Shangrao

Shangrao in Jiangxi Province is one of those villages that will soon to be no more...at least in terms of what it looks like today.  The people there are still living as they have for hundreds of years.  We see ancient buildings and rice terraces.  We see the local farmers walking with poles on their shoulders, hauling their crops in baskets that hang from either side.  Dishes are washed in the stream that runs through the town.  Streets are swept with brooms, made by hand, using straw.  Chickens run freely.  The local pastime is sitting on stools and chatting.  The fields are green and lush.  There is no noise pollution since there are no cars in Shangrao.  

Yet there are signs of change.  Some buildings are being refurbished.  The gardens near the entrance to the village are landscaped as a welcome sign to future visitors.  Plans for rebuilding and restoring are tacked to the wall of one of the pagodas.  The local government will soon be restoring Shangrao.  The local people have mixed feelings.  They do not want to be overrun by tourists and yet, tourists mean a stream of income.  Farming is hard work.  If they just have to farm in order to keep neat fields, regardless of crop yield, for the purpose of luring tourists, that might be just fine.  

This does not mean that Shangyao will be remarkably different in ten years.  This depends on what is done to improve the town for tourists.  The biggest difference will be the locals' indifference to foreign visitors.  Now they are surprised, excited, shy and in awe of westerners.  Soon they might be hiding inside their homes so as to avoid us.  Although this would be a shame, it is progress and there is no stopping it.  This is what happens in all nations as they industrialize and modernize.  

There are still plenty of "Shangraos" in China.  You just need to know where to look.  Join me in my search.