Muchuan County 沐川县

What to see

The Muchuan Bamboo Sea (沐川竹海), a national 4A scenic area, covers hills where bamboo grows over tens of thousands of mu, with patches of Danxia landform among the bamboo and more than 70 named viewpoints. Its most distinctive spot, Xiaodong Feihong (箫洞飞虹), is said in local legend to be where the immortal Han Xiangzi (韩湘子) flew away on a crane.

The county's other 4A area is Taoyuan Shanju (桃源山居), a farming landscape laid out around the four seasons of the farming year. The Longmen Gorge (龙门大峡谷) rafting run is 9.6 kilometres long through a bamboo-lined gorge with a total drop of 198 metres. Wumeng Mu Song (乌蒙沐歌) is an open-air show staged against the hills by more than 400 local amateur performers.

Crafts and customs

The Muchuan straw dragon (沐川草龙), also called the "yellow dragon", entered the national intangible-heritage list in 2008 and, according to the county government, holds a Guinness World Record. Makers choose the best golden straw from that year's rice harvest and use more than ten techniques, including weaving, plaiting and wrapping. Local legend ties the custom to the Tang emperor Taizong (唐太宗) sleeping on a straw pillow before he took the throne. The dancers paint their faces and wear straw hats, straw capes, straw skirts and straw sandals.

History

In 875, under the Tang, a walled post was built here and garrisoned against Yi raids. The Song kept a stockade called Muchuan Zhai (沐川寨), and from 1288 a Yuan chieftaincy office governed the area; it remained a chieftain's seat under the Ming and Qing. Muchuan became a county in 1942. The county town, Muxi (沐溪镇), took its present name in 1981 from the Muxi River that flows through it.

Getting oriented

The county government puts Muchuan 240 kilometres from Chengdu and 100 kilometres from Leshan. National roads G213 and G348 cross the county, and it lies on a route linking Sichuan with Yunnan.

Highlights

• Muchuan Bamboo Sea 沐川竹海: National 4A scenic area of bamboo-covered hills with Danxia rock and more than 70 viewpoints.
• Muchuan straw dragon 沐川草龙: Rice-straw dance dragon on the national intangible-heritage list since 2008.
• Taoyuan Shanju 桃源山居: National 4A farming-landscape scenic area.
• Longmen Gorge rafting 龙门大峡谷漂流: 9.6-kilometre run with a total drop of 198 metres.