Mochuan, a small township near Guilin, is little known to the outside world and preserves its centuries-old buildings.[Photo by Huo Yan/China Daily]

Mochuan, a township nestled in the mountains of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has recently been 'found' by tourists, looking to go beyond nearby Guilin. Raymond Zhou and Huo Yan pay a visit.

Guilin is a must-see tourist destination for any serious traveler to China. But if you are a backpacker or in an adventurous mood, you may want Guilin's scenery minus the crowds. That is when a side trip to the city's outlying areas is called for－a place like Xing'an with its ancient canal, a roughly one-hour drive from downtown Guilin, or Mochuan, a township 30 kilometers from downtown Xing'an. While the drive from Guilin to Xing'an on a modern highway is a breeze, the drive from Xing'an to Mochuan has its own charms. The journey takes you along a calm, meandering river with views that in any other place would put it on the tourist map. Yet, locals seem to be oblivious to the oddly-shaped mountains or the riverbanks strewn with plants of all colors. They take it for granted, and proudly remind anyone who will listen that Mochuan was once a hub for trade and transportation.

Some 500 years ago, Mochuan was a major town linking five neighboring counties to surrounding provinces like Hunan and Jiangxi. Apart from two so-called "official roads", there were four paths paved with 70-80 centimeters of pebble, a major convenience for pedestrians and goods-carrying horses.

In 1887, a stone bridge was erected not far from the town center. Standing 12 meters tall, the bridge is 22 meters long and 5.5 meters wide, with a single arch spanning 18.6 meters. It may not look as gigantic as it did to those who built it and by today's standards it may seem a little forlorn, with only the occasional vehicle traveling to a nearby village crossing it, but the bridge is a testament to the busy traffic that it once accommodated and is in itself, an aesthetic marvel.