We visited Xinli’s hometown on May 28th. The rural areas of the country are much different than the cities. It is quiet and beautiful. Everything is green, clear and fresh… and there is no traffic. Being a city girl living in one of the busiest cities in the country, I easily fell in love with this kind of small town. Most of the houses are painted in white based on local customs, and they are very close to one another. Local people have been living in those towns from generations to generations and it is a good way to keep relationships with neighbors.
We visited Xinli’s mother’s home, a traditional Anhui style house. The first floor has enough room for all forty of us, and the second floor has mainly bedrooms. We also visited a local elementary school. The kids were kind of scared of us when staring at us as strangers. Their classrooms are small. No air conditioners in the humid. No computers. All the chairs are benches that can sit more than two kids. But I could tell that kids who are getting education in this environment are happy. They believe that knowledge can change their life.
Being away from the bustle-and-hustle of cities, people there are leisure, kind and modest. Many people grow corns, tea and some other vegetables for living. All they depend on are from the nature: rain, vegetables and lands, and more importantly, themselves. People’s life has been tremendously improved in recent years due to the growth of Chinese economy. For example, most of the households use solar energy in their old houses. However, we cannot deny the differences between cities and countryside of China. Hopefully when rural towns are catching up with the speed of Chinese development, they are still able to keep most of their old traditions that have been passed for thousands of years.
