My biking trip adventure in Fujian province.

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It was spring festival holiday in China. This involves endless firecrackers being let off in the streets throughout the week and over a billion people travelling to their family homes. It was recommended to us to avoid travelling since all public transportation are booked up and relatively more expensive than usual. Perhaps travel on bike would be a good idea. I got further inspired while on one of my longish bike rides in the mountains surrounding Fuzhou, when I came across a guy biking home for the spring festival. He was going to Gutain, just 130km up the road! He had no pannier bags, just a ruksack attached to a rack on the back of his bike. I stopped and had lunch with him, which was quite handy because he ordered some decent vegetarian food. His english was almost as non-existant as my Chinese so there wasn't exactly a great deal of conversation going on. Anyway, replenished after lunch, we departed in our different directions.

So, just before Spring break was due, I attached a rack and bought a luggage strap. Sorted! I was ready to leave for my biking adventure! Simply as that.

Day one

The original plan was to head up northwards into the mountains but weather permitted I ventured towards the south instead. The first part of the journey was Fuzhou to Putian. There was nothing to write home about in this leg of the journey. Typical sights of construction, characterless towns and factories along the way. The East coast of China is notorious for it's industry, so no surprises there. One thing about Spring Festival is that most shops are closed. Everywhere is a bit of a ghost town and the place where I stayed my first night was nooo exception. Anyway I was able to keep my bike in the room, and boy the room was spacious. After biking the whole day I wrapped up early since there was no dinner available and had a great sleep in a comfy bed which wasn't hard for a change.

Day two

Early the next morning, breakfast consisted of some hard steamed buns, soggy rice and vegetables in a room with Chinese guys slurpping on their food. Ok, its their country and its rude of me to comment but it just paints the picture slightly.

The next leg of my journey was Putian to Quanzhou, a small city (by China standards) close to the sea with some interesting architecture. Again the bike down was nothing special. It had been my intention to divert but since I got a flat tyre and used up the spare inner tube I just ended up going straight. I saw this abandoned truck along the way. Or perhaps it was just a poor attempt at parking, I can't be too sure really. I also came across a guy selling guns and masheties by the side of the road. I felt rather unsettled by the site of it.

I arrived in Quanzhou, found a place to stay and ate barbeque street food...delicious! Especially since I hadn't had a proper meal for the last couple of days?

Day three

Today my task was to either get the bus or the train across to Longyan. Close by to this city you can find some of the tradtional Hakka tulou. The Hakkas who settled in mountainous south western Fujian province in China developed unique architectural buildings called tu lou, literally meaning earthen structures. Because of the undesirable mountainous regions, the Hakkas set up these unique homes to prevent attack from bandits and marauders. The tu lou are either round or square, and were designed as a large fortress and apartment building in one. Structures typically had only one entranceway and no windows at ground level. Each floor served a different function - the first hosts a well and livestock, the second is for food storage and the third and higher floors contain living spaces. Tu lou can be found mostly in south western Fujian and southern Jiangxi provinces.

I had much scepticism about getting my bike onto the public transport here. It doesn't help that my Chinese is nearly non-existant either. Communication is usually a sliiight problem for me here. I went to the train station first...success!... they said I could take my bike on. The train wasn't till the evening though. That was a bit of bummer since it meant I wouldn't arrive in Longyan till after 9pm. Do I risk going to an unknown city in the night without knowing what accomodation is available? Yes I decided to chance it. I biked around Quanzhou for the day, including the mountain, Qingyuan. I refused the 80 kuai entrance fee so ended up turning back. So many places of interest charge such hefty fees to visit. One way of preventing the over large population crowding to these places I guess. It's all rather generic if you ask me and there is a lack of adventure in exploring a place that has been created into a tourist trap.

I caught the train and headed to Longyan after being laughed at by the station security staff and then shouted at by the train guards. I still took it onto the train. There's plenty of room to be perfectly honest.

Longyan at 9pm during the holiday is pretty desolate. I saw a hotel near the train station labelled Business hotel. I assumed this is where visitors stay when coming to do business. Instinct told me not to go to the first place I see but I kept the place in mind. After searching round I decided to head back up there. It was close to the station after all. On entering the reception it seemed ok. They didn't let me take my bike into the room so I had to leave it down in the lobby....rather risky but it wasn't like I had much choice. What a seedy, hell hole of a place that turned out to be. I could hear people coming and going all through the night and I was sure my bike would be missing the next morning. The best thing about this place was I got up at the crack of dawn, without a dilly dallying and got the hell out of there.

Day four

First thing I did was buy a train ticket back to Fuzhou the next day. A guy came and offered his help translating for me.....very handy. They denied letting me take the bike on the train this time, but I bought the ticket anyway. Will have to face that obstacle tommorrow I thought. My translator joked that I could just bike home to Fuzhou 'its only 400km'.....yeah right! Got to get back to work mate you know!

I then headed for Yongding in search of some of the hakka tulous' and hoped that I was on the right road. Luckily it turned out I was going along the route which I intended, along a small country road. The countryside outside of Longyan was pretty grim. I was surprised by the amount of rubbish everywhere. The streams and rivers were full of sewage! Everywhere! The surroundings of Longyan seems to prominently be a mining area. I saw some fasinating little, old fashioned factories which still use pull carts along a small tram line.

I even got a follower along the way, a chinese guy rode his motorbike alongside mine. 'This my home', he kept telling me. My depth of conversation goes about as far as saying where I'm from and where I'm going. He insisted I come and have breakfast in his family home. I was reluctant but since he kept persisting and I didn't want to be rude either, I went along. I sat and drank tea in their home. I got offered chicken legs, yuck. And spoke to his niece who could speak a bit of English. He even went out to buy some eggs when I said I was vegetation. I ate with the whole family and drank a bit of rice wine. It was all a rather strange and random experience but it was interesting too. I sooooo wish my Chinese was good enough to communicate with the ordinary, local people more. This guy gave me some vague directions to get to my destination. Admittedly I didn't know how to get to where I wanted to be. I eventually parted and headed back on my journey. They even gave me some fruit and drinks, what kind people. Having contact with the locals is what makes travelling interesting and for me, it is what travelling is all about. It really gives you a broader insight to life in general.

Back on the road again. I knew I had to head eastwards eventually. Google maps on my iphone were a life saver. I found a phone shop, connected to the wifi and checked on the map where I needed to head next. Every town I reached I did the same. Eventually I arrived at the village I wanted to be in, just in time since I got a flat tyre in the last leg of the journey. The village was idyllic but completely touristy. It made me think of an American theme park after seeing Chinese tourists going round the place in buggy type vehicles. Apart from the cultural differences, America and China are very similar as far as I'm concerned. I had booked a room at a place called Ning Ning Inn. I asked around if anyone knew where it was. Chinese people are generally quite helpful and I always seem to find someone to translate for me at the most convinent times so I managed to find someone who rung the guest house and I waited for them to pick me up.

I was met by the brother and sister. The brother gave me a lift on the back of his electric bike while the sister wheeled my bike back. I loved the place where I stayed. It was such a friendly, warm atmosphere and they were so helpful. It was so refreshing that they could speak English too. It gets a bit lonely not having anyone to speak too. They even had wifi so I could communicate with the outside world again and I got to speak to my boyfriend. I fixed the flat tyre and had a wander through the village....except, I got to the entrance and it turned out you had to pay. Oh well,shame I didn't take advantage earlier when I had arrived through the back entrance for free.

Day five

Today was my last day unfortunately. My train to Fuzhou wasn't till 19:00 so I had the whole day. I didn't really want to have to bike all the way back to Longyan. One reason being because I wanted to explore this area more and the other because my knee was hurting. I asked about taking my bike on the bus. It turned out to be no problem but the latest one I could take was the 13:50 back to Longyan. That meant I only had the morning to get out and about but anyway, I headed off. There are quite a few hakka tulou scattered around which are not visited by tourists so much so you do get an actual glimpse into some of the more traditional Chinese culture. I went inside some of them and even sat and drank tea with one of the ladies. They are so friendly and welcoming in this part of the province, so much so than in Fuzhou where you get cold stares all the time. Of she gave up talking to me after a while when she realised I could not speak too much Chinese. I had a wander round the place. This tulou was a round shape. The rooms are on three floors which circle round and then there is a courtyard in the middle where they have outdoor kitchens. Interestingly enough, they all seemed to have several satalite dishes inside and big sound systems so they are not exactly poor.

I visited a few of these type of places and ended up coming back to the preserved village which you have to pay to get in. It was the back entrance again. I'll try and sneak in again, I though. There were some guards who asked for the ticket but I gave a confused look and they said, 'it's ok'. Ha ha, I got a chance to wander round the village which, although very touristic, is very picturesque too. There are people living in the village and here I expect you would have to pay to have a look around their houses. Fare enough if they want to make some income. I would have loved to have stayed in this area for at least another day to explore and see it properly but unfortunately I had to get back for school.

I just about managed to fit my bike in the bus and headed back to Longyan. I was worried at the train station since it was pretty crowded. Surely they would not let me take my bike on. I was approached by one the of the staff who insisted I fold the bike up. Then they suggested I take the wheels off. Anyway, they eventually gave up and wheeled the bike...intact.... onto the platform. One carriage had a short que to get on. I headed for that one. I took it on the train. No problems at all. There was plenty of room. Fortunately I took it to the carriage with the most room. I think it had first class cabins on that carriage perhaps.

2 and a half hours later and I was back in Fuzhou again. I felt a great sense of acheivement for doing my trip. My only regret was it was too short. I could only skirt the surface of the places I visited.

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Photos

Mining in Longyan
The rather grime but interesting ride from Longyan

Inside the round tulou
The people of this area are very friendly and hospitipal.

These buildings have rooms going all round on three floors. They have outdoor kitchens, then inside are the bedrooms (upstairs) and dinning/living area (downstairs)

An idealic setting
This was a hakka tulou I stumbled across

Inside the village
A beautifully restored but very touristic village.