Fuyang

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A DIFFERENT CHINA – SPENDING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR IN THE HOME OF A CHINESE FAMILY

We had the honor and privilege of being invited to spend the Lunar New Year holiday at the family home of a dear friend, Yuanyuan. She and her parents, Mr. Dong and Ms. Yu, invited us to stay with them to celebrate this important, traditional holiday. In summary, it was an amazing experience!

We have been visiting China for many, many years. We have grown accustomed to life in a Chinese city. There is a constant surge of people; Chinese cities are huge – even small cities. When you’re walking on the street or through a metro station, there is always a crowd. Getting on the metro, bus or train begins with the formation of a queue. However, once boarding is available, the queue dissolves into mass chaos. What seemed manageable now becomes overwhelming if you’re meek or timid. People shove and push in an attempt to board first. Why? Crowds result in everything being at a premium – seats, standing room, baggage space – and it means everyone just wants to be first.

So, if your only experience in China is that of fighting the crowds, it’s not likely a pleasant one. That being said, once you get beyond the sheer numbers of people, you find individuals to be warm, friendly, helpful and affectionate people. To them, family is first and foremost and their family relationships and loving and treasured. Plus, China has a long history and rich culture with many, many places to visit and enjoy. These historic sites and the Chinese people are the main reasons we continue to return to and enjoy China. Of course, there is the issue of air pollution. In major cities, particularly in Beijing, the smog can be terrible; only an N95 respirator can protect your lungs. Next comes the noise pollution. In large cities there’s a constant stream of honking horns at most hours of the day and night unless you’re in a residential neighborhood. This is the reality of experiencing life in a major metropolitan area in China. That being said, it's still worth the visit!

What our experience over the Lunar New Year let us enjoy and appreciate was a different slice of China – that of living in a truly small community where everyone knows one another and looks after one another.

As most of you reading this diary know, we speak no Mandarin. We can say “thank you”, "you're welcome", “hello” and “beer” but that’s not much for a detailed conversation. We got by thanks to Yuanyuan constantly translating for us. A few times, she got some relief thanks to her brother, Haohao, who speaks some English as well as a young female cousin, Xuexue, who also speaks some English.

Also, before arriving at Yuanyuan’s hometown, we had some preconceived notions that homes in a rural city would be modest and use traditional Eastern-style toilets. Well, while some homes in the neighborhood fit this description, our hosts’ home is bigger than our home and beautifully furnished (and, yes, with a Western-style toilet!). Yuanyuan’s father is an electrical supervisor on huge construction projects. As such, his home has electrical outlets – even those which fit non-Chinese appliances – throughout the house. In addition to village water, Mr. Dong had a well drilled for clean water. (It also comes in very handy when the village water is turned off. Evidently this does happen; we can attest as it quit running for about half a day during our visit.) Then, Mr. Dong installed an electrically heated hot water tank in the second floor bathroom so that hot water is constantly available at the sink and shower. This is a true treat as most Chinese homes do not have heated water. So, our preconceived notions were thrown out immediately.

Ultimately the key difference in housing – at least in this part of China – is the lack of central heating. By law, communities (like Fuyang and Cha Hua) which lie south of the Huai River and Qin Mountains (draw a line across the country just north of Shanghai) cannot be heated. China lacks a sufficient infrastructure to provide heating in the southern part of the country despite some of these areas being very cold in winter. Newer homes like that belonging to Yuanyuan’s parents are constructed from concrete. So, in the winter, it is chilly or even cold. Everyone (including us) compensated for this by wearing winter clothing even when inside. We wore long-underwear, a sweater and a fleece along with scarves and coats – Ed in a down jacket; Lindy in a lined, leather jacket. Ms. Yu made sure we had warm slippers to wear when we were in the house. During the morning hours, there was a courtyard at the rear of the house – off the kitchen – where we all sat and enjoyed tea (or coffee which was purchased specifically for us) and warmed up thanks to the sunlight. We could do the same in the afternoon at the front of the house.

Throughout our visit, everyone took such wonderful care of us and we were thoroughly spoiled. We enjoyed delicious meals, great walks through town and wonderful evenings with the family. We took part in the traditional lighting of firecrackers and incense on New Year’s Eve. We also took part in the lighting of paper lanterns that are lifted by paraffin into the night sky. It was so amazing to be a part of this extended family and be treated as if we were members of it. Our time in Cha Hua will be something we will treasure forever and re-live often as we enjoy the photographs we took throughout our stay! Please continue reading the daily diary below for more details and lots of photographs!

Saturday, 6 February: We arrived in Fuyang at 9:30AM after a 1.5 hour flight from Shanghai. Fuyang is located about an hour from Cha Hua - Yuanyuan's home town. It is the city with the closest airport. If you locate Shanghai on the map above, then move to the left (west) of Shanghai, you'll find the province of Anhui. It is here that Fuyang and Cha Hua are located.

Fuyang is a typical Chinese city with lots of high-rise buildings, many newly built high-rise housing developments, major roads and plenty of traffic. Our taxi ride to Cha Hua took us well beyond this large city into the outlying rural area. While we continued to see lots of buildings, they primarily were single story buildings with an occasional two-three story building. Set among and between the buildings were small fields being used to grow vegetables, wheat and other crops.

In about 50 minutes, we turned off a two-lane road onto a one lane road with concrete buildings on both sides. Some had doors while others simply had a metal pull-down door that served as the entry. When we pulled up in front of Yuanyuan’s home, her father, Mr. Dong, was already waiting for us outside. He somehow managed to take our luggage from the trunk, pay the taxi and send it away before we climbed out of the backseat. We then walked up a short concrete drive through the double doors of the family home. Mr. Dong took both our large bags upstairs to Yuanyuan’s former room – our room for the next four nights. Then, we met Ms. Yu, Yuanyuan’s mother, who was working in the kitchen. We later learned that was where most of her time was spent – preparing wonderful, delicious meals – often with help from Mr. Dong.

Yuanyuan with her parents - Ms. Yu and Mr. Dong

Ms. Yu in her kitchen; she's a wonderful chef!