The Jiangxi Countryside

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Mike, my coworker Laura, and myself took a trip to the countryside on Thursday. Although I was advised not to travel on National Day, the roads were not terribly busy. We got an early start and took a bus to Jingdezhen, the porcelan capital of China. From there we hopped on another bus to Wuyan. At the Wuyan bus station we were swarmed by a group of taxi drivers. The most intense foreign-money seeking I've ever experienced- significantly greater than anything I ever experienced in India (except perhaps for my first day in Kolkata).

Luckily we had a "local" guide. Mike (who does not like to be called "ChinaMike" in China) negotiated a fair to the hamlet of Sixi Yancun. Unfortunately, we did not know that this scenic and historic place was fenced off and required an admission fee to enter! We wandered through the pleasant countryside back to the main road, saw some beautiful insects, and caught a bus to Qinghua. For 100 yuan we stayed in a nice, clean hotel room with a great view of the main drag in the town.

After some aimless wandering, we happend upon another small, secluded, picturesque village on the edge of town. 60 yuan admission fee. We decided to go back in the morning, when we would have the proper time to explore.

Half the channels on the television were showing the grand parade through Tianamen Square. Lots of soldiers marching (the Chinese are very skilled marchers), some tanks, lots of signing, folks in traditional costumes representing the 56 officially-recognized ethnic groups of the People's Republic. And then the fireworks! Truly quite impressive.

Friday morning we visited the scenic village, and saw the oldest bridge in China, the Rainbow Bridge. In the tourist area there was a beautiful garden (with more colorful insects), a Buddhist temple, and a pagoda. At the top of the pagoda was a small statue of Quan Li under a large metallic bell. Her benevolent gaze proctects a very large yellow-and-black spider in the corner.

Children seem to constitute a significantly higher percentage of the population in the rural areas. This makes sense, seeing as the once-child policy is only enforced in the cities.

As noon approached, the tourist area was swarmed by tour groups in matching baseball hats. Our trio decided to head back to Jingdezhen to spend the night. It is harvest time, and there were many peasants seperating the grain from the chaff of their wheat on the road that our bus traveled upon. The rows of nourishment presented an obstacle that our driver was apparently accostumed to. Once in the town, we realized that the area was not very small and picturesque (it has an airport) and decided to go back to Jiujiang, seeing as it is only a 2 hour bus ride and there was no point in paying for a hotel.

The bus was supposed to leave at 5:30, but was an hour late. And then, the main highway back was completely huai . The bus took a long detour through unpaved country roads. Thankfully the seats were comfortable, and the bus was air-conditioned. Still, we were quite worried at times. At one point, the bus was stuck in a rut. But thankfully, we made it back to Jiujiang only about an hour behind schedule. It was good to be home.

Yesterday Mike and I went dowtown to see "The Founding of the Republic", an epic story about the (most recent) Chinese Civil war. Although it was produced by the state media company, I found it to be suprisingly balanced. The nationalists, even Chiang Kai Shek, were shown in a human light. Importantly, it was their corruption that ruined their hold on the country. Furthermore, at one point Mao talked of his inexpertise regarding economic affairs. Of course, there were also shots of him playing with his children in beautiful fields full of flowers. There were many small parts played by famous actors. Most I could not recognize, but I did spot Let Li and Jackie Chan.

The mid-autum ("Moon") festival was last night. I looked at the moon, and thought of my friends and family, just like any good Chinese resident far from home.

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Photos

Rainbow Bridge
Built in the 1100s.

Pagoda Spider
About six inches in length.

Red Dragonfly
It this was Pokemon Snap, professor Oak would be very dissapointed.

Tourist Sign
Don't mess with the kids.

View from the Bridge
If you squint you can see the waterwheel.

When in Wuyan....
Act like a kid.

Comments

[Ellen]

moon
funny, I was lookin' at that same moon last night wondering if the weather was letting you look at it.

[momma]

love seeing the pictures especially the ones in which you appear!

[Kathleen]

that bathroom looks like it is for very fat cartoonish shaped people with teeny legs