travel
of Langli and Jiaogao, both of which afforded jaw-dropping views, the former over a river valley and well-appointed cemetery. The cracked and warped wood of the massive Miao houses in these villages is noticeably older than some of the more modern settlements visible from the highways, and a wizened Langli elder confirmed many were built at least 40 years ago, though he of course was substantially older and had lived in the village his entire life. Out the back of Langli one of the houses overlooking the river advertises various types of rice liquor, which are well worth a fortifying sip even early in the day.
Chongqing Weekender
Rafting along the Pengshui Ayi River is that rare thing in China, a tourist attraction that delivers on the hype. Arriving a little weary from the excesses of the night before, and wilting from the summer heat and humidity that enshrouds Chongqing like the cape of some malevolent ghoul, our group approached the park desperately in need of a dip in some refreshing river water. Handed a lifejacket and a six-foot bamboo pole, we jumped into our inflatable dinghies and set off towards a manmade rapid, whirling the pole through the water in Olympic kayaker-style. It soon emerged that relatively light rainfall had rendered the current anemic, and there were few rapids worthy of the name, but we didn’t care and were happy to drift along basking in patches of sunlight. The spectacular gorge scenery, which served to keep the full glare of the sun off our backs through most of the day, clear waters
As evening approached we reached the mountainous village of Fanpai, where we chanced upon two Miao women spinning cotton into yarn the traditional way, feeding the strands from five hubs to the most basic of looms and manually stretching them out over 25 meters before twisting them and plying them at each end. It is a painstaking and backbreaking process, but one that is fascinating to observe. It also served to illustrate how far removed these places are from the China that is developing at breakneck speed around them, and as such why they offer such a wonderful rural escape from the pressures of urban life.
and fresh upland air more than compensated for the lack of thrills. Serious rafters should time their visit to coincide with the spring and early winter rains, when Pengshui welcomes Chinese and international visitors to try their hand at singlehandedly navigating the whirling torrents. We only managed to traverse the first section of river, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the white water becomes a more serious challenge in the second half, and in any case the split ensures there is something for everyone. Turning back at the halfway point, which offers camping, accommodation and various things to buy, we enjoyed the solitude of a riverside walk back to the park entrance towards the setting sun. One word of warning – a fearsome ascent awaits at the park exit and, banking on the weariness of the returning rafters, the authorities have invested in a 30-storey elevator, which you will be expected to subsidize to the tune of 35 yuan (US$5.70) a ride.
real chinese
pēn
Penzi Troll While the Internet has allowed Chinese people to be far more honest in voicing their grievances, there are limits to how much negative commentary China’s netizens are willing to accept. Those who overstep the boundaries of reasoned debate are known as “penzi” – trolls. Literally meaning “spray,” the term “pen” was originally a southern Chinese colloquialism meaning “to scold” or “to criticize violently.” It didn’t become popular nationwide until recent years, when it emerged as a perfectly suitable word to describe the growing number of spiteful online critics, evoking an image of an angered netizen spraying their rage around like a fountain.
64
The most typical feature of a penzi is that while they are always keen to criticize, they seldom offer constructive points of view. Worse, penzi tend to be fond of foul language, and have been know to launch aggressive personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with them. Another particularly exasperating characteristic is that they are notoriously impossible to appease. Penzi will criticize a business for not caring about the public interest, but if the business makes a donation to a charity, it will be criticized for “putting on a show about something useless.” In fact, penzi didn’t start out as a particularly pejorative term – it was once seen as
zi
a badge of honor, reserved for those who dared to test the boundaries of freedom of speech and bold criticism. However, with more and more Internet users becoming amateur penzi, the word now has distinctly negative connotations. Many believe that general disaffection with society and life is to blame for the rising prominence of penzi. Regardless of the reasons behind the trend, penzi are now coming in for criticism themselves, not only for being useless to society, but also for spreading unnecessary negativity. Many popular Chinese Internet forums have laid down anti-penzi measures, call for more reasonable and constructive criticism. NEWSCHINA I October 2013