Blogs from Shaoyang, Hunan, China, Asia

Hi All, Situated in Loudi county only a 4 and a half hour bus ride away is the former residence of Zeng GuoFan. Zeng was a soldier in the late Qing dynasty being loyal to the emperor and helping to quell the Taiping rebellion. For his loyalty he was made a Marquis and had this wonderful house built. It is the largest house of this type remaining in China. It only survived the ravages of the Cultural Revolution because it was used by the Red Guards as a barracks and meeting place. There are some faded Chinese characters on the front of the building from this era although it is impossible to see what they actually say. Inside there is some Mao ZeDong Thought graffiti that has survived and has been preserved. Zeng was a devout ... read more

Hi All, I know it's been a while but to be honest the weather hasn't been its best and I haven't had time either. Finally the sun has come out and it's also the May Day holiday so I went out on my new bike for a ride around. It doesn't take long before you're out of the city and into the countryside. It's a long time since I've been in the north of the city, it has really changed. It was like a building site 3 years ago. It was good to be out on two wheels again. The traffic wasn't too bad, although, cars slowing down to stare at me were a little bit close for comfort sometimes. Enjoy the photos Jah Bless... read more

They say, once you fall in love for the first time, you never forget it. Even when a second love comes around, it's not quite as pure as that initial one. They also say if you love something, you should let it go. If it's meant to be, it'll come back to you. But if you love something so deeply, even if you let it go, it's impossible to completely release your heart from it. Even if the thing has long since disappeared into the distance, hidden in the setting sun, you can still feel it, just waiting for you to catch up to it. So, this is me here in China, sitting down with my first and my second passions in life and wondering which one I should really dedicate myself towards. With the first, ... read more

It was upon watching a movie with my dear friends about a young man trying to prove he was responsible enough to expand on his family's business by going to rural China that I suddenly realized that was the very place I wanted to go. After much talk and consideration, and nearly ultimately deciding against it (for my initial experiences in Korea weren't good), I changed my mind and signed the contract. The university was persistent and my curiosity wasn't subsiding so off I went. First, of course, I went to Korea. After that first night, the rest of the trip was actually amazing. I realized a whole other side to the country that I'd either let or made myself didn't exist in my lifetime there. Seoul though, and this visit I had the privilege of ... read more

Hi All, It's been a while, in fact I've been a little lazy since going back to work. So my some of my family came over to see us here this summer. My mum, dad and youngest daughter Keeley were our guests. It was fantastic to see them. So we went to Xiaoshajiang to where me and Dany went to in July. I asked our friend, thank you Rebecca, to write down in Chinese that we wanted to hire a mini van and travel around the sights for a day. The hotel manager did us proud. A guy and his daughter took us around to what was some jaw dropping scenery. The photos really don't do the scenery justice. The rice terraces appeared to be clinging to the mountain sides by their fingertips. After lunch we ... read more