The Secret to Longevity

塔坪村98歲老人劉運江與其76歲弟弟（左）98-year-old Liu Yunjiang and his 76-year-old brother(left)in Taping Village

L ocated in Shennongjia Forestry District,Taping Village of Hongping Town enjoys a pleasant climate and fresh air.Clouds haunt this Arcadian village year round;the natural resources here are well-protected.With a population of more than 300 villagers,the village is known as a“longevity village”for it has more than 10 villagers who are over 80,and two who are over 90.

Villagers here all adhere to traditional living habits.Most families eat coarse cereals such as corn,potatoes,and buckwheat that grew in their own fields as their staple foods.All vegetables they eat are grown on their own farms and are free from fertilizers or pesticides.The spring water they drink is uncontaminated. Here, the dried fruit,walnuts,and chestnuts are abundant,and the quality of the localhoney is quite good.

Besides longevity,the old in this village are in good health and most stillwork in the fields.98-year-old Liu Yunjiang is one ofthem.

劉運江每天勞動98-year-old Liu Yunjiang keeps working every day

He was harvesting corn in the field when we entered the village.His cheeks were rosy and his voice was loud and clear.Though not tall,his hands and feet were strong enough to get his work done quickly.He also grew potatoes,sweet potatoes,peppers,and cucumbers all on his own.

He gets up at dawn every day,walking around in the nearby mountains before making himself breakfast,and then goes to work in the fields.Without any hobbies,he just does farm work every day.Just like he mentioned,“To do farm work is my hobby.”

Without any unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking,Liu Yunjiang hasn’t suffered from any diseases.He can still mow pig-weeds and carry them home on foot from mountains miles away.When we proposed to visit his home,he went ahead to guide us.He was so flexible and fit that we couldn’t even keep up with him on the crooked mountain road.

Owing to the inconvenient transportation,villagers seldom go far from home,nor are they disturbed by the outside world.When Liu Yunjiang was young,he worked outside his hometown for a few years.After he was given his fields by the government,he planted his fields and hasn’t left since.He is content with his simple and comfortable life now.

長壽秘密

位于神農架林區紅坪鎮的塔坪村氣候宜人、空氣新鮮，天然資源保護完好，常年云霧繚繞，儼然世外桃源。在這個300多人的小村里，80歲以上的老人有10多人，90歲以上的有2人，是著名的“長壽村”。

長壽村的居民生活習慣比較傳統，大部分家庭以自種的玉米、土豆、蕎麥等雜糧為主食。吃的蔬菜也是自家種植的，不施化肥、不灑農藥。喝的是未被污染的山泉水。這里干果如核桃、板栗等極為豐富，天然蜂蜜品質也好。

這里的老人除了長壽以外身體還很硬朗，在地里勞作的高齡老人隨處可見，98歲高齡的劉運江就是其中一位。

我們進村時，他正在地里掰玉米。只見他臉頰紅潤、吐詞清晰、聲音洪亮，個頭不高，但手腳有力，干起活來比較利索。除了玉米，他還種了土豆、紅薯、辣椒、黃瓜等農作物，基本上都是他一個人打理。

劉運江沒有什么興趣愛好，每天除了吃飯、休息，就是干農活。他每天天一亮就起床，起來后先在附近山里轉一圈，再做早飯，然后就去地里干活。他說：“干農活就是玩”。

劉運江不抽煙，也不喝酒，身體沒有過什么大毛病。他每天從山下打的豬草都是自己徒步扛回家，之間有好幾里路程，但他說沒問題。我們提議去他家里看看，他便在前面帶路。蜿蜒崎嶇的山路，我們竟然跟不上他。

由于交通不便，村民們很少出遠門，也很少受外界干擾，生活清靜。劉運江年輕的時候在外打過幾年工，分得土地以后就在家種地，再沒有出去過。他很滿足現在這種怡然自得的生活。