“It is easier to climb to heaven than to take the Road in Sichuan.” This is a poem by Li Bai that complains about the poor traffic in Sichuan. Situated in the southeast of Sichuan province and nearby to Wuling Mountain, Youyanng is on the east side of the YunGui Plateau. With luxuriant forests, this area is strategically located and difficult of access. Normally, villagers can be seen “shouldering” heavy loads in flat areas. However, in plateau carrying loads on the back is more efficient because villagers can use both hands to assist their climbing. Thus “carrying on one’s back” becomes an indispensable part of production and life, creating a culture on the backs of the local people.

According to the content and material, this “culture” carried on the back falls into two main types: “basket” and “bucket”. The “basket” is weaved by bamboo and rattan, usually used to load solids. While the “bucket”  is a wooden container that can hold liquids. These two kinds of containers have different styles in different geographical conditions.

In the ancient agricultural civilization, Tujia people in Wulin Mountain area saw longevity turtles as their totem. They have developed a sophisticated skill in making Grapefruit Turtles by hand, including molding the  face, mouth, eyes, and feet of turtles, which also had  the Chinese character “回”  on their back shells.

The nursery rhyme ”Little Basket” pops out when it comes to this topic. Western Hunan is known as the “Hometown of Pack Baskets”. But this time when walking in the streets of Youyang, a place far  from Hunan, we unexpectedly found that baskets were everywhere. It is clear that baskets are a common tool for delivery, production and daily life. 

The local buildings in Youyang have their own distinct features.

In the east part of Youyang, residences are mostly made up of tiled cottages. However, in the central and southwest of Youyang, they are mostly built at the foot of the mountains, which are typically Diaojiao Buildings. The traditional form of Youyang local buildings is like this: there is a yard in the front, behind which the house is built. Near the house is the forest. The average area is 16 square meters per person (including attached buildings).