#yongding

Tianmen Mountain National Park, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie, China

The Fujian Road Less Travelled

I spent the last week in China with @cathaypacific and @passionpassport. And to be honest, I wasn't expecting fresh air along the river or a pastel sunset or the glow of red lanterns on tiled rooftops. We explored a region I hadn't really thought to go to myself. And I learned that although I pride myself in traveling away from the masses, sometimes we drift onto the beaten trail unknowingly and stay a while. We might not even realize we're on it until we remember to look down. The number of foreigners I saw couldn't fill a room. And I don't say that to brag or be elitist; I am choosing to point this out because much like the world, there is a LOT to see in China. 

I completely get why we might choose Beijing or Shanghai. I get that we might only have two weeks off from work. I get why we do the things we see in guidebooks, or the "Top 10" slideshows we scroll through before bed when we procrastinate sleep. But we need to remember that someone wrote the guidebook. And more importantly, before the guidebook, someone lived a very rich story there for years and years, as did their mother and grandmother. 

When I was a little girl, I had this dream that being grown up could mean spinning a globe and going where my finger landed— to learn and experience and grow should the place be open to visitors. This week reminded me that the dream is still very much alive. And although the beaten track has much to teach and always will, it is the stories from the lesser-known roads that are the deepest learned, and hardest won. #MyChinaExperience 🇨🇳

Just within a standard one-hour bus ride from Yongding, one can reach a decently-sized city called Longyan, where for a change, you are greeted with a more concrete, man-made jungle once again.

As I shared earlier, the Hokkien ethnic group (together with their Longyan counterpart) welcomed the Hakka folks who fled from their northern invaders (hence the building of the great wall of China). Most Hokkiens pushed towards the coast into cities we know today like Xiamen, Fujian etc., leaving the remaining sub-dialect group like Longyan to reside towards the east of the Hakka people.

You cannot synonymously mention these circular earthen homes without linking them to the Hakka demographic of the Chinese population.

As mentioned, they were originally from the north of greater China, only to be driven south by the barbarian who emerged in the past onto their lands.

Exploring further within the scenic zone of Yong Ding will reveal a hidden layer of details. With time, everything gets buried and enmeshed with the hands of people handling them.

And with time, one need the same to unravel lost significance back to the reality of today. The use of the colors, shape of their flags, significance of the mythical beasts in their culture all points to the marvel of this race through their 5000 years of history.

Among the hundreds of these "earthen buildings", there stand a princely one that stood out in uniqueness, diversity and sheer size. Some rightfully calls it the Prince of Tulou.

Amidst the theatre of performers and firecrackers, there lie a deeper layer of culture, ethnic values and eagerness to preserve the Hakka way of life.

It's something beyond the stereotyped financial wealth and affluence everyone is measured by...something more than the material fabric of the people that tells me they are happy to remain simple and contented.

The Hakka cuisines say it all, with most derived from soya beans, fats and rice, all preserved in lotus leaves and salts, yet tasty.