We thought it would be safe to do a getaway weekend from May 13-16, since Julie's baby was officially due on May 22nd. Our main concern with travelling to China was that Jeff's phone does not work there, but at the very least he has email. Good thing, since baby Shane decided to make his grand arrival on May 15th, weighing in at 8 lb. 10 oz. Welcome to the family, Shane!
Now back to our trip. First of all, Xiamen is pronounced "Shamen". It's a small (2.4 million) city located on the east coast of China, an hour's flight northeast of Hong Kong. There are
160 cities in China with population over one million. In Canada, Xiamen would be our third largest city! (btw - most of our friends in Hong Kong have also never heard of it)
We were inspired to go to Xiamen and the rural agricultural area around it by Arlene and John, who visited it in between their two long weekends with us in HK (blog, Apr. 1, 2011), and brought us back a beautiful souvenir book about the Tulou district. This was the easiest trip to arrange - an email to Dave at
Interlake was all it took. We asked him to book us on the "Arlene and John tour to Xiamen", and within a day we were all set.
Unfortunately, we couldn't order the fine weather that A and J had in February. We left HK in a downpour, and arrived in Xiamen to the same wet conditions. Our guide, Terry, and driver (we never did learn his name) met us at the airport, and out of the city we went, passing the usual grey, concrete, landscape so common to the industrial areas of China. The rain made everything seem even more drab. However, about an hour outside the city, we were suddenly in the countryside - lush, green, terraced hills. Tea country! Jeff perked up!
The condition of the roads deteriorated the deeper we went into the rural district. The Chinese are building millions of miles of roads and high speed trains. Safety does not seem to be a major concern, as we found out when we got to the roadblock in the photo. Landslides are common, and thankfully, the one we experienced was only downed trees, shrubs, and small rocks. In Western countries, when roads are paved through mountainous areas, the hills are protected by netting or a gunite coating. It seems like roads are bulldozed through China, and then perhaps as an afterthought, the hillsides might eventually be reinforced to protect passing traffic. Kudos to our guide, who helped clear the road, and to our driver, who expertly steered us around the mess.
Our destination was Taixia Village, in the heart of the Tulou district. The Zhang clan has lived in this village for hundreds of years - it was a throwback to centuries past. The village has a river running through it, with old stone bridges linking the two sides of the town. The cobblestone sidewalks also serve as roads, and it's quite tricky to drive, especially with no barriers between the road and the river.
We were billeted at a Chinese inn, which in good weather has local charm. Unfortunately, the rain brought out the mosquitoes, so we doused ourselves with bug repellant, and hid inside our room. In addition, supplies could not get through to the restaurants in the town, so the only option for dinner was a home cooked meal at the inn. The beef and roasted potatoes were delicious and a treat, since we are rarely served potatoes in Asia.
The following morning, before setting off to visit the Tulous, we walked through the village (the rain had finally let up). Outside the main temple there were numerous tall concrete banners. Terry explained that these were erected in honour of famous clansmen. Some of the banners were topped off by lion heads, denoting military prowess, while others were had paint brush tops, signifying high-ranking civil servants.
Then it was on to the
Tulous. These buildings are China's answer to adobes: they are made of earth, stone, bamboo, and whatever else is readily available. Most are round, but some are rectangular. The centre of each structure is an open courtyard with a temple. The oldest structures date back to the 1400s, while the newest was built in the 1960s. Each Tulou houses more than 50 families! The ground floor rooms are the kitchens, the second floor is used for storage, and the third and fourth stories contain the living quarters of the families. Today, many of the inhabitants sit either inside or just outside their kitchens, selling fresh tea or souvenirs. Jeff was treated to a tea ceremony, and, of course, bought some of the local fare. In the photo, you can see that each kitchen has its own well. There are also chickens running around, oblivious to their eventual fate!
The village kids are adorable. These two, clad in denim, were having a very animated conversation, just outside the walls of their Tulou. And just in case we wondered if American influence had passed this area by, we noticed large umbrellas with NBA logos!
Life is still fairly primitive in this part of of rural China. The butcher arrives in the villages in a three-wheeled truck, and sells his meat from a shelf in the back of his vehicle. Rice paddies are tilled by hand. The biggest change, like elsewhere in China, is that young people are leaving the villages to work in the factories of the cities. It will be very interesting to revisit China in the future to observe the consequences of the demographic shifts.
We spent two wonderful days (rain notwithstanding) in Xiamen. The
Lujiang Hotel was luxurious (even more so compared to the Taixia inn!), and our balcony overlooked the sea and Gulang Yu beyond. Each morning there was a colourful parade along the waterfront promenade, and we also enjoyed watching the ferries move back and forth from Xiamen to Gulang Yu.
The first evening in Xiamen, we followed Arlene and John's suggestion and had dinner at the Jiali seafood restaurant. Jiali is an enormous banquet hall/restaurant facility. The lobby's decor reminded us of a grand hotel in Miami Beach. We were escorted to the second floor, which looked like a hotel corridor with rooms on their side - these are private dining rooms. In our room, the table was set for 10, but after we were seated, the other eight place settings were removed! An English-speaking waiter arrived to explain the picture-filled menu to us. I'm not sure what we ate, but it was all delicious!
Our guide accompanied us to Gulang Yu by ferry the next morning. This island is famous for its colonial architecture. Many magnificent mansions, churches and consulates were built during the late 19th-early 20th centuries. A good portion of these buildings have been restored, and, since the island is car- and bicycle-free (except for the postman), it is delightful to walk through the old streets. We watched a very entertaining hand-puppet show. The action moved so quickly that all of our photos are blurry.
At one end of the island, there's a very pretty park, in the centre of which there is a piano museum, showcasing more than 200 pianos, dating back centuries. My favourite was an upright piano that was designed to fit in a corner! I can't imagine playing on an angled keyboard.
Aside from Gulang Yu, we also enjoyed a visit to the Hulishan Fortress. We arrived at the Fortress in time to watch the show - a procession of warriors in red and gold, who eventually made their way to the top of the hill where they fired a very loud cannon. The main attraction is the enormous Krupp cannon, which weighs 50 tons. The Fortress played a major role during the Japanese aggression in the 1930s. In fact, signs proudly proclaimed that one Japanese warship was destroyed, and a second badly disabled.
As you can see, the rain held off during our day in Gulang Yu and Hulishan, but it returned with a vengeance the following morning. Our motto is that weather should never deter us from seeing everything on our agenda, so off we went (with Terry) to the Nanputuo Temple complex. Truly the most magnificent Buddhist temples we've seen in China (the Chi Lin Nunnery in HK is a close second). Not only are there multiple temples on the vast site, but there is also a monastery, a seminary, and a popular vegetarian restaurant.
Terry suggested that we might enjoy walking up the steep path behind the temples. I think we did it just to have "bragging rights", because when we reached the summit, it was raining so hard, even the local rooster was hiding! Well, it was an activity to keep us busy for a while before heading to the airport and back to Hong Kong.
There were thousands of Mainland visitors in Xiamen. Almost all of them were in tour groups, and each group was defined by their hats! My favourite group wore a reversible Burberry/red hat. Very stylish!
Speaking of stylish ... or not ... the woman and child on the right win my weekly "fashionista" awards.
And the flowers are beautiful wherever we go!
