There are many amazing places on Earth where absolutely everything seems alien, from the inhabitants themselves to their customs and mores. One gets the impression that they have one common secret. We invite you to take a trip to the most incredible corners of our planet and find out all the details.
1. Kingdom of little people (China)
Unusual people have a difficult time in our world, but they have their own magic kingdom near Kunming. This unique place was created by businessman Chen Mingjing for all Chinese people with dwarfism. Today the local population is 125 people.
The inhabitants of the Kingdom wear colorful costumes of gnomes, princesses and guards, and the buildings here are shaped like trees and mushrooms. People live in cozy hostels with custom-made furniture and everyone has a job. They put on shows, conduct excursions, and spend weekends on household chores, take free English courses, play volleyball and poker.
There is a lot of controversy around the Kingdom, but the dwarfs themselves consider themselves happy people. They have their own little corner with home, work and good infrastructure, including a school, hospital, supermarkets and a flower shop. And most importantly, no one here will laugh after them.
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2. Happy Pirahan people (Brazil)
People from the rainforests of the Amazon are called the happiest on Earth, and the fact is that their world is much simpler than ours. Pirahan know only two numbers - "a few" and "a lot", divide the colors into "dark" and "light". These people live without clocks and calendars, have one or two meals a day, sleep no more than twenty minutes at a time, so that "a long sleep does not leave them exhausted."
Pirahans have only three degrees of kinship: parent, child, and brother / sister. They do not know what property and hierarchy are, so there are no murders and thefts.
The Pirahan are happy, they sing at night and believe that dreams and reality are equally important. They change their names once every seven years, they know everything about hundreds of plants and animals. Their children have no toys, they spend time with dogs, flowers and forest spirits.
3. Island of long-livers Ikaria (Greece)
Every third inhabitant of Ikaria lives up to ninety years, and most of the population - up to a hundred. The secret to longevity lies in the stunning nature and few tourists However, there are no lonely people here - as many as ten thousand optimists live on Ikaria.
The inhabitants of the island hardly know what Alzheimer's disease and other age-related ailments are. Stamatis Moraitis (pictured above) whiled away his "last days" here. The doctors were sure that he had only a few months left, but he lived on the island for another thirty-seven happy years.
Here people are in no hurry, work as best they can and go for walks in the mountains. They love olive oil, sourdough bread and herbal tea, and in the evenings they sit down with neighbors over a jug of wine. When a resident of Ikaria was asked about their secret, she jokingly replied: "Yes, we just forget to die here!"
4. Capital of the twins Candida Godoy (Brazil)
The city is famous for the abnormally large number of twin children. In Candida Godoy there are more than forty pairs of twins per eighty families. Most of them moved here from Germany during the First World War. In the 90s, an unusual phenomenon attracted the attention of journalists, and therefore soon the place received the telling name "the capital of the twins".
Scientists have put forward various theories of the phenomenon, from special water to the secret experiments of Josef Mengele. According to local legends, a Nazi doctor traveled through the region disguised as a veterinarian. It was then that the first twin boom was recorded. By the way, local teachers have a hard time, because in the classroom it is extremely difficult to distinguish students from each other.
5. Ostrich people from the Wadoma tribe (Zimbabwe)
Most of the representatives of Vadoma are distinguished by a characteristic genetic pathology - ectrodactyly. Due to the lack of three middle toes, they are often called ostrich feet. According to scientists, the cause of the anomaly may lie in ancient customs that prohibited marriages outside the tribe.
One Vadoma man who has two five-toed and three two-toed children recalls: “As a child, I did not consider myself special. The mother and other people also had two toes. I never felt any discomfort: I was always active and could walk to Francistown."
6. Amish (Canada and USA)
This is a religious movement of Protestant pacifists that originated in the 17th century in Europe and was later expelled by Catholics to the New World. Now their settlements are located mainly in Canada and the States. The Amish do not take up arms, live without taxes and government assistance. Their main activities are agriculture and crafts.
The Amish of the new rite willingly use modern technology, but the Old Believers follow all the rules: they refuse cars, phones, computers and use a plow in plowing.
The families in the communities are large, each with at least five children. Women traditionally wear caps, do not dye or cut their hair, and refuse jewelry. Men do not shave their beards after marriage.
Children study until eighth grade. At the age of fifteen, during the roomspring period, they gain the right to break the rules and leave the communities. Young Amish explore the outside world: buy fashionable clothes, taste alcohol and cigarettes. However, ninety percent of young people eventually decide to return and be baptized.
7. Arden Art Village (USA)
In the early 20th century, two friends - sculptor Frank Stevens and architect Will Price - rented a piece of land in Delaware and created an art colony on it. A calm rural life, independent labor and only one tax - land tax - awaited creative people here.
Freedom-loving art creators liked the idea. Artists, musicians and writers set out to develop the settlement by selling their wares. Citizens of Arden adhered to the principles of Georgism: everyone owns what he has created, and the gifts of nature can be used by everyone.
Over time, the colony turned into a corner of joy. Tourists come here for fairs and festivals, buy original products of local people and admire buildings made in the style of medieval England.
8. Hogway - "Truman show" for old people (Holland)
The pretty village has houses, supermarkets, cafes and a fountain. Only its inhabitants are patients of the humane clinic for senile dementia patients. The goal of Hogway is to provide them with all the necessary conditions for a normal life.
Old people live in wards-apartments for five or six people and are under constant supervision of staff. But you won't see doctors in white coats here - they disguise themselves as salesmen, hairdressers and other workers. The wards are stylized for the time when the patients began to experience memory impairments (70s, 90s, etc.), and the food seems homemade.
Inhabitants of Hogway go for walks, shopping, ride bicycles. They also have the opportunity to practice their favorite hobbies: gardening, music and painting. There is also occupational therapy - help in cooking and taking care of someone.
Hogway's patients do not suffer from loneliness and hardly feel their illness. In the "village" the old people regain their appetite, they become more sociable, they need less medicine.
9. Finca Bellavista - paradise in the trees (Costa Rica)
The history of this community began when newlyweds Matthew and Erica Hogan acquired land in a jungle threatened with logging. On a picturesque plot, they decided to build a tree house, and soon they had like-minded people who also love nature.
Ten years later, an eco-town has grown on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Locals use solar panels, walk on cable cars and collect rainwater, they grow fruits and vegetables, and they use waste for biorefinery.
Here, each house is as unique as a snowflake and boasts a magical view from the window. And there are always many animals nearby, which gather in the noise of people.
Many residents rent their homes to tourists who want to try out Erica and Matthew's “primal” idea. Enjoy a cozy room, internet, dining and of course the stunning Costa Rican landscape.
Author: Maria Shcherova