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Guizhou Province

4/26/2019

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As I scrolled through my photos from my trip to Guizhou Province in 2015, I remembered the beauty of the land and the people who live there.  Returning soon is a necessity.  Guizhou still has villages undiscovered by tourism, and untouched by the government.

In April, the people in one of the villages we visited were beginning to plant the rice crop.  Due to the subtropical climate in this part of the country, farmers can get two harvests between April and October.

Our visit was a good introduction to the changing family structure in these rural villages.  Looking through the photos, we see the older generation of grandparents farming and taking care of the grandchildren.  The middle generation of parents is off to the city to work for higher wages.  They hope to find permanent jobs and residency in the city so that they can move their families off the farm.  They leave their children in their home villages to be cared for by grandparents, sometimes only seeing their parents and children once or twice per year.  

I suppose some might criticize the parents for leaving their children, ethnocentrism and privilege forcing judgement upon others.  But when I see the children running around in the sunshine, laughing and playing, and, as they get older, working in the fields rather than inside with a phone or video game, I am pretty sure that this early childhood is worth the trade off.  
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Labrang Monastery

4/19/2019

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The Labrang Monastery, located in Xiahe, Gansu Province (northwest China), is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, and the greatest number of Tibetan monks, outside of Tibet.  The monastery was founded in the early 1700's.

A pilgrimage to this monastery is important to Tibetans all over the region.  During prayer times, as the monks run to the main temple, chanting, dozens of pilgrims arrive to pray outside the temple. They also walk the pilgrimage circuit around the monastery, some doing prostrations, rather than, or in addition to, walking. Prostrations are a way to show reverence for the Triple Gem:  the Buddha, his teachings and the community.  These prostrations include kneeling with palms together and then placed on the ground (almost like child's pose in yoga).

The video and pictures in this post show the beautiful purple-red robes of the monks and their yellow hats.  This sect of Tibetan Buddhism is actually called the Yellow Hat.  The video above shows the monks gathering prior to prayer time.  This is an inspiring and spiritual experience for monks, pilgrims and visitors alike.

Xiahe is not easy to get to and as such, is not overrun with tourists.  Join me on a Chow Fun trip...whether or not one of our destinations is Xiahe, we always travel off the beaten path.  

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Dancing in the Early Morning

4/12/2019

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The above video is one I took last year from my hotel room in Xiahe.  This could be any neighborhood park or square in China.  Every morning, in virtually every park, there is a plethora of activity:  dancing, Tai'chi, badminton, ping pong, walking, running and jianzi (Chinese hackey sack).  Sometimes the activities are done as a group.  In that case, there is a leader who brings the music or calls out the movements.  The uniformity of the movement is mesmerizing and fascinating.  It feels as if one must know the full order of the movements, but the participants are eager for new recruits and happy to introduce us to their activity.

Join me on my next trip and do some line dancing with me!

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White Horse Temple

4/5/2019

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In Luoyang, the same area as Longmen Grottoes (blog from two weeks ago), is an almost 2,000 year old Buddhist Temple.  In the Han Dynasty (64 AD), the emperor sent a delegation to study Buddhism. They brought back two Indian monks with a white horse carrying Buddhist sutras.  This was the first time Buddhism was brought to China.  To express his thanks, the emperor ordered that a monastery and temple be built.  This area became known as the 'cradle of Buddhism' in China.

The Chinese characters are 白马寺, literally 'white horse temple.'  The grounds are immaculate, best seen in spring or fall.  There is a strong sense of peace and tranquility at the temple, heightened by the chanting of the monks.  I look forward to returning there with a future group of travelers.
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    Lauren Drazen

    I have traveled all over the world, including adventures in China, Uganda, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico!  My greatest love is introducing Americans to the sites, traditions and people of China.  My hope is to give travelers a new lens through which to see the world.

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Lauren Drazen
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lauren@chowfuntours.com

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