Yuan jia cun

Sometimes I feel there must be some guardian angels working full time for me.  The ladies in my adult class invited me for a trip to Yuan jia cun.  Its about an hour from Xi'an near the tomb of Taizong, one of the Middle Kingdom's greatest Emperors.  But our goal was not the tomb.  Yuan jia cun means the village of the Yuan family.  Formerly they were very poor, but after the new 'openness'

of the 1980s they gradually transformed.  The headman of the village found out that people from the city like to have somewhere to go in the country to relax.  So he encouraged development of traditional crafts such as weaving, spinning, making tofu, various delicious soups, handicrafts and music. It worked.  People came by the thousands and they spent money.  This success allowed a considerable expansion of the village supplementing ancient buildings with new structures designed in traditional styles.  There are several hotels, one of which

has beds heated by fires that are lit in the base; traditional furniture with modern bathrooms.
On the left is a place for spinning and weaving of cotton.  I tried my hand at weaving, but I am very bad at it.  Takes a lot of practice to co-ordinate feet and hands.  I think to make one meter of cotton would take me a long time.  The traditional cart was supplied with a number of weapons, so Lucy is

demonstrating her ferocity with a sword. The streets are all paved and lined with many shops selling beef noodle soup, sheep's stomachs, flat bread and other delicacies such as fried scorpions.
         
I was very impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit that has brought prosperity to the village.
There are lots of signs from the communist era - pictures and statues of Mao and traditional attire.  On the right is one of the longest swings I've seen.  Lucy and Lili managed to get it working, but I'm not quite convinced it would pass a safety inspection.
We were very lucky with the weather- bright sunshine and blue skies.  Even though the air was a bit cold we were able to eat outside and explore in comfort.  Not bad for a December afternoon.  In the evening we had hotpot in one of the restaurants of Lucy's family.
The ladies practice their English very well, but it was also a great chance to work

 on my Chinese.  Many thanks to Lucy, Lili, Ana and Grace for a golden day in the heart of China which will live in my memory for a long time.