The first spring festival back in China, we got invited to go with our friends back to her home town to celebrate the 100th birthday of her grandmother who had passed. We hadn’t done much local travelling and we were excited to spend time with our friends outside of their restaurant where they could relax too.
We formed a caravan with their car, and another Italian Chinese family of friends and drove to Wuyi, about 3 hours away from home but still in the same province.
This was an adventure for me because I really hadn’t done much highway driving in China, mostly just trips around town and one trip to the Hangzhou. The way was nice, Mark and Alex are really into the podcasts while driving so we listened to lots of Radio Lab.
It was a bit funny to road trip with other people since I’m used to long distance driving across the US. We stopped about halfway for the last Starbucks and to get up and stretch because some people were already tired of the car. I don’t know that they’d enjoy a road trip with me and Alex!
When we got to Wuyi we checked into our homestay hotel, it was small, only maybe 10 rooms. And even though Marco warned us, I was not prepared for the firmness of the bed. Here in China, people, particularly older people, prefer to sleep on hard mattresses- and to be honest, they have a hard time sleeping on the marshmallowy soft mattresses Westerners prefer. I’ve gotten used to some harder beds in hotels, but this was a bit like laying a padded piece of wood. I may be exaggerating, but I genuinely thought I might have bruises from the bed.
That being said, the lady who runs the homestay was very nice and friendly, and we ate a fantastic lunch there when we first arrived. I would stay there again no problem, but I would probably bring a sleeping bag or air mattress to put on top of the mattress.
We drove to another part of Wuyi to walk around the old town and do some exploring. This dog on the rock pile was across the street from where we parked, I just liked the way he was so comfortable, like king of the hill.
I have this compulsion to take pictures of chickens and cows, it’s like some people have to pick up shiny rocks or pet every cat or dog they see. I like chickens and cows- when I was in Uganda the guy who was showing me around town joked that when I came back he would take me to a farm because he didn’t know anyone who was as excited by filming cows as I was.
Next to the dog rock piles was the guy below, and when we first walked up it was such a mystery why he had bamboo poles in the fire. We missed the part where he filled them with rice and meat and veggies to cook in the bamboo vessels. More on this at the bottom of this post.
We walked to the opening of the area that we would be walking in, and this was the door knob of the entrance. I love the ornate and usually still really detailed and well loved door knobs, knockers, or just decorations. I feel like they all have such personality and are so unique to each place.
I went off to take pictures while the rest of the group went over the bridge and continued exploring. I think I was behind everyone the whole trip because there was just so much I wanted to capture.
One of the things I love about old buildings in China is that they are decorative in places that most people won’t even look. Every part of the building has something interesting to see.
Is it even a trip in China if I don’t take at least one Foo Dog picture? I like these too for the same reason that they’re all similar but unique too, even if only the way that they are worn by the weather in the area or by where they are touched by people visiting.
Even the Shingles are cool, the decorative end of the shingles is another thing that I’ve started collecting pictures of. They are unique to regions, and usually to each building but I have seen in some areas that multiple buildings there have the same endcap.
Below are Vicky and Anna, half of the second Italian Chinese family we travelled with, I thought this picture really captured the happy nature of these two. Anna (the daughter) was only 5 in this picture and chasing Alex around most of the trip. He loves being the big brother figure, so it was ok with him!
While twisting through the old town, we ended up in and out of buildings to explore. I didn’t realize until afterwards that these are peoples’ homes that they are still currently living in. Imagine a bunch of foreigners traipsing through your kitchen taking pictures of your plants and walls.
This beautiful flower was on a tree in the courtyard of an open kitchen in one of the houses.
These designs are carved in wood or stone depending on the location, I couldn’t believe the detail and the fact that these are so old and still this detailed. I could have spent a whole day just taking pictures of these on the walls, but I was afraid everyone else would leave me behind.
The reality is that these carvings are common on the older homes *when I say older we’re not talking midcentury modern, but some of these homes are hundreds of years old. I wish there was more things in this style around Haining, but they are modernizing everything and some of these details are being lost.
At the end of the old town village, there were a couple restaurants, and another man with the bamboo logs in the fire. When you order one, it is cut open lengthwise and inside is this delicious rice with vegetables, cured pork, and mushrooms.
It was different than anything we had had before, and certainly a memorable experience. The rice was almost sweet and definitely sticky- a great way to end the time in the old town.
Traveling Expat Family 