Gold as far as the eye can see

The color yellow covers much of Sichuan province at this time of year, with rapeseeds in full bloom.

Although Chengdu Plain is famous for this beautiful scenery, the hilly Lushan county, some 180 km from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, is believed to have the most splendid view. One of the most important rapeseed producing regions, Lushan's annual output tips the scales at over 10 million kg.

Looking down on the hilly road leading to the Longmen Cave, the vast expanse of rape flowers stretches out like a yellow sea. "It is beauty beyond description," says Li Jiangtian, a 57-year-old photography lover.

In March, Li was invited to the third rape flower and root-carving festival to be held in the county.

"Some of my pictures of the flowers I took last year won prizes in national photo competitions. I will come again if the festival is held next year," he says.

Apart from the desirable natural landscapes, Lushan boasts a rich cultural heritage dating back more than 2,000 years.

At the opening ceremony held beside the Jili Hill on March 21, people dressed in Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) costumes and took rice, wheat, soybeans, pigs and sheep with them to pray for good harvests.

Bamboo poles with rice, grain and soybeans on their tips were driven into the slope of the hill. With the beating of drums, farmers rushed to uproot the poles.

"According to ancient customs, those who get more poles will have a bumper harvest in the year," says Zhou Liqiong, an 82-year-old woman from Taiping town in the county.

To watch the opening ceremony, Zhou and two other elderly women braved the rain to catch a bus to Longmen township, from where they walked for nearly 20 minutes to the Jili Hill. "The last time I saw people vie for the bamboo poles was about 70 years ago," Zhou recalls.

Bamboo pole snatching was held on the third day of the third month of the lunar Chinese calendar each year to pray for good harvests. "The tradition was suspended after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949," says Wu Hong, the county magistrate. "The county resumed the ceremony two years ago to boost tourism," she says.

With more than 80 percent of its area being hilly, Lushan abounds in root-carving resources including ebony, which is unique to Sichuan.

In the county's root-carving street, which is about 1 km long and on both sides of a highway, 45 workshops make ebony root-carvings on the spot. "It takes between several days and several months to complete one ebony work and their price can range from 8,000 yuan ($1,127) to 300,000 yuan ($42,254)," says Mao Guoyi, a middle-aged worker who polishes a long ebony desk.

According to Wu, Lushan is the country's largest ebony market. With sales registering 10 million yuan ($1.4 million), ebony root-carvings are exported to the United States, Canada and Singapore.

Being an important town along the Southern Silk Road which starts from Chengdu, passes through Yunnan province and enters India, Lushan has been the political, military, economic and cultural center in the western part of Sichuan for nearly 500 years, from the early Han Dynasty to the early Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420).

A visit to the Han Dynasty relics is a good way to get acquainted with Lushan's history. One such attraction is the museum built on the site of the tomb of Fan Min (AD 119-203), a native of Lushan and a leading official of the late Han Dynasty.

With a population of only 120,000, Lushan covers nearly 12 million sq km. Because there are so few streets, it is a perfect place to relax, as visitors do not need to worry about transport. Still, for less than 10 yuan ($1.4), a tricycle rider will show you around the place.

(China Daily April 3, 2008)