Tiejianggou

Tiejianggou

Tiejianggou is situated on the mountainside of Gujia Mountain Village, Geliche Township, Laifeng County. Over 98% of the more than 50 families living here belong to the Yao family clan. Their ancestors were the Yaos from Guizhou who fled famine over 300 years ago and settled here to build a life.

Seven old houses from the Republican era remain, but nearly 30 others, despite being only about 30 years old, are already severely dilapidated. Only 40 elderly residents over the age of 60 still live here.

In 2013, it was listed in the Catalogue of Traditional Chinese Villages.

Geliche Township is the only township in Hubei named using the Tujia language. “Geliche” means “fierce river” in Tujia. Here, the Geliche River system flows from north to south, while the Shengxi River system and several seasonal streams run from the west. These waters converge into the Geliche River, giving the Geliche town area a layout surrounded by water on three sides and backed by mountains on the fourth. Whenever mountain floods occur, the rushing, towering waters make this “fierce river” as dangerous as a beast—hence the name.

Tiejianggou lies on the mountainside of a valley in Gujia Mountain Village in western Geliche. It is surrounded by rolling hills and crisscrossing gullies, with one north-south ravine dividing it into two parts. The eastern part is called Wachangping, and the western part is called Dayuanba. The two residential areas are separated by a gully about 50 meters wide.

The Yao family is the predominant clan in Tiejianggou. Legend has it that the Yao ancestors were once renowned blacksmiths in Guizhou. Forced by hardship, they fled famine from Tongren Prefecture in Guizhou to Geliche. Seeing the dense forests and high mountains—and noticing that local farming households had few tools—they gathered ore, built furnaces, and began crafting iron tools and utensils for a living. Later, they married local Tujia women, settled down, and put down roots. Thus, the name “Tiejianggou” (Ironsmith Valley) came into being.

Time flies. The Tiejianggou of 300 years ago has become a memory, and the ironworking skills of the Yao smiths have long been lost. Today, no iron furnaces remain in Tiejianggou, but there are stone enclosures built from bluestone, as well as stone pestles, stone mills, and stone rollers used for hulling rice.

Yao Youming, 64, says that the mountains and valleys around Tiejianggou are covered with excellent bamboo forests. Many years ago, the ancestors shifted from heavy labor to fine craftsmanship, turning to bamboo weaving. The Yao family’s bamboo work became a well-known local brand. Every Yao family here has inherited bamboo-weaving skills—whether it’s sieves, baskets, winnowing trays, bamboo chairs, or even some handicrafts—as long as the Yao family sets their eyes on it, they can weave it with lifelike detail and lasting durability.

Thirty years ago, when some of the older houses in the village were renovated, their original appearance was largely preserved—the shiny “cold benches” at the door, the thick main beams inside the houses, the ancestral altars in the main halls where family tablets are enshrined, the “Six Harmonies Doors” on the main hall doors symbolizing “brotherly harmony,” the mortar and pestle used for making glutinous rice cakes during the lunar December, and the grinding stones used for weaving baskets during the farming off-season…

Yao Youqiang, a former village committee official, speaks with sorrow about the current desolation: “The two courtyards of Tiejianggou used to be home to over 200 people. Now, there are only 40. The young and able have gone out to work, the children have followed them to the cities, and those left behind are elderly who can’t bear to leave their hometown. With no one living in the houses, the village naturally has no vitality. In a few more years, these houses will all collapse.”