Are These Chinese Villages Resting on the Fountain of Youth?

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  10.20.08 | 10:07 AM ET

imageAn unusually large number of very old people live in hamlets near the Vietnam border in China’s scenic Guangxi Autonomous Region, creating a so-called “longevity cluster.” So how do you market a place like Bama county, home to 250,000 and 74 centenarians, to the Western world? Bill it as a haven for health tourism, reports The Wall Street Journal. Visitors can have a low-cost spa vacation by simply breathing the air, drinking the local water and eating meals here.

Luo Ronghui, a local tourism official, told the Journal that there are also plans for high-end accommodations and a visitors’ center. Meanwhile, those who aren’t interested in the alleged life-extending powers of the longevity villages can also check out the area’s amazing scenery: caverns, limestone karsts and the unusual mud and stone homes in the area.

Photo by B_cool via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Tags: Eco Travel, Asia, China, News and Briefs

Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


1 Comment for Are These Chinese Villages Resting on the Fountain of Youth?

Ling 10.20.08 | 11:51 AM ET

I’d heard about people in China not being allowed to raise more than 1 child or keep dogs in the city, but not being allowed to die… :)

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