Travel, Tulous and Trains; Things I'm Into, in China

Trains
I'm really into trains. Right now, I'm into a lot of things, per usual. 

But trains... Trains are awesome. Trains go so many places, you can show up right before departure and you don't need to check any bags. In China, they're organized, clean and reasonably priced. Trains are pretty cool.

My Province
Me and a couple of my colleagues traveled, by train, to another famous spot in Fujian province- our province. We wanted to check out the houses of the Hakka people, called tulous. And we wanted to stay in one! We'd heard that you couldn't stay in them anymore, so we were pleasantly surprised that, actually, you can. These traditional houses are typically round with an open inner courtyard and most of them are really old. The open, inner courtyards reminded me of European flats, but the round shape is unique and the limited number of windows facing out, gives them a mysterious look. And the red lantern decorations and old-style tiled roofs are really pretty.







The above photos are of a rectangular tulou, that has been modernized and turned into a hostel. The hostel we stayed at!

Interestingly, because of their strange appearance, they were mistaken for missile silos during the Cold War!



Tulous are a popular thing for Chinese tourists, and not a few foreigners, to visit, but there isn't a lot of detailed information about how to get there and get around the area they are located in, online. At least not in English anyway. Thankfully, my amazing teachers assistant/ aka The Reason I'm Sane and Actually Happy teaching 25, 6 year old, ELL students, helped us set things up.







China knows how to turn everything into a money making and worthy tourist site. They lit up the tulous at night! Beautiful.



'They' also sneakily snapped everyone's photo, in the daytime, and sold nice key chains for less than $1.50. With how many tourist funnel through there, it might be a profitable venture. I definitely considered buying one. The amazing part was how fast they printed, cut, put together and hung up the finished product. I was almost shocked into buying one.




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The area has an obsession with bamboo. It. Was. Everywhere. They made dishware out of it as well as many delicacies. I bought a bamboo cup for my travel souvenir. For starters, you could get bamboo dried, smoked bamboo and pickled bamboo at restaurants. We were served it pickled for breakfast and ordered bamboo shoots for dinner.



Bamboo drying in the sun.



Bamboo shoots are on the right and taro buns on the left. I liked the bamboo a lot. A taro is a tuber and they are purple. The buns were too chewy for us to enjoy. There is yummy ginger tea in the bowl.




Buying some tea.




So these are bridge alternatives. They were everywhere in this area, though I have not seen them anywhere else in China. People can cross them and the water can flow freely through, too. They are not as precarious to cross as they look.



To top off the tulous' unique attractiveness, they have tea and rice terraces, and mountains as their backdrop.



It was another great 3 day weekend getaway in China!

Other Things I'm into Right Now

Besides trains (and travel obviously), I'm also currently into biographies, tea, lotus root and running.

I've read all the biographies of missionaries who came to China, in the Christian Heroes Then and Now series done by YWAM, this year. After reading Bound for Burma (while in Burma!/Myanmar), in February, it seemed like the next logical step. There are 7. 
In fact, I've read 23 books, so far this year.

Tea. On this trip, I picked up some Fujian red tea and I can't get enough of it. I try to get ginger tea whenever I'm dining out, as well. It might be time for me to attempt making it myself. The spicier the better.

Lotus root. It's interesting looking and starchy, but less so than a potato. In fact it's kind of crunchy. And it's delicious.

Running. I'm not back to where I was a year ago, but I'm doing better than I was a month ago. I guess this is currently an 'I'm trying to get back into' thing more than an, 'I'm into' thing. I am happy I bought a treadmill, because I don't believe it's healthy to run outdoors with the pollution.

I feel like a trader ending my I-Love-China-Weekends post with the word pollution, so I'll end by linking a couple new additions to my 'To Visit in China' list: Xian, Harbin, Sanya.

The world is full of wonder full places.

Spring Break in China

Wuyishan and Beijing

Spring Break is one of the only breaks on our school calendar that is not a Chinese holiday. This means it is the ideal time for traveling in China because most places won't be so crowded since Chinese people are still working. There's generally nice weather during this time, too. I had a week off and I took the opportunity to visit one location in the province I currently live, and to check out Beijing, for the first time.  

First Stop, Wuyishan. 
Shan means mountain, so my first stop was Wuyi mountain.  

Translations:

In China, bed means a table with a sheet.

In China, hiking means stairs.

A typical bed in China is very hard. For my apartment I've bought a mattress pad that helps a little. Many hotels have softer beds, however I stayed in a no-frill hostel on this trip, so my bed was the typical table with a sheet. 

After 3 hours on the bullet train, I was picked up by the owner of the hostel I booked. The hostel had amazing reviews, on the website I use to make all of my accommodation reservations, and they are mainly due to the owner. His English is limited, but we could communicate pretty well with our basic language skills and online translators. He immediately jumped into telling me about the tour he has set up for the next day.  "It has beautiful fogger" he repeated over and over.  I just went with it, even though it meant leaving at 6 am the next morning. And I'm glad I did.

Bright and early, he walked me and a Malaysian couple, an hour through tea fields, to the base of the back entrance to the most popular hike/view. Then he set us off on our own, to walk up thousands of stairs. The front entrance would have required an entrance fee and didn't open until 8, which would have meant we would  have missed the "beautiful fogger" (and had to join in the slow ascent with the mass crowds). 

In China, granted there are a lot of mountains, but everything is staired.  I have yet to find a hiking path that is not paved or chiseled into stairs. I find this really strange but I'm getting used to it. It helps when you have breathtaking natural views like these at the top of the man-made stair paths.

It was a very unique place to stay. I booked a private room with a private bath in the basic accommodations, per my typical, but I needed to go out and find a towel to purchase. I can still see why the reviewers rave though because the owner took me, and the other guests on several free tours. He also called a friend and got me discounted tickets to a popular performance. The spectacular show included a revolving stage and served the audience their famous oolong tea. My host also chauffeured me. I didn't take advantage of the free bike rentals this time, but I plan to when I return. For all of the taxing me around and my 3-night room fees, I paid the equivalent of 50 American dollars.  

I also took a bamboo raft trip with the Malaysian couple and a British couple, who were also staying at the hostel. 

I can't believe so much beauty is just a 30 dollar, 3 hour, train ride away from where I live.

Beijing. 
Bei means north and jing means capital. After a day and a half reprieve in my own apartment, I flew direct to China's capital, Beijing. I flew 3 hours north.

In Beijing, I wanted to see the Great Wall and watch a Chinese acrobat show, but I wasn't sure what to expect from polluted, mega-city.  I was pleasantly surprised. I stayed in a quiet, quaint hutong (traditional neighborhood) at an amazing hotel and I had a once in a lifetime Great Wall experience (literally no one was there the majority of the time I was there). I briefly checked out Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City, as well. There are other sections of the Wall I'd like to explore, and more things to see on a return visit, but it was a delightful trip. 

Every time I go somewhere I want to plan a return trip, and I'm constantly adding more places I want to visit to my 'China List', so it is ever growing. This really is an amazing place to live.