Recent Travels: Dehang + Fenghuang

Over the national May holiday, Shane, Shobana and I traveled to western Hunan to 2 beautiful areas.  The first and more scenic and mountainous Dehang, and the second lively yet relaxing river town of Fenghuang.  It was a fast-paced trip with 2 sleeper trains, 4 bus rides and lots of walking, but I left Xiangxi feeling satisfied and rejuvenated.

Here's a quick rundown of what we did...

Dehang

Morning: arrived in Dehang after sleeper train #1, hiked to the Liusha Waterfall, hiked behind waterfall and got completely soaked, hiked back to village for a hearty lunch of local dishes
Afternoon: hiked through mountains and rice paddies and eventually up a mountain to the Tianwen Tai (literal translation: heaven-asking platform) for an amazing, birds eye view of the karsts, took a bus to the newly constructed Aizhi Bridge (one of the highest bridges in the world), returned to village
Evening: traveled to Fenghuang

Fenghuang

Evening: walked around the streets of Fenghuang and experienced the nightlife
Morning: indulged in a western brunch and then took a boat ride down the river that flows through Fenghuang
Afternoon: lazed around the town, took hundreds of pictures and eventually made our way to the train station for sleeper train #2

Mr. Guo

On my train ride back from Shanghai back to Hengshan, I met a wonderful new friend.  We were on a sleeper train and he had the bed directly across from me.  The minute I saw him, I could tell he was blind.  He had a cane, and someone help him locate his bed.  After he settled came the obligatory train introductions when everyone finds out where everyone else (read: the foreigner) is going.

He asked me where I was going, I responded in Chinese, and then to my surprise, he responded back in perfect English.  I was absolutely shocked because it is very rare for someone of his age (69) to be able to speak English.  His English was special.  It wasn't the usual choppy and blunt English of my students and even the Chinese English teachers at my school.  His English was fluid, poetic and completely mesmerizing.  He spoke slowly and thoughtfully.

Originally from Shanghai, he was traveling with his brother to visit Hunan including Shaoshan (Mao Zedong's birthplace), Zhangjiajie and Changsha.  He wanted to experience the mountains in Zhangjiajie.  I remember him saying, with conviction, that although he will inevitably trip or fall down, he will keep climbing until he reaches the top.  I think that is when I started to get choked up.

He had the most beautiful life philosophies and attitude.  He said the future is full of uncertainty so we need to make the most of today.  That felt cliché to type, but for some reason when he said it, it was as if I was hearing that piece of advice for the first time.  I found it especially touching considering my current job search.  I'm finding it hard to live in the present, but Mr. Guo gave me a great reminder.

This small post doesn't do Mr. Guo justice, but I wanted to pay him a little tribute.  After dinner he took out an orange, peeled it, gave me half and said, "In the same way we are sharing in friendship, let's share this orange."  I consider meeting him a gift from the universe.