Mushan Part 1

After living in metropolitan Hong Kong for the last three-and-a-half months, I was determined to soak up as much of rural China as possible on this my first foray into the Mainland. So every morning I got up between 5:30 and 6:00 and went for an earlier morning walk or bike ride.

The night before, our guide Phil had told me that the village of Mushan was less than a mile from our inn.

I set out just as the village was coming to life. There is really only one road –more of a path actually- that leads into and out of Mushan. A few of the villagers were already outside and in their gardens tending to their vegetables. I passed several farmers headed out of town on their way to their fields. I passed a man waking his water buffalo out of the village. Now that’s a sight you don’t see in Hong Kong or Chicago every day.

This village is over 500 years old and some of the houses looked like they could very well be 500 years old. Everything was made from brick. The town is laid old in a meandering, haphazard fashion as if it emerged and grew over time which is probably exactly what happened. I saw old-fashioned hand water pumps in almost every yard.

Chickens and roosters were roaming everywhere.

Although this particular village is not on the road to anywhere, they must get a fair number of curiosity seekers, because no one seemed to bat an eye at my presence. This place is so different from any place I have been. I feel like I have entered another world. Obviously, I know that villages like this exist all over the world, but it’s something all together different to be experiencing it firsthand. I try to image what it be like to live my life day in and day out in this village, but I can't wrap my brain around it.

My early morning walk was all the more enjoyable knowing that it wasn’t on our official itinerary. It felt like I had stumbled upon this hidden gem. Later I would try to recruit some of the kids –including my own daughter- to join me on a walk through Mushan. I had no takers. They’d rather use their free time to play cards with each other in the hotel lobby. I guess it’ll be just be me, the farmers, and the water buffalo again tomorrow.

-Jack