Fireworks in Xizhou
July 4 – fireworks in xizhou
Happy anniversary to us (18th) and happy birthday America (241th)! After breakfast, we joined 8 guests on the 9:30 market tour; 4 from Toronto, 2 from NYC and 2 from China. Our first stop was at a cheese making shop where we saw a way to make cheese with a wok and two bamboo poles. Our second stop was a noodle factory that produces the vast majority of rice noodles sold throughout the locality. Very cool.
Then we strolled to the market which was selling all manner to produce – the first section had large catfish in buckets, pools of squirming eels, chickens in baskets, tiny shrimp, and many unidentifiable fish. Then there was the veggie section – huge carrots, giant eggplant, bushels of corn, stalks of bok choi, onions, apples, pears, banana and every other growing thing you could imagine. The locals were colorful with their traditional wicker baskets on their backs, navigating the crowds to their favorite vendors. The meat section had tables of meat of every imaginable kind and a handful of ladies working the meat grinder producing fresh ground meat. And finally the spice section with its colorful array of red, green and orange spices. We picked up a few apples and pears for later and continued our walk through town.
Back at the hotel just before 11, we quickly set back out to a temple 100m down a road we had never been down. The Bai are mostly Buddhist with each temple being decided to a different god. Today, this temple was celebrating a recently complete renovation. When we arrived the courtyard was already packed with colorfully dressed locals shrouded in smoke from the incense and the firecrackers. A pair of over eager gentleman seemed intent on blasting everyone’s eardrums and they kept the explosions going for a solid 20 minutes while ceremonial stuff happened at the temple and itself.
The next thing we knew, two guys were on the roof of the temple, one with a large basket. Knowingly the crowd formed in front with them and without warning they began hurling round yellow pillows down to the crowd. Like excited 20-somethings at the bouquet toss at a wedding, everyone went crazy fighting over the ‘good luck pillows.’ Tyler nearly lost a limb fighting for one on the ground. After an extra special red one was tossed, they began chucking smaller round dough balls imprinted with a red pattern. Tom caught one when it hit him in the chest and Evie and Tyler also managed to snag a dough ball.
Afterwards, the crowd moved to a second courtyard where dozens of worshippers gathered around small tables and benches for a vegetarian meal. Brian and Jeanee were contributing members of the temple and the 10 guests from the hotel were the only westerners in attendance. After lunch, we reconvened in the first courtyard where dancers in traditional Bai costumes performed for the crowd. After 15 minutes of dancing to a boombox, a giant drum was brought toward the front and a man began beating it. Next thing we knew, a dragon was prancing through the courtyard chasing a crystal ball. The dragon, held up by a dozen dancers, circled the courtyard for 15 minutes before being replaced by a pair of golden lions. Around 1pm, the festivities were winding down so we strolled back to our hotel, marveling at our good fortune to have experienced such a local, cultural event.
One thing struck us was authentic nature of the event. Back in San Francisco, when you see throngs of people setting off firecrackers and standing around watching a papermache dragon twirl around it somehow feels fake. “Dancing dragons? No one does that for real in China! It’s a show for the tourists,” is how it feels back home. But when you see it happen in a small, rural town 2,500 miles from Beijing with virtually no tourists at all you suddenly realize that it IS how major events are celebrated throughout China and that it’s not fake. So cool!!
Back at the hotel, it was unclear what to do with the rest of our day. That’s what happens when your day peaks at noon. So we chillaxed for a while and read while the kids played ping pong. About 4pm, we decided to head back out to the lake, this time not on bikes but in a horse drawn cart. The classic ride was an enjoyable way to get to the lake and while slow, we liked seeing the rice fields slowly going by. Around 5, we arrived at the Tahoe sized lake. We walked to the end of the ‘tongue’ once again noticing the lack of western tourists.
Back at the entrance of the park, we made the mistake of asking how much a tuk-tuk to town was. 30 yuan was quickly reduced to 20 and the driver started following us down the path and after 5 minutes of walking we happy jumped in the electric tuk-tuk for the 10 minute ride into town.
At Evie’s suggestion, Sue and Tom went out for an anniversary dinner by themselves while the kids stayed home and ate at the hotel. By 8, we were back and cozied into bed to watch Kung Fu Panda 3 on the iPad for ‘family movie night.’ Sue stayed awake for most of it and by 10:30 it was lights out for everyone.
Another wonderful day in China.