On our final day in Huangshan we visited a rural village far outside the city. Here the buildings were all in the same style as they were in the Old Street of the city. We were able to get an even better view of China’s old buildings this time as well as some views of the interior of village peoples’ homes. The houses had some very old and very impressive woodworking on display in the high ceilinged rooms and traditional roofs. One interesting design aspect was the inclusion in some homes of an opening to the sky between roofs over the main living area which subscribed to the traditional idea of “collecting the wealth.” In addition, we also saw some traditional ornate design above some doorways which had been spared destruction during the Cultural Revolution. There were mostly only women, children, and elderly in this village, and it appeared that most of the people living here worked in agriculture. It is evident that China is becoming more and more urban and that villages like this might not be around forever, so I’m grateful for having gotten the opportunity to see what rural China is really like firsthand.

Bill Stone