Sometimes when people tell me things I find myself a little incredulous. For instance when they said to me that Chengdu was full of beautiful girls, or that I must visit Huangshan mountain - on account of it being the one of the most beautiful scenic areas of China.
Traditional Chinese Buildings in the Huangshan area
From Nanjing (situated in the south of Jiangsu) Anhui is a short distance away - perhaps about an hour away to the south. After a about 3 more hours, The Huangshan resort pops into view. The toll roads on that day were fairly empty, and the newly upgraded road very smooth indeed.
We turned right off the main road into a recently built holiday village, with restaurants either side of the road a petrol station and luckly for me some toilet facilities. Further up the road we enter the mountainous region.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were shown to our rooms and then to lunch. Then the tourism began! First stop was the ancient walled village.
Inside the walled village, the ancient buidlings still stood. Traditional Chinese town houses have large entrances for horses or oxen, a small shrine (most often with a Buddha effigy) in a courtyard about the width of the dwelling.
The sleeping quarters traditionally are found by climbing some steps towards the back of the court. The age of the buildings are usually supported by the wear of the stones placed at the entrance.
One touristy thing I always make sure to do is take a good look at the local people and strike up a conversation. "Ni shi bu shi Mingzu ma?" I ask them.
On this occasion I recieved the reply "Bu Shi" meaning no. In other words they don't belong to one of the 56 minorities of China, and that they are "Hanzu" Han people. Having said that, that doesn't mean that they all resmble eachother - although luckily for me they can understand the limited Chinese vocabulary I do have.
As interested in me as I am them, the man I picked on for my fact finding mission turned the tables and began asking me questions. Naturally being couped up in the walled village, with tourists saying fairly little. The man was curious to hear where I (we) had come from, what its like and so on.
Its moments like these I enjoy most about my expeditions. Meeting people and exchanging information. People that aren't city people, people that have no way to learn English, people that make my speaking Chinese (together with my curious nature) all the more worthwhile.
On that evening we had a bizzare kind of BBQ in the open to loud music and in view of a large fire. We played some games like skipping, tug of war and an American teacher even brought with him a Frizbee! Well that was all good fun! I had a go at everything and although we had a nice time, it was becoming cold, and we were all glad to get back to the hotel for the night.
A typical view in Huangshan - China
The following day was hike day, although I was not particularly keen. Hiking is never one of those things that particularly apeals to me. Fitness has eluded me for a while, so I usually find myself quite out of puff. This time however I wasn't so bad, and better still I didn't have to lug my camera around - I had a secret weapon; my Samsung Galazy mini S4!
First stop - large rock pool at the base of a waterfall
The walk lasted about 3 hours, at a fairly relaxed pace. There were plenty of places for the group to reconviene and to take photos. What took my interest mostly was the stunning natural beauty of the waterfalls, mountains and bamboo forest, especially views which are only available in the far east.
The first views were of terrific waterfalls, with the clearest pools of water at the bottom. The trail continued higher and higher until we reached a massive gong at the top.
Legend has it that beating the gong a number of times give different lucky outcomes.
1 Bang for .........
2 Bangs for Long life
3 Bangs for ........... and ..............
The path through the bamboo forest gradually decended. Relieved, I began to stumbe accross even more stunning scenery.
Bamboo Forest - enjoying the decent!
One of the most interesting ideas I had along the trip was the idea of tranquility and a slow pace of life. Imagine if left alone, how many generations could work the same pieces of land. If farming has been around for 5,000 years - how many generations could live a similar lifestyle. All with strong connections to the generations before them.
Somehow this is easier to imagine in a large seemingly undisturbed area like Huangshan. On the way back, the manager explained to me how her ancestors had lived in the surrounding area. Not far fromwhere that her ancestors were land owning people and that her grandmother was well educated.
Its the personal stories that touch the most. I'm not sure what made her take the time to divulge all this, but I was glad she did. The conversation was cut a little short, and I guess we never had the time to join the dots clearly. Perhaps I can find an appropriate moment in the future to find out more.
Left - "Same place, different outlooks" - beautiful.
"Hope you enjoyed the trip!"
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