Our tour group this time was a really nice combination of people, albeit with the usual personalities that we have come to expect from CCC tour groups (which primarily services expats). There were the quiet Europeans, who tend to keep to themselves and rarely say 'boo' at the lunch and dinner tables. There was the person (historically almost always American - sorry Molly, but we've had an Aussie too :-) who thinks that everyone they make eye contact with wants to know their life story, and can't get enough of their own voice. Then there is the China long-termer who, over the course of the weekend, will not advertise it but will show that they can walk the walk and not just talk the talk. If you listen out you'll hear their almost perfect Mandarin, and if you take the time out to chat with them will find that they have got quite a few years and more of living and working in China under their belts.
Not For All The Tea in China
There's an old joke in China that Adam and Eve could not have been Chinese, because Eve would never have eaten the apple - she would have eaten the snake instead. And when our local Fujian guide told us that that she was planning to read the entire book on "Things Chinese Don't Eat" in under 5 seconds, we knew we were really close to the Cantonese region in China where anything not nailed down is fair game for the cooking pot (and where rat, cat and snake are standard menu items in the more local eateries). We did manage to avoid the rat and the snake (which most in the group would have avoided at ANY cost - wowsers), but the cuisine was certainly different to what we are used to up north. The seafood was actually fresh from the ocean, rather than aqua-farmed (which gives a dirty taste to everything), and the use of chicken and duck more prevalent than up north. Still, some staples pop up anywhere in China (good ol' tomato and egg).
But in saying that you just would not eat some things for all the tea in China is a big call, because there is ALOT of tea in China. And Fujian is one place that gives you an idea as to just HOW much. The tea plantations extend as far as the eye can see (Oolong being the biggest variety down this way), set on the side of every piece of available hill. But it's not the only crop in the area - tobacco and rice are grown in the same plot as alternative season crops (anyone remember the Simpson's "Tomacco" episode? Sticky rice with that addictive Winnie Blue aftertaste). Bamboo, sugar cane and bananas also grow abundantly, and although the soil and flora looked a bit dry at this time of year the locals certainly didn't appear like they went hungry.
Oolong tea plantations of Fujian in the foreground and background.
But enough of the overview - it's the sites and the local culture that we were there to see. The Clan of the Hakka Han actually have alot of street cred to their name. The richest Asian man in the world - Li Ka-Shing - is Hakka, as too was Mr Modern China himself Deng Xiao Ping. The former captain of the Flying Cocktails is Hakka. And then, if that's not enough, Hu Jintao visited the Hakka Villages once last year and from then on all has been glorious (well, at least the 2 metre by 4 metre billboards with his mug on them have).
Our first stop along the Hakka trail was a scenic spot high over a traditional Hakka village known as Tianluo Keng, nicknamed "Four Dishes and One Soup" for its shape. We were not surprised to be told that the place was popular with tourists (it's regarded as the most beautiful by the local people), but we had no idea about HOW popular until we were required to walk down to the scenic platform through a huge traffic jam in the middle of nowhere from 400 meters up the hill. Our first sight of the Hakka architecture from up high was impressive, notwithstanding the bad angle of the setting sun which made taking any decent photos nigh on impossible. But there's always the serenity, right? Wrong. Thanks to Chinese tour group leaders and their love of mega-phones, you are never out of ear-reach of a high pitched voice in Chinese espousing the "beautiful nature". Back up on the road the traffic tension really took a turn for the worst. While I wasn't there to see it personally, according to trusted eye-witness accounts (i.e how Maddy described it) there was"a BIG fight, and a guy nearly killed another guy and tried to throw him over the edge of the road". Minus the Death Match that I had pictured in my mind, it was still by all accounts a pretty solid punch-up that was actually started and further provoked by an old guy taking issues with a younger guy in a car. In a situation where I thought youth and enthusiasm would outlast old age and deception I was well and truly wrong, as the old guy started to show the younger generation that growing up Mao style built more than character - it also built survival instincts. Lucky the issue was later resolved as both parties decided to go their separate ways (which was lucky, as Maddy wanted to do Hapkido to break up a fight).
The "Four Dishes and Spoon" Hakka Settlement
The traffic jam heading down to the Hakka Village.
After this we headed into a small village to get up close and personal with the Hakka architecture. These buildings are vastly different to anything else found in China. Up to 5 stories high, they are like a big donut - one big roundhouse (and naturally the only type of dwelling that Chuck Norris will live in) or in some cases a square house. The style was initially adopted for the purpose of protecting the residence inside from roving barbarians, thieves and neighbors who were upset with these new intruders from Northern China (where the Hakka Han are believed to have originated from, pushed south-East by the expanding empire of the North). With only one door into the compound to guard, no windows on the first two floors, well stocked storage rooms and internal water wells they could outlast a siege for anywhere up to 3 or 4 weeks. These days, with the threat of barbarians and thieves having long since passed (they've all moved to Silk Street now), the modern day Hakka tulou now houses up to 4 generations of the same family, and is passed down to the eldest son but with room at the inn for all. Other tulou's have leased out their individual rooms to residents and businesses (and will cost you a couple of rmb to go up for a look), while others are open to tourists as inns and guest houses, and play an important part in the local economy.
One of the bigger tulou buildings (four floors for this one).
As with any tourist site in China, a very crafty (if somewhat repetitive) tourist souvenir market has built up around the tulou region (although no Hakka-house shaped hat I'm afraid to say. I'll contain my disappointment for times when I'm alone). Of all the reminders you can take away the award for most effort has to go to the souvenir photographers, three of who jumped in behind our tour guide when she was taking the group shot and took their own snaps. The winner of the three was the lady who'd run back, printed it out, put it into a souvenir frame and was trying to tell them to the group before we had even got to the door of the tulou (less than 3 minutes). Against the usual run of the grain, a number of the souvenir shops inside operated in fixed-prices, so no hope of haggling for a lower price no matter how much I tried (even the good old fake walk away failed).
King of Tulou from on high. Note the multiple rings.
Vendors in the King of Tulou.
Traditional 5-star, Hakka-style
So by this time we'd seen the tulou from afar, seen it from up close, and now it was time to get up close AND personal as we headed off to our accommodation for the night - a traditional Phoenix style Hakka House (aka the Fuyu Tulou) where we would actually be spending the Friday night in one of the hakka houses that had been converted into a guest house. They'd warned of a lower than usual accommodation standard, and they weren't wrong as the rooms were even more basic than the accommodation we had in Hemu village in North Xinjiang (where the shower was over the squat, and the water was provided in a bucket). Still, the beds were comfortable, the blankets were ample, and quite frankly we were so tired from the early flight that we would have slept through CNY in Beijing all over again. And the broken pink plastic "Strawberry Shortcake" vanity mirror added that touch of class that separated it from the luxury of even the most expensive Shangri-la hotel. There was even a late night impromptu Chinese dragon dance by locals along the river next to the inn, which Maddy and I saw as Amy was tucking herself into bed. Breakfast was basic, but offered the biggest selection of breads I've seen outside of Baker's Delight (or Wei dou mei - Beijing's equivalent). The whole experience reminded us of our stay in Hemu village, in northern Xinjiang Province. Although the Tulou was basic, China is proving to be very modern in relation to internet connection with the hotel having Wi-Fi from the outside restaurant (which was right near the coffee maker). After a coolish night and sleep broken by new years fireworks (the loud cannon variety) we feasted on a breakfast of 10 different bread varieties and partly gelatinous hard fried eggs.
River beside the tulou accommodation.
Maddy resting up in our very basic room at our tulou accommodation.
The Fact and the Fiction
Another story told over the course of the weekend was a great one involving the US intelligence agency, who upon seeing the tulou buildings on satellite images (and thinking they were nuclear missile silos, this being Cold war time and all) sent two American agents into the Fujian countryside posing as tourists. After meeting all the locals and checking out the buildings the two agents came to the conclusion that the only future threat to the USA was the possible dumping onto the US market of 1 million excess tulou key rings and hakka house snow globes. With US snow globe and key ring manufacturers duly warned they headed back with their packs loaded to the brim with tulou ashtray and the last of the hakka house oven mitts (the obvious reason why I couldn't find one at ANY souvenir shop - 'sigh').
The epic FAIL of this concern about Hakka-style missile silos became even more apparent as we were required to chill out at the tulou of a local family while our bus negotiated its way through ANOTHER traffic jam. Mr Jian, the older brother of the family, proved the most gracious host serving us tea and snacks and (through the translation skills of our guide) gave us the low-down on his humble abode. Luckily once the bus got through to us, our local our tour guide Anne got out and walked ahead of the bus for the drive out, facing down any car that decided to try and play chicken with our prime people mover and telling them to rethink their last navigation decision.
One of the young residents of the tulou buildings.
The other smaller houses and farms around the bigger tulou buildings.
Our last Hakka stopover was to a little village that has recently been renamed "Love Story", because of the filming of a movie of the same name that took place there. It offered a lovely stroll along the river and under huge banyan trees, before we got back on the bus and headed back to Xiamen for check-in and dinner.
One of the HUGE banyan trees in the village called "Knot"/"Love Story" (named by the Chinese Govt of course).
Despite the excessive numbers of tourists the trip west into Hakka territory is one that I would highly recommend (albeit at a less busy time, if there is such a thing). If the pictures of the scenery aren't enough to consider the trip a win, the picture I was able to nab with a PLA soldier certainly is. Such a thing is a rarity in China - they tend to be way too serious in Beijing, but in this case this fellow (and later his mate) actually came and asked me. No doubt the photo will be stapled to his next job application.
If there was any negative side to the whole trip it was our observation that China has a long way to go to address its rubbish disposal problem. The piles of refuse were everywhere in the Hakka villages, and on one occasion included a whole pile of used firecrackers which periodically showed that the gunpowder within was not entirely expended. The Central Government really needs to get compost happening at a national level.
The dirty side of rapid progress.
One of the many friendly locals in the village (although this guy was actually from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian located further up the coast).
In terms of domestic chores like washing of clothes, the villages in the Yongding area are (in most cases) the land that time and technology forgot. Alot of the washing of clothes and vegetables is still done by hand in the river, in water whose cleanliness is questionable given the amount of rubbish floating in it (one local was assigned to pluck the rubbish as it floated by, but was doing a half-arsed effort at best). Minus the rubbish-dump spots around the place, the village was as close to the misty Chinese village among lush green mountains as I have come, although just out of season as the vegetation was looking a bit on the thirsty side.
Doing the washing the old way.
The Coast with the Most
If it wasn't for the Chinese signage one could stand in some areas of Xiamen at night and be mistaken for thinking they were in Broadbeach or other areas around Surfer's Paradise. But not in a negative way - rather in a "this place has money" kind of feel. Xiamen appeared from the outsider looking in to have a more mature taste than most other parts of China. And it's not surprising. Xiamen was one of the first ports to be opened up for trade with the west and many overseas Chinese are from this province. As a result they have had a lot longer exposure to western clothes, quality imported products and in particular western architecture. And nowhere was the latter more obvious than when we headed off to Gulangyu Island on the last morning of our trip just 5 minutes by ferry from Xiamen Island. The place was actually crammed with tourists (shoulder to shoulder in some small alleys), and the beach looked like the classic beach picture in the original "Where's Wally" book (except if Wally was really lost on the Gulangyu beach, I'd call off the search immediately and pronounce death by mis-adventure). Our opinion then (and now) is that the local authorities really need to limit the number of visitors to the island at any one time, as it was really unpleasant unless you managed to escape to the local residential areas. We did manage to find our way there by mistake, and after giving one friendly local the slip who was intent on being our "free guide" we really enjoyed the peace and quite albeit for a short while.
The busy Gulangyu Beach. No swimmers or beach chairs, just a whole lot of Chinese tourists standing around in smart casual wear.
The busy streets of Gulangyu.
The old western-style architecture of Gulangyu. Many of the businesses are located in old consulate buildings or villas built by foreigners many years ago.
In the western areas of the island the former residence and consulate buildings of foreign countries gave the streets that real Hong Kong feel about them, inter-dispersed with quant little boutique hotels that charge through the roof for the location, location, location.
Xiamen - one of the first Chinese cities to open to the west, and to get all of the western culinary atrocities (except at 3am, when a 5hr old McDonalds hamburger is perfectly acceptable).
Back on the mainland for a quick walk around, and it was a case of more leather shorts than Oxford Street in Mardi Gras (although it was the women who were the culprits here). A large group of us were well and truly in need of a caffeine fix though, and managed to track down a coffee shop for a quick relax before we were back on the bus and on our way to the airport for the return flight home.
We are looking to head back to Xiamen in June, when we have been told that the crowds will be smaller and the weather the best (although the weekend just gone really was shorts and tee stuff for us, even if we did get "you're abusing that child" looks from locals for letting Maddy go t-shirt).
Modern Xiamen Island from the water.
Xiamen's answer to Australia's Big Banana, Big Oyster, Big Merino, Big - the Big Energy Efficient Light Globe. Theme park opening soon.
Maddy doing the Rock 'n' Roll look around Fujian.
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