I looked out of our 7th floor Old Castle Hotel window this morning and a maid was out on a room balcony washing the floor. When finished, she picked up the bucket of water, looked carefully below to make sure no one was standing there and emptied the pail over the balcony…View image. Caught her on camera but couldn’t video fast enough. Really good breakfast dumplings filled with vegetables…View image…and we drove out of Danba, following the rushing Dadu River (a tributory of the Gold Sand River) towards Luding.

Not very far outside of Danba is Sopo Watchtower Village perched on the hillside…View image…with watchtowers as far as the eye could see. There were once 5,000 watchtowers in Danba but only 343 remain, many dating back from 200-1,000 years. These watchtowers were used for military defense during the 30-year Qing Dynasty wars both as lookouts and sanctuary. Usually built at a height of 30m/98′, Danba’s tallest watchtower is 60m/196′.

Dadu River rapids, China 

tall watchtowers and Gyarong houses in the mountains, China
Sopo Watchtower Village…View image… is around 300 years old and one of the best preserved villages with watchtower clusters in the entire area and this is what I had expected to see earlier in the Danba area. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is no road access, one of the reasons Sopo is relatively untouristy…feet only! A good 2-3 hour hike up and I would definitely try to visit Sopo Watchtower Village, feet or no feet. Sopo is so far above the Dadu River that the residents must drill wells for water. It would be too far to walk up and down to the river daily for their water. Good ‘old Princess Wencheng visited and stayed in Sopo once upon a time in history. (She was omnipresent throughout the Kham region.)

another view of Sopo Watchtower Village, Danba area, China
Today’s TIP: Always keep a flashlight handy in your pocket or pack, a small throw-away one will do since power outrages are extremely common, and a little trivia… This road trip through the Kham areas on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau would total almost 3,000 kilometers/1,800miles of driving!