Snake wine elixir of life(2)
Huang Magan, 106, and Huang Maxue, 103, are old friends today. Huang Magan was the wife of Huang Bugan and Huang Maxue was his concubine and they lived under one roof for 70 years.
The husband has died, but the two women continue to look after each other like sisters. It's been a long time since they competed for their husband's love.
Green living
Bapan Village lies between the tropics and subtropics, with an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, warm in the daytime, cool at night. Surrounded by mountains, rivers and forests, it's far from urban population centers.
Every day, people get up with the sunrise and go to sleep after the sunsets, in tune with nature.
Like the Bapan villagers, all the Bama people never consider manual labor a burden - it's their life. And they work as long as they can. When they're too weak to work, they tend the family plot, weave or do chores.
Besides the clean environment and clean living of residents, recent research by universities in Guangxi shows that the geography and geology contribute to longevity.
They found the county located in a strong magnetic field, which is said to improve blood circulation, boost immunity and improve sleep. It's also linked to ionized water, which is considered extremely beneficial.
The rivers and ground table water are pure and are rich in beneficial trace elements. They are used in agriculture, in which no pesticides are used.
Health tourists
As Bama County becomes better known, the number of visitors has increased rapidly and some stay for several months; they are known as "migrant visitors."
Li Shangzhi, 68, and his wife are from Heilongjiang Province, and have lived in Bama for several weeks, hoping that their high blood pressure will be relieved.
"I plan to stay for three months," says Li. "I don't know if our illness can be cured, but it's definitely healthy to live in the mountains and breathe some fresh air."
Visitors from Japan and South Korea also visit in groups, and hotels and spas have sprung up.
"We don't really expect to live longer after living here a few months," says a migrant visitor. "We just want to relax our body and mind in this quiet place.
"We will still go back to the city, but it's definitely worth while here since we feel happy."
