Minority Village Day Trip

The population of China is made up of Han (92%) and 56 ethnic minority groups. We had hoped to travel to the province of Yunnan this summer to learn more about the ethnic people but were advised not to because of aftershocks in the area. This trip was the next best thing.

Sam, our main contact from the school, took the foreign teachers to a village in the countryside about an hour’s drive away to learn about many of the ethnic groups. We were happy just to get away from the city for a day. Lately, the weather forecast had been “Smoke” which is still an odd term to see where one expects “Sunny” or “Overcast”. We’re still not sure where the smoke comes from. We like to think of it more as “Haze”.

Along the way, we saw the suburbs of Jinan that were filled with tall apartment buildings, many of which were still under construction. It’s a sign of the growth that is happening in this city and elsewhere in China. For the first time, we saw modern style houses. I also got a glimpse of the countryside I had expected to see: old villages, farm houses, fields, livestock (chickens, pigs, cows, and other characters from the Old MacDonald song).

Here are some of the other things we saw at the village: a traditional wedding entourage, one of the Russian teachers Vera got a bouncy ride as the band played around her; a Chinese totem pole; a dance by the Wa people who reminded me of Polynesians and one of the Miao people climbing a pole using a ladder of swords.



I was particularly fascinated by the Miao, mainly because of their women’s traditional costume. Yes, probably because I love silver. This group values silver adornments and sees it as a symbol of wealth. The photo at the beginning of this entry was a photo op we discovered when we entered the village. Here, tourists can pay to dress in the costume and take lots of photos. Those little girls were adorable as they posed under some bamboo.



We capped off our day trip with lunch at a restaurant by a canal. This waterway is a popular weekend and holiday destination as evidenced by many cars that line the roadside. The restaurants are all found on the other side of the canal so there is bridge after bridge strung across the water. The bridges come in all shapes and sizes. For the adventurous, there are swinging ones and for the faint of heart, nice firm cement ones. We drove across ours. Sam ordered a feast of traditional food: dried shrimps wrapped in a millet wafer, celery, chicken, Yellow River carp, tempura vegetable, and deep fried pork, eggplant, and a spicy pork soup. He even got the teachers to try duck eggs. According to the reviews, it’s something of an acquired taste.

Besides the restaurants, the other draw are the water sports available. The canal is made up of steps of shallow water. There are paddle boats, inflatable boats, and plastic bubbles that you walk inside of to make it move on the water. Families were also having bbq’s and picnics on the side of the canal. We even saw people fishing and camping.

More pics:

June's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42623&l=62491&id=571108357

Don's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008825&l=11cee&id=1013962974