A Valley of Secrets Who Survived 100 Years of Chaos

So this part of the building was specifically designed for Li family's young ladies. It was where they spent most of their daytime. A hundred years ago in the remote mountains of southwestern China, three worlds coexisted. A militia mansion, a foreign catholic church, and the ancient indigenous beliefs of the Tujia people. But none of them answered to the same authority. As the empires fell, warlords, militia families, and missionaries ruled this land. Now a hundred years later, their traces remain, and we're gonna step into their forgotten world. In this episode, we're deep in the mountains of southwestern China. Let's turn the clock back a hundred years to a misty valley where different powers once pulled the strings. From the fortified mansions of militia families, to the towering walls of foreign churches, this is a mysterious land of the Tujia people, where conflict and chaos once defined an entire era. So how did western missionaries, once welcomed as guests, end up as enemies of the locals? How did militia families rise to power and wealth, and continue to dominate this valley while caught between warlords and foreign influence? What was life really like here a hundred years ago, and what price ordinary people have to pay to survive in this forgotten corner of the world? Okay, now we're in the village where the mansion is located. This place covers a really large area, and mainly consists of two parts, their mansion and their ancestral hall. So after we're crossing through this open stretch of land, the first building we're gonna reach is their mansion. So the whole valley here once belonged to one single family. Their ancestors fled from Hunan province 200 years ago, inherited the land from the former local ruler, and over six generations built it into a vast estate, of which we only see part of them. At the course of that time, it was a place where one family, in the form of a landlord militia, controlled not just the land, but the people and the order of the entire town. So this was the residence of Li family, and the entrance gate isn't placed in the center like most symmetrical designs, and the door doesn't just face straight ahead as you might expect normally. Instead, it's rotated about like 45 degrees to the left, and this was likely done for two reasons, home defense and feng shui. If we look up at the inscription above the gate, it reads Qin Lian Mei Yin. Qin Lian refers to the poet Li Bai, and all together it can be understood as the beautiful house, the beautiful residence of Li family. Li Bai also called himself Qin Lian Ju Shi, a name that reflected the kind of life and values he longed to live by. So here the family took the name as simply a respectful cultural reference. It doesn't mean they were actually related to the poet. The buildings in the courtyard has a really interesting mix of styles. This one facing into the front side has some influence of western architectures, while on both sides there are traditional Chinese designs. This is their garage. You see there are two sit-down chairs. It will be carried by two people in the front and behind, passengers sitting inside on the chair. This is probably a base of a mill. By the late Qin dynasty, the imperial grip on these remote mountains was loosening. Merchants along the Yangtze River began to make their fortunes through the salt trade, and with their wealth, they raised private militias and constructed fortified estates. In these valleys, their influence often outweighed that of the distant officials, giving them real control over the land and the people. The house design is quite complicated. There are so many rooms, about 170 rooms, and where I am right now is their warehouse that was used to store salts, and beside me is their accounting office. So trading salts by having their own salt well is one of the most important business for this family. So here in the mountains along the Yangtze River, this family got their own salt wells in Yunyang County by the river, a two-day journey on foot, which at the time was part of Sichuan. It was a booming trade in southwest China. By the 18th century, there were around 6,000 wells in Sichuan, and by the 19th century, that number had increased to 8,000. And I think it's the very reason and foundation the family was able to build such wealth and influence deep in this mountain valley. We just arrived at the main house located in the core area of the mansion, and there are two rooms inside. There's a traditional wooden bed, a closet, a sofa, a tea table, and some more tables. Pretty much all the basic furniture and some decorations. Let's see another one. The two rooms are set up almost the same way. See, there is even a telephone on the table. These are probably just replicas, but they're still pretty interesting to see. And apart from the rooms they lived in, the mansion had areas for horses and pigs. And right underneath the pig pen, there was even a small holding cell for detaining people. This was likely a jail. They would throw you down here once, lock this door, you won't get out easily. And you'd have to put up with stinky and awful smell coming down from the animals above. From the 18th century all the way to the mid-20th century, the estate kept expanding, with new buildings featuring the styles of different times. You see it the moment you step inside the mansion. The western-style gallery is completely different from the tujia-style buildings around it. On top of that, the residence was also reinforced with defensive walls, firing positions, and its own armed militia. By the 1920s, their fortune reached its peak and also made them a target. A Sichuan warlord launched an attack on the estate and cut off their water supply. The family was eventually forced to surrender and suffered heavy losses. Afterward, they rebuilt the water well, enclosing it behind high walls and watchtowers. So you can tell this family, they really took the water security very seriously. Look at these strong stone walls. And at the end of this pathway is the mansion's water source. It's a well. The locals call it This is the new water well, built after the family was defeated by the Sichuan warlord. It's completely enclosed by stone walls. And while there was once a protective building on top, it's no longer there. And the water source here is directly connected to the watchtower and surrounding high walls. So on the outer edge of the mansion, there is a surrounding stone walls and staircase for protection. And it was made of massive stone blocks. And on the wall, there are some small openings for shooting. So this part of the building was specifically designed for Li family's young ladies. It was where they spent most of their daytime, like their activity space. Because back in the old days, women weren't allowed to go out easily. The staircase is also quite steep. We're in the second floor right now. So this place was set apart from the mansion's main reception areas. Like the outsiders wouldn't have access to this section. Now it's basically empty here. So here we are on the third floor of the activity place for the young ladies. Here you got quite some space inside the building. But looking out, all you can see are just the mansion's rooftops. In the later years of the family's rise, the patriarchal clan system was key to keeping the family together and protecting its wealth. One of the most notable buildings representing this was the ancestral hall, where females weren't allowed to enter at that time. Within the estate, there were only specific areas designated for females to live and gather. In the social context of the time, this was the reality. But for poorer families, girls who could not be supported were urged to be sent to the local church. This building is called Yuyintang. It is said that the local villagers here once used to send their infants, their newborn babies to the church to be raised. But it's locked here. Hualilin Church was built in the 19th century and consists of three parts. At the top of the hill is the main church, surrounded by stone walls and watchtowers, primarily for male congregants. At the foot of the hill is the women's church, building the more traditional Chinese style. Between the two churches is a fondling home, Yuyintang, a facility specifically for raising female infants. Missionaries first arrived in Lichuan in 1866. Over the following years, priests and missionaries from 13 countries, including France, Italy, Belgium, and Netherlands, came to preach here. In the early years, the church set up schools and clinics to help the local communities. At the same time, the church gradually acquired large areas of farmland. In the surrounding villages, access to certain resources became closely tied to whether a family believed in the God. Rumors also began to spread about mistreatment of infants in the fondling home. So tensions rose quickly and eventually angry villagers attacked the church, burned down the whole place. And the church standing here today was rebuilt in 1906. So we just climbed to the door of the church, but it's closed. And there is a building we can see behind the wall. It says Tianzhu Tang, the Catholic church, and the lower part, it says Chijian. So it means this church was built by the command of the emperor. What activities do you usually do? I see the Yuyin Hall is also closed. What is this for? The Yuyin Hall was used to feed the children when they came back from the past. They couldn't feed them. So they brought them here. If they could, they brought them here. If they couldn't, they brought them here. The Yuyin Hall is very interesting. It was used to feed them when they came back from the past. Okay, thank you. I'll go ask. Most of the church's followers were local farmers living around, like within a three to five kilometer radius. The further from the church, the fewer the believers. The followers once numbered over 5,000. The Tujia people, meanwhile, had long maintained strong indigenous beliefs here. It's a deep, enduring faith in the supernatural. With the arrival of Catholicism, many traditional roles of the Tujia shamans were gradually replaced by priests, and their social influence declined. Today's day, the local believers here still gather in the church regularly. you