A Journey Back in Time, Uh, Kind Of . .

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Today we took a journey back in time, well sort of. We took a trip to Huang Long-Xi Ancient Town, a town from the Qing Dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of China from about 300 years ago. After about a one and a half hour bus trip, we finally arrived. The entrance to the town was quite spectacular, and I was excited to walk through and ancient village. I soon discovered that the term “Ancient” was used very loosely when describing this town. While all of the buildings were in the style of the Qing dynasty, some original, and some newly built, the rest of the place was about as modern as could be. Most of the buildings had been turned into storefronts, selling everything from mushrooms and candy, to clothing, swords, and other tourist trinkets. It was a very strange experience. The place also happened to be packed with people. It felt like walking through one of Disneyland’s themed towns. While the buildings and architecture were incredibly beautiful, the crowds of people and modern tourist stores made it seem like more of a novelty than a historical site. All that being said, it was still a very interesting place to adventure through. I found the whole place to be extremely symbolic of modern day China as a whole. In China today, there is a constant struggle for balance between the old and the new. The older generations here are doing all that they can to hang on to their traditions, cultures, and way of life, while the younger generations are doing all they can to get as far away form it all as possible. From the couple of weeks I have been here, it is evident that the younger Chinese generations are reaching towards the West and its technological, fast paced world of image, status, and materialism, while the older generation are doing what they can to live a more simple, traditional lifestyle. I think the image that summed it up best for me today was the façade of a 300 year old building with a cell phone store in it. Walking through the streets of Huang Long-Xi was like walking through a live action demonstration of the Yin Yang symbol, constantly trying to maintain balance in an ever changing environment.
As always, my friends and I were also a part of the attraction for the local tourists, and we were stopped on numerous occasions for photos. After two weeks of this type of thing, you’d think I would be used to it, but it is still a very strange experience. Being constantly on show for seemingly no reason at all is an experience that is very hard to convey, but let me just say that returning to anonymity on the streets of San Diego will be greatly appreciated.
Even in all of the chaos, crowds, and photo opportunities of Huang Long-Xi, I was still able to find the peace and stillness I have come to love about China. In the distance of one of the streets, I saw a golden Buddha sitting atop a building. I wound my way through the streets until I found myself under the Buddha, at an entrance to an ancient temple. Walking through the doorway into the temple grounds was like walking through a tangible force field of peace and serenity. Being able to literally step out of the crowds and commotion of the streets into a calm, quite, and peaceful temple was truly a welcome experience. In the courtyard of the temple I was greeted by two banyan trees, both over 900 years old. I could only imagine the things that they have seen as they’ve grown and changed with the world around them. Yet even amidst the chaos and changes around them, they have stayed strong, firmly rooted in the ground, but ever reaching for the sky. Just being in the presence of these wise old teachers was a gift. If only we could all stay as strong, and grounded as these ancient ones with the chaos going on around us, but still reach for the stars, I could only imagine what a wonderful world that would be. . .

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