Invitation to a 2,000-Year-Old Qiang Village

MYSTICAL mountains tower on both sides of the narrow gorge, whose clear waters run thunderously ahead over century-smoothed stones, dashing against rocks the size of small dwellings. Above this tributary of the Minjiang River hangs a suspension bridge constructed out of bam- boo. A winding path leads from it to the mountain village of Taoping. Taoping Village has nearly 500 residents in 98 households. It is in Lixian County of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. This 2,000-year-old Qiang settlement is the oldest and best preserved of its kind in China. Its antiquity and well-maintained architecture