The Qiang villages and natural scenery are the biggest draws of the area. Although the earthquake did much damage it is now possible to visit the area and tourism is slowly picking up.
Luobozhai village èå寨, which is about 30 minutes by hired van or taxi from Wenchuan towards Songpan/Jiuzhigouc. ¥60, is in a marvellous location on a small plateau near the top of a mountain. It has a stunning view of the main Min River valley. The original village was badly damaged in the earthquake and whilst some are being rebuilt, the remainder are a testimony to how devastating the quake was. A new section of Luobozhai has been built above the old site. The road up to Luobozhai is good and the view is still great!
Taoping village æ¡åª is in Lixian rather than Wenchuan county, but is roughly the same distance as Luobozhai, going north on the Ma'erkang/Hongyuan road, and well worth a visit. It has 3 towers and is very fortress-like with an inner maze of winding alleyways and an underground water system which sustained them in times of siege. Many tourists come in tour groups which just stop for an hour, âdo the villagesâ and then move on. This means the countryside beyond the villages is often quiet and uncrowded, with locals just going about their daily work in the fields. Although adjacent new guest houses were irretrievably damaged in the quake, a whole new area of tourist accommodation has since been built and the traditional village has survived remarkably well and is still open for tourists. This village charges a ¥60 entrance fee, and once inside you will be asked to pay additional fees to look inside some buildings.
Yanmen village and beauty spot is about 15 minutes by taxi/minivan from Wenchuan on the road north to Songpan/Jiuzhaigou. This has tea houses, good walks and places to picnic. There are now yellow public buses that do this route from Wenchuan too.
Qi Pan Gou This village, south of Wenchuan on the Chengdu road, is where the main Wenchuan bus station is now located. Facing the direction of Wenchuan, there is an unsurfaced road off to the right which follows a stream up to a good walking area. The yellow bus from Wenchuan to Qipangou village is just 1Y.
Qiangfeng Village. Further south and across a plank suspension bridge on the right of the main Chengdu road you can walk up to the Qiang village of Qiangfeng. There were plans to develop this as a tourist village but they never really took off so it is less touristy than Taoping and Luobozhai.
Buwa Village high up on the mountains with its three watchtowers is visible from the main street of Wenchuan. If you can make it to Buwa, it's worth going further up to the plateau area at the top.
Longxi Valley is up a right turn on the same road out to Taoping. This is an area where the Qiang language is spoken. A 25 minute drive up the valley takes you to Ba Duo Zhai village and beyond this is extensive unspoilt countryside and a small mountain lake. Since the quake this area has been chosen by Wenchuan county as 'The Valley of the Qiang people' and it is being developed to cater for visitors. It is an area of natural beauty and it may become a good trekking opportunity with a 3-4 day walk through to Maoxian. A few campers have already discovered the area. In Longxi's administrative center, about 10 minutes by vehicle after you have taken the right turn off the main Wenchuan road, there is now a well-presented Qiang cultural exhibition center. The first village on the left as one enters the valley is Dongmenwai (meaning 'outside the eastern gate,'where the Rev Thomas Torrance established a small chapel in the 1930s. Since the quake, Dongmenwai has become more of a tourist destination than previously.
