitted slate flags allowing only as occasional tuft of grass.






There are a number of stone steps leading from the streets to a stone platform at water level. Here, women wash clothes using brush, paddle and/or hands. also, they clean vegetables and whatever. Old men are taking baths. Over there a man cleans a chicken saving most of the entrails--it's all chicken. At the several restaurants you must buy the whole chicken, stewed, I think. Pick the one you want, they're walking around. i had a pet chicken in Richmond, would come when I called.

Young boys swim, jumping from a bridge, no girls. in the morning, people mop and sweep, rinsing their mops in the river. There are several community dip nets to retrieve litter. Others are throwing it in. Everyone is necessary. There are small pole boats mainly for the tourists. The runs between dams is not long enough for serious transport of goods, but maybe a little, in old times.

So I went on a discovery, following the male dragon. the buildings, and streets ended, becoming a path of slate flags that essentially followed the rive3r, which had become a ditch. The scene was an opening vista of Serene rice paddies nestled in an irregular sided valley, several hundred yards across. the small, steep mountains come down abruptly to the paddies. I surmise that earth was taken from the mountain sides as fill to make the paddies flat. The whole thing was designed to harness water springing from up the mountains pulled down by gravity

There was an unimaginable amount of work and wisdom in what I saw. According to Menzies, 1492e are umpteen varieties of rice that can grow from the high desert to the low swamp. All these plants were in several inches of water. Each Paddie is flooded, fed from above. the surplus feeds the next Paddie below on down to the village where the ditch widens into the ever flowing river that moves on to the Yangtze, to the Pacific, to the Chesapeake.

The berms that separate, create the paddies have the correct plants whose roots hold the mound together. Some water is directed by 3/4 round 4' hollowed out bamboo. No land is wasted.

I saw only a few farmers, of course their work is done for a while. they were older, no young. don't know who will carry on the work. Maybe American conglomerate will show how to grow synthetic food, give 1 in 3 cancer.

The plants are maybe 6' part in straight rows. If you stand in 1 place and turn completely around, you will see a straight row every 45 degrees, planted by hand and eye, no string. I dare you to try, or just bend over all day.

There are 2 harvest a year. I saw 2 water buffalo chilling in the ditch, shaded.

About half way up the valley i came across an old very solid stone building, 30' long, big openings on 3 sides, alcove inside on the 4Th to receive an icon. I saw stone joinery like on the temples of the 3 continents. small world.I took a rest inside.

Went on up the valley til the path ran out, no pristine waterfall, some squishy place with ferns.

Another day I followed the female dragon. not quite as picturesque. IT was a rough clay road to service the electricity and TV/Internet which was brought in over a mountain. I went a good 3 miles almost to the mountain top. It was so hot, I had no water, turned back, stopped at a house among 5, asked for water, they were so gracious, I'm sure the first white man to visit, when I sat down I was seeing stars, a close call

My host is going to bed. will continue later--