Before departing for our final destination, Shanghai, our final night in Huangshan was spent paying a visit to a village on the outskirts of the larger city. We came to this rural area for the long awaited dinner at Xinli’s mother’s house. While being surrounded by tall buildings and massive amounts of people in a foreign nation is interesting, I was excited to traverse through a new environment. Being this is Xinli’s hometown, we toured around the entire village, met some locals, and cherished the beautiful scenery that encompassed Hong Qing Village. It seemed so peaceful, as everyone just continued on with their daily routines. Children would run around playing, local farmers were harvesting crops and most important of all, they all greeted us with smiles. It really put things into perspective, seeing how close neighbors are to one another it’s as if they are all just one family; it’s comforting. I can understand how people can enjoy living like this, even when the city is just a several miles away; the lifestyle may not be ideal for most people, but I can see how the villagers cherish the important pieces that they do have. The remainder of our stay in Hong Qing was surreal; we ate a wonderful homemade meal and spent our final moments setting off fireworks as the rain started to come down. We made it back to the bus with some of us wet, some covered in mud, but all of us full of smiles and laughter at the day’s end. I can never forget these days. I would go back and do it all again if I could.
May 27, 2016