14. Out of This World, Metaphorically
Leaving Zhangjiajie early in the morning, our bus got on the Chang-Zhang Highway and took us, through the city of ChangDe, to a place called TaoHuaYuan. Along the way, I saw that every valley between every hill is terraced for farming. While I don't know what was grown there, it was pretty clear that this is the heartland of China, where every arable inch is tilled, where peasants will dry their harvests smack in the middle of the road so buses and trucks have to swerve to avoid ruining the crops.
All of a sudden, we arrived at a legendary spot: TaoHuaYuan - The Peach Blossom Garden.
Since this is October, there are not a single peach blossom. Indeed, I didn't even notice any peach trees. But there is an interesting story behind this seemingly ordinary picture of a small water fall.
About 1600 years ago, a highly-regarded government official, TaoYuenMing, became tired of the politics in the court he served and decided to early retire himself. He started traveling around China and by happenstance, wandered into a wonderfully peaceful area where there was no government and only peasants and fishermen quietly living their lives. He penned the now famous Annals of TaoHuaYuan which has been one of the often taught ancient documents. The place we visited is the place supposedly TaoYuenMing discovered; although no one really is certain if this is indeed historically correct.
If you look at the photo carefully, at the left side, there is a dark grey spot hidden behind the green vegetation. This is the cave entrance to a tunnel that cuts through the mountain. We went through a parallel tunnel that was dug later and voila, emerged on the other side that is a small village - it is supposedly here that people have lived 'outside of this world'. As one emerges from the dark tunnel to the sunny stream and fields, it indeed feels like one is getting away from it all.
For those who can read Chinese, here is the site that explains everything: http://www.chthy.com/
For those who cannot read Chinese, just click on the map and you'll see what I mean by the tunnel leading to a village.
All of a sudden, we arrived at a legendary spot: TaoHuaYuan - The Peach Blossom Garden.
Since this is October, there are not a single peach blossom. Indeed, I didn't even notice any peach trees. But there is an interesting story behind this seemingly ordinary picture of a small water fall.
About 1600 years ago, a highly-regarded government official, TaoYuenMing, became tired of the politics in the court he served and decided to early retire himself. He started traveling around China and by happenstance, wandered into a wonderfully peaceful area where there was no government and only peasants and fishermen quietly living their lives. He penned the now famous Annals of TaoHuaYuan which has been one of the often taught ancient documents. The place we visited is the place supposedly TaoYuenMing discovered; although no one really is certain if this is indeed historically correct.
If you look at the photo carefully, at the left side, there is a dark grey spot hidden behind the green vegetation. This is the cave entrance to a tunnel that cuts through the mountain. We went through a parallel tunnel that was dug later and voila, emerged on the other side that is a small village - it is supposedly here that people have lived 'outside of this world'. As one emerges from the dark tunnel to the sunny stream and fields, it indeed feels like one is getting away from it all.
For those who can read Chinese, here is the site that explains everything: http://www.chthy.com/
For those who cannot read Chinese, just click on the map and you'll see what I mean by the tunnel leading to a village.
posted by thisandthat at
3:35 AM
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