Fenghuan – Ancient Phoenix City

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 in: News, Travel

The ancient city in Fenghuan is in a way preserved for tourist amusement; protected from the cranes demolishing the countryside to make way for high-rise apartment buildings. The narrow hutongs are instead choked with tourists and souvenir shops. The old buildings still in tact, the experience is instead paved over by the trappings of tourism, hustling to sell the same trinkets as the next five shops. We still wonder how these places manage to stay in business when their wares are the same as each other. A small woman in a straw hat beckons to Ben and asks him if we’re interested in a boat ride on the river. She led us through the winding alleyways past cages of chickens, pheasants and hedgehogs stacked morbidly in front of restaurants. The food chain is cruel and matter-of-fact in China, but in a way it’s more honest than how we experience meat back home.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdm065DxNA

The boat was more of a covered gondola, the driver steering with a long pole through the narrow bridge around the dammed section of river. It wasn’t much of a ride, but it was very relaxing and kind of a neat experience to sit at the bow, taking it all in as we glided around to the tune of local folk songs randomly belted out by our captain.

On the way back we stopped for dinner, sitting out on a suspiciously slanted veranda with a lovely view of the river. On the opposite bank from us was a karaoke bar that cranked its music up so loud we had a hard time hearing each other, but otherwise it was a lovely meal. On the way back to the hotel, a girl stopped me by calling out my name “David! hi! Do you remember me?” I squinted at her for a moment. “Birthday-girl?!” Sent her into a fit of laughter. She was the girl that told me I was handsome the day before at Zhang Jia Jie. She noted how serendipitous it was that we would meet again in another city, and we exchanged contact information before I rejoined the guys. Back at the hotel, I realized it wasn’t even 9pm, and grandpa was ready to call it a day. I goofed off on the internet for a while, then picked up my phone and sent Niu (her name) a text. She was wandering around on her own, so I decided to go out for a nightcap. We walked around the riverside for a while and bought one of the small floating origami candelabras being sold. “This one is for family and health, this one for wealth and career, this one for love, this one for all three.” I got family and health, thinking of my dad’s parents and my host family back in Japan as I pushed the little ship away from the dock. Niu got the one for career, explaining that she was a tour guide and although tourism was picking up in China, the market was still competitive. She was leading a group of police officers on holiday at Zhang Jia Jie, and they had decided they wanted to see Feng Huan, so here she was. We ducked into one of the local karaoke bars where a live band played music in the library whilst the patrons sung along, western karaoke style. Niu got up and gave it her all, singing quite well a popular English song I didn’t know. They tried to get me to sing something but I didn’t know any of the three songs in the playlist. Next time, perhaps.

She got a text from some of the policemen she had been guiding, asking us out to a bar to go drinking. This could have been really interesting, but we both had early mornings the next day, and she was still exhausted from celebrating her birthday the day before, so we declined. I walked her back to the fancy hotel she was staying at with her group. “It must be nice to be able to travel in style like this,” I remarked. “Yes, but you’re always at the mercy of the group; where you go and where you stay and eat, it all depends on who you’re with.” I thought of Ben and all the work he had done to make sure our trip went smoothly, and felt newfound respect for his profession. We exchanged goodbyes at the entrance to the hotel, and she told me to look her up if I’m ever in Guangzhou. Walking back through the street markets outside the ancient section of the city, I remarked at the randomness of the evening. The people we meet and the connections we make during our travels are the real benefit of getting out there. The scenery is just a backdrop for our expanding social circle and world view.

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