Off to visit nongmins in nongcun
I’ve lived in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. I’ve spent copious amounts of time in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao. I’ve hit all the main tourist places in China… Hangzhou, Xi’an, Guilin, Dongguan, Zhuhai, etc. But one place I’ve never been is the countryside.
Guilin is probably the closest I got. I caught the bus from Guilin to Yangshuo, a tourist mecca in its own right. But the bus wound through sparse roads and crumbling homes en route to the trendy West Street. Sure, I saw chickens running across the street, and things like that. It was rural, but not as rural as where I’m off to this afternoon.
I am heading out to a small village called Wushan in Hubei province. It’s apparently got electricity, which is good. Not so sure on the running water part. And I’ve seen photos of the bathrooms in Wushan — let’s just say it must be cold in the winter, and hopefully it doesn’t rain much. There are no hotels in the village, so I will be staying at a government guest house.
I’m looking forward to it, yet also thankful it’s only for two nights. I’ll post a full report when I return.
