The Truth About The Astonishing Mysterious Dwarf Village of China
The Unsolved Mystery of China’s Dwarf Village
Just like the mysterious Twin Town of India, China too has something weird and mysterious to offer – the Village of Dwarfs! Located in Sichuan Province in southwest China is a remote village known as Yangsi. This village is pretty unusual because it is full of dwarfs. 40% of the residents in the village are dwarfs. It is not that the dwarfs came in from all around China and settled there. They were all born and raised in Yangsi.
With about 40% of its inhabitants being several heads shorter than an average human being, China’s dwarf village Yangsi has been puzzling scientists for decades. It is situated in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. 36 of the 80 residents are dwarfs – the tallest one is about 3 ft. 10 inches tall and the shortest, 2 ft. 1 inch.
There is no proper explanation for this till date but it is definitely not something to be ignored. From testing the inhabitants to testing the grains, soil, and water of the area, scientists have literally tried every possible method to arrive at an answer. According to village elders, their peaceful, happy life was ruined on a summer night many years ago, when a vile disease struck the region.
The village itself and its secrets remained long hidden from the world, yet numerous sightings of mysterious “little people” were reported by travelers through the area since at least the late 19th century, to the point that they were believed by the superstitious as mythical, perhaps supernatural beings.
The condition of stunned growth in Yangsi was officially discovered in 1951 but reports of dwarf sightings date as far back as 1911. Dr. Karyl Robin Evans – an English scientist claimed that he actually saw a few hundred dwarfs in the area where the Village of Dwarfs is located. He made his claim in 1947, which is 4 years prior to the official discovery.
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Interestingly, the Chinese government never denies the existence of the village but it has not yet opened the village for foreigners. The government has not provided any legit explanation for such restrictions but has just implemented it.
Elder residents in Yangsi reported that they used to enjoy a peaceful life until one night in summer, a mysterious illness came by and struck children between the age group of 5 to 7 and those children simply stopped growing. It is not that their growths became stunned but many of them also suffered from various physical disabilities.
Villagers have come up with several other explanations. For instance, some say that when the Japanese invaded China, they released toxic gases which caused this problem. However, during the Japanese invasion, the Jap soldiers didn’t really reach the Yangsi village. Proponents of this toxic gas theory are simply reluctant to accept that the Japs never reached place.
Scientists have even extensively tested the soil here, as well as the water supply and the grains grown here, but have found nothing at all out of the ordinary. Not a single rational explanation for why this one secluded village should display such an intense rate of dwarfing has ever been discovered, and it has managed to mystify the scientific world for decades.
Several locals suffered from a mysterious condition that mainly affected young children between the ages of 5 and 7. These children just stopped growing, remaining at the same height for the rest of their lives. Apart from their inability to grow taller, some of the victims also suffered from various other disabilities.
Other theories conjured up by villagers include the Japanese invasion of China which led to the release of various toxic gases. However, the Japanese never reached Yangsi. Some say that it is their ancestors who have brought down this wrath on them because they were not given their much-deserved burial. Others say that the area’s bad feng shui is responsible for the stunted growth.
While these reasons are pretty weird, the most bizarre of all explanations is that of the curse of a black turtle. According to the story, a black turtle with strange feet was spotted by a man named Wang. The villagers suffered a dilemma between letting the turtle go and feasting on it. And because of the rebellious taste buds and the cynic mentality, they ended up killing the turtle, roasting it and feasting on it. Villagers now believe that it was the turtle’s curse that laid down the wrath on the children and the future generations.
Today, their numbers have shrunk to just 80 but it used to be 119. In 1997, high levels of mercury concentrations in the soil were suspected to be a possible explanation but there was hardly any evidence to support this theory. The Chinese government never denies the existence of the village but no foreigners are allowed to visit it.
Throughout the years, several residents have left the region in fear of being affected by the strange condition, but things seem to be improving. While many of the older locals are up to 80 centimeters in height, the new generation seems to be unaffected by the weird dwarfism phenomenon.
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Till date, it remains an unsolved mystery. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves story fans, are you listening?
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