Rhythms of an ancient life

Old streets are paved with blue flagstones.

Children at Huangyao's only kindergarten, the former site of a 400-year-old theater.

Reflecting the wisdom of yore, the drinking water is kept separate from that meant for washing vegetables, which, in turn, is separate from the water for cleaning farm tools.

"Although every household has access to tap water, we prefer fresh spring water," says Pan Yuying, who has lived in Huangyao for 50 years.

Mountain spring water has all the minerals the body needs, she says.

She would know - she is 97.

Huangyao used to be a business hub in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. A number of shops from those times stand to this day.

Mo Xianjia, 53, runs a wine shop selling home-made products such as sweet wine and sealwort wine. Sealwort is a perennial herb with medicinal value.

A complex process is involved in the making of this wine, Mo says, adding that every family in this ancient town has its own secret recipe.

Twenty years ago, the price of sealwort was just 2 yuan per kg. Now, it fetches 100 yuan a kg.

For lunch one day, we tried another Huangyao specialty - fermented black beans.