First we walked over to see Ying and Wade's house, then we stopped by their neighbors and I was showed around their beautifully restored old home, and saw where they were building another home in the old style, but with modern amenities. I learned that the Chinese love to show of their homes to visitors. If they have their front door open it means you are welcome to walk in and admire their home!
Because the streets of the old village of Xixinan are so narrow there are no cars on the street, and the mopeds are almost all electric, so they are extremely quiet. With all the hustle and bustle of Modern Chinese cities it is a wonderful experience being in the quiet surroundings of this old village. Something that city folks have discovered, and it is beginning to get popular to buy and remodel the old homes in the traditional style for weekend get-aways and second homes.
Ying showed my the huge classroom of the Whangshan Academy, as well as her studio and gallery space, which is getting close to completion, before she had to get to work on a project she needed to finish. So her husband Wade and I was accompanied by the daughter of their neighbors to give us a tour and a little background about the village. She has just returned from studying at university in San Francisco, and spoke fluent English.
On our tour we went into another private home owned by a former Chinese business man, who now spends his days doing beautiful calligraphy work. He had an amazing home which was still being renovated. He was very kind and insisted I try my hand at calligraphy in the traditional Chinese way, using hand-ground ink and a sumi brush. It was fun to try copying the beautiful Chinese signs. I understand that each sign represent a syllable. Absolutely fascinating!
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