Map of Fěnhóngsè Estuary

One of China’s Invisible Rivers. The Fěnhóngsè carries with it seeds and multicolored petals from the very core of the Empire. It ends its journey just like it began: as a fanned-out network of rivulets and waterways spread so wide as to virtually disappear into the landscape.

Vast fields of lotus grow in the sediment of the river deltas. Among the area’s impoverished fishermen and rice-farmers, tales abound of golden riches hidden in the silt; lost trinkets stolen away by the currents inland. The local herons seem to listen in on the stories, stalking long-leggedly between the lily petals and expertly spearing small goldfish for themselves.

The summer rains have carved natural terraces out of the slopes of Cherry-pit Peak. They are too dry for growing rice, too brittle to properly irrigate, and so are left to the whims of nature. Bees keep hidden-away caches of honey among the wildflowers. People say the bees live by a strict hierarchy: that the quality of the honey increases with each step up, and that the Thrice-Striped Queen rules from on high. By the shoreline, the mountain roots cradle a beach of miniature peach trees, whose sweet fruit more than make up for their small stature. Shrunken peach pits are mixed in with the smooth stones of the strand.

At the mouth of the sea sits Turtle-shell Archipelago, home to tucked-away communities of fishermen and women. Across the bay their cousin clans pluck rice from marbled ponds. The calm waters between them are dotted with makeshift floating markets and the toy boats of children. Glittering ripples tell of curious fish tasting the air.

Fěnhóngsè Estuary, East China Mainland

Artography - Maps of places not real - Vol. 01