The Not So Touristy Town of Sanjiang, China

Sanjiang, China

[L]ocated in the northern part of Guangxi Province, China, Sanjiang is far from the beaten tourist path.

Yet because of its famous historical bridges, the Chinese government is aiming to transform it into a stop on the Chinese tourist route for the future.

Sanjiang is rather interesting, a contrasting mixture of city meeting ancient Chinese village and modern combining with traditional.

Bridge in Sanjiang

Sanjiang and the surrounding countryside are famous for their bridges, and although the one pictured above is quite new, its design is based on the historical “Wind and Rain Bridge” in a nearby village.

Quiet and peaceful inside the bridge

The interior of the bridge was peaceful, built with wooden benches in-between the pillars, and blessed by a constant breeze which made it a perfect spot to take an afternoon siesta.

The lively marketplace

My personal favorite thing to do while I was in Sanjiang was to walk around town and browse the local market which was packed with produce directly from the farm.

Cleaning up after the morning market

After the morning market rush, vendors would disperse and cleaners would sweep up the mess.

Duck is the protein of choice

Duck is one of the most widely consumed proteins in this part of China and people don't want to purchase pre-butchered ducks (that could be fresh or not), they want them alive!

Roast duck, even better!

But if purchasing a live duck, butchering it, and then preparing it is just too long to wait, you can always go to the bottom level of the market and buy a beautiful variety of already roasted or fried goodness.

Can you guess what these are?

At first I thought it was a basket full of noodles, some sausages, and little pieces of deep-fried bread, but someone informed me that everything in this basket was actually tofu in different forms.

Enjoying the simple things in Sanjiang

To be honest Sanjiang is not really a touristy town, and for pretty good reason, there's not really much to do there. However, it's sometimes a joy to visit a city where the highlights are wandering around and taking lazy afternoon naps on a bridge.

Mark Wiens

Mark was raised in central Africa before migrating back to the U.S. for University. After graduating, he decided to continue traveling the world. On Migrationology, he shares the cultural side of travel from a slow-paced local perspective that often revolves around his love for eating all forms of food. Join him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @migrationology.