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Published: March 15th 2010
As Chinese New Year approached, Beijing steadily emptied, as migrant workers from the countryside and other cities went back to their home towns. The streets were relatively quiet and the plague of traffic all but ceased, making it a great time to have a cycle around. On the evening of 13th February the skies of Beijing were filled with the noise and light of fireworks being set-off all across the city. Smog from cars was no longer an issue, but had been replaced with a thicker and probably less-healthy firework smog. Impromptu firework stalls could be seen on every street corner. On every road-side, pavement, in every park and residential area, fireworks were being let-off. The norms relating to the use of fireworks are quite different in China, as compared to somewhere like the UK. The things I saw happening around the Chun Jie festival would be enough to give any remotely safety-conscious westerner a fright. There is no public taboo or legal restrictions upon the letting-off of fireworks in public places. People don't really go to big organised shows. Instead, every man, woman and child buys their own stash to ignite in a place of their choosing. These activities are
not limited to the night-time either, and for a good week or two after new years day (14th) fireworks could be heard as much in the day as at night.
On the evening of 14th I boarded a train in Beijing bound for Xuwen in the southern part of Guangdong province, to visit one of my Chinese friends. This involved travelling pretty much the entire length of China, and a sleeper ticket cost around fifty quid- (which is approximately what First Great Western charge for the 4-hour trip from Nottingham to Devon). It's really interesting to watch the Chinese landscape pass-by. You can seen everything from mountains to rice-paddies, industrial complexes belching black-soot to picturesque agricultural villages perched on the edge of turquoise rivers. It is a frustration that you can never get photos of the most interesting things, for evidently you will not have your camera at the ready at that particular moment and the scene will pass by too quickly. Two things struck me particularly on this journey. One was gardens. In many places, every available patch of land, be it a small plot between two houses or one square meter by the bank of a river,
every space, has been cultivated for growing food. Another was rubbish. Some places are immaculate, while many small towns and villages are completely strewn with trash. In some places there are tipping sites on the edge of the settlement and it can be difficult to discern where the town ends and the dumping ground begins. 30 hours later, I arrived.
This was possibly my first experience of visiting a smaller non-traveler/tourist city in China. This place was quite a change from the well-swept capital in which I've spent the past few months, and I had the feeling that I was in for perhaps a more 'authentic' experience of China. Throughout my stay the firecracker antics continued. I became semi-fascinated with the left-over red paper strewn all over the place like confetti. Somehow it gave the streets a different feel. Red lanterns are another prominent feature of Chun Jie decor, along with the orange banners which adorn many-a doorway. There were other clues that this was Chinese New Year festival season, including impromptu street performances such as dancing dragons or lions. The Xuwen locals are evidently not so used to seeing foreign people, and I felt that overall I received
a bit too much attention during my stay here!
There are some interesting historic buildings and monuments in Xuwen; also small alleyways and dilapidated housing blocks, which were interesting to explore. We also got out to see some more rural places, which as much as anything, was a welcome and needed break from the hectic environment of urban China. Guangdong produces pineapples, bananas, coconuts, peppers, aubergines, and all sorts of other foods. Many lush and green plantations can be seen in these rural areas. We also went to the coast, Xuwen being pretty close to the sea, and found some calm and beautiful places.
After staying in Xuwen for a few days I took a train to Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province, where I planned to meet up with Seven and make a bee-line for Vietnam...
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Grannie
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Journeys in an unusually colourful landscape
Well you have been busy !! I thought you had gone to China to do some work. But you seem to be enjoying your journeys through the countryside-- nice work if you can get it--as the saying goes.The photos are fantastic and Bo lo mi the yellow fruit looked really challenging. I look forward to hearing of your next experiences and wish you the best of good health all the way. Love as always G.xxxx