Hello everyone,
Greetings from the Old House in Fengyan village, where the current temperature is -2 degrees!
Fengyan village (or Phoenix Cave village in English) is a very remote village in the Guangxi province of China. It will be my home for the next month, along with many other backpackers from around the world. There's Chris and Josh from Sydney, Merren and Jacqueline from Germany, Rose from Holland, Li-Li, Mr. Mong and Renee from the Guangxi province of China, Isabella from the Jilin province of China, Golden from the Jiangx province of China and last but not least, me from Tasmania!
I hope this email finds all of you well and enjoying the start of 2013!
It’s incredible how much has happened since I left Tasmania less than two weeks ago. I could write an entire essay but instead I’ve included a brief summary and a few photos of some of the highlights so far.
Trekking the Great Wall of China
Stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometres from east to west, the Great Wall of China certainly deserves its title as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. What I didn't realise however, is that there are many different sections of what we collectively call The Great Wall.
I travelled with our tour guide Linda to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, located about an hour and a half drive from Beijing. Built during the Ming dynasty 700 years ago, the Mutianyu Great Wall represents a long and complex past.
Like a Chinese dragon, the wall winds its way across steep ridges and through breathtaking mountain ranges.
It’s hard to describe how I felt walking along The Wall. It was a very surreal and magical moment. I couldn’t believe I was really here - I had to pinch myself just to check.
Mastering the art of chopsticks
When I say "mastering", I am using the term very loosely. But I have learnt to pick up food without spilling it all over myself, so that's a start. The food in Beijing has been amazing - probably because we’ve been privy to all the local hotspots thanks to our wonderful Chinese tour guides.
I admit, these places do look shabby from the outside but as they say, never judge a book by its cover – the food inside is fabulous! My favourite meal so far was from a small, authentic local restaurant 20 minutes drive from the Mutianyu Great Wall. I tried everything from peeking duck to roasted eggplant and even jellyfish!
At the Old House, meal times are a very social occasion. Li-Li is a sensational cook so we’ve nominated her to be our on-site chef. Hopefully she enjoys cooking our meals as much as we enjoy eating them!
Visiting the Temple of Heaven and Forbidden City
The Temple of Heaven and The Forbidden City, now both World Heritage Sites, are two of Beijing’s most important historical sites and provide a great opportunity to understand China’s long and turbulent past.
I arrived there with Casper – my tour guide and companion for the day. She explained how in ancient times, the Emperor would visit The Temple of Heaven to pray for good harvest while the The Forbidden City functioned as his palace and office – sort of like the White House of ancient China. What's amazing about the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City is how thoughtfully the buildings have been designed. For example, the Emperor's lucky number was nine. Stone tiles were therefore used to create an intricate, circular pattern created from multiples of nine. Also, the Emperor's colour is yellow so the roofs of the buildings in the Forbidden City are all yellow. If anyone else in ancient China used the colour yellow then the Emperor would have had him or her killed.
Casper also took me to Jingshan Park to gain a bird’s eye view of the Forbidden City - an impressive sight and a definite ‘must do’ for any tourist.
Tea ceremony at Local Tea House
Tea has been an important part of Chinese culture for centuries and as a tea lover this was a great experience. The ladies at the teahouse taught me everything there is to know about tea including its various health benefits, how to properly brew tea, the different ‘families’ of tea in China and the proper way to hold your teacup. The warm tea was very welcome in the cold!
Trekking to the top of Phoenix Mountain
A range of mountains that the locals say resemble a phoenix surrounds Fengyan village. On my first day in Fengyan village I climbed to the very top of one of these mountains with the others from the Old House. It was about a three-hour trek to the summit but the views made the effort well worth it! The snow made it especially picturesque but also made it difficult to stay upright. When we made it to the top we picked persimmon fruit to take back to the Old House for supper.
Lessons with Golden
Outside of teaching English at Fengayn Primary School, we’ve been receiving lessons on Chinese language, history and culture, cooking, music and games (yesterday we learnt how to play Chinese chess and a gamed called Mahjong). I've filmed some hilarious videos of the group trying to learn a very popular Chinese folk song. We usually have five lessons a day and are taught by Golden.
So those are just a few of the highlights of my trip so far! This week we will continue our lessons with Golden and prepare for a weekend visit to Yangshuo, a popular tourist destination. Next week we will be taking a 12-hour train to Sanya where we will spend a week working with disabled children. The weather at Sanya will be considerably warmer, about 20-27 degrees, which will be a welcome change from the current conditions!
Again, I hope you are all well. Keep in touch and keep me up to date with everything that's been happening in your lives! I miss you all!
- Declan
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