An early morning and a walk to the bakery started my day where I was very pleased to find some melon bread. This was one of my favourite foods that I found when I was in Japan so I was extremely happy to find some in a bakery in Xiamen!
Saying goodbye to Xiamen, we had a long travelling day ahead of us. First a bus to the main bus station, then a bus till we got to the outskirts of the Hongkeng village. The journey took us around 5 hours so we arrived just before dinner time. The Yongding county is famous for its Hakka roundhouse buildings called Tulou which is where we were staying for two nights. The Hakka are a ethnic group of Chinese people who created the earth buildings. The Tulou buildings are usually round and they have a communal courtyard in the middle however some are a rectangular shape. Families usually own the tulou and they would many generations would live in the individual rooms within the roundhouse. We stayed in a tulou belonging to a family in the village.
I was slightly apprehensive before we went as I struggled to find information on-line about staying in a Tulou especially since the location was fairly rural. However when we got there I was pleasantly surprised with my room which was complete with bathroom and flat screen TV. Our Tulou had 4 floors and I was on the 3rd. After unpacking the group were welcomed to dinner cooked by the family in the ground floor courtyard. We ate rice, chicken with peppers, sweet & sour chicken and fries. Once we had finished our dinner a few of us went for a wander around the village. It was interesting to see the lanterns lit up at night. There were other Tulou's nearby and each building had its own sort of business with ours making rice wine. When walking around we found a group of people sitting watching a film on a temporary screen which was something I did not expect to see! As it was getting very dark we eventually went back to the Tulou and called it a night.
The following morning we had a more extensive tour around the Village.
Firstly we went to a larger roundhouse that was the next one up from where we were staying. One of the family members gave us a tour around and then we had some free time to look through the building. A little further up in the Village we came to another building which was a rectangular style. This particular building was built in a palace-like fashion back In 1834 and was home to an important family in the village. It had more decoration inside than the others we had visited. After leaving that building we walked past the village school towards our tea ceremony. We tried about 6 different types of tea that were grown in the local area. One of the most memorable was a fermented orange which is then shaved and added to boiling water to make the tea. My favourite tea was one called Mountain tea. In China they don't drink mugs of tea like we do in the UK, the have a little taster of tea which they drink in three sips.
The tea ceremony marked the end of our village tour. The group split up and we headed off to continue exploring ourselves. A river ran through the village so it was nice to walk along as the sun was beating down. The weather was warm and pleasant during our time in Hongkeng with temperatures in the mid-20's. Most of the group went back to the Tulou to pack before dinner while I went to look at the small temple that was next door. I also had a look at the small number of stalls that were just across the river. Most of the vendors were elderly and were selling handmade items. I bought a small replica of the main Tulou building. I also ventured back to some of the places we visited during the day, to take some photos when there were less tourists. The area was even more scenic as the sun was setting, with the mountains surrounding the village. I felt very peaceful as I walked over the bridge and admired the scenery.
Dinner was again cooked by the family in the Tulou with rice, meat and vegetables. The group then played cards before going to bed.
I really enjoyed our time in Hongkeng cultural tulou village which surprised me as it was the place on our itinerary that I was least looking forward to. Apart from a rooster waking us all up at 2am on both our nights in the Tulou, this was just part of the rural life authenticity. I felt that this was the most cultural part of China we had seen, although how true it was to Hakka life I am not sure. The Village seemed very traditional but it was difficult to tell whether it was created more just for tourists. I did like the area because we were the only Westerners there so it felt like an unknown place. Whatever the case I did enjoy the time we spent there as it was rural, peaceful and a unique experience.
Saying goodbye to Xiamen, we had a long travelling day ahead of us. First a bus to the main bus station, then a bus till we got to the outskirts of the Hongkeng village. The journey took us around 5 hours so we arrived just before dinner time. The Yongding county is famous for its Hakka roundhouse buildings called Tulou which is where we were staying for two nights. The Hakka are a ethnic group of Chinese people who created the earth buildings. The Tulou buildings are usually round and they have a communal courtyard in the middle however some are a rectangular shape. Families usually own the tulou and they would many generations would live in the individual rooms within the roundhouse. We stayed in a tulou belonging to a family in the village.
The following morning we had a more extensive tour around the Village.
Firstly we went to a larger roundhouse that was the next one up from where we were staying. One of the family members gave us a tour around and then we had some free time to look through the building. A little further up in the Village we came to another building which was a rectangular style. This particular building was built in a palace-like fashion back In 1834 and was home to an important family in the village. It had more decoration inside than the others we had visited. After leaving that building we walked past the village school towards our tea ceremony. We tried about 6 different types of tea that were grown in the local area. One of the most memorable was a fermented orange which is then shaved and added to boiling water to make the tea. My favourite tea was one called Mountain tea. In China they don't drink mugs of tea like we do in the UK, the have a little taster of tea which they drink in three sips. 
Dinner was again cooked by the family in the Tulou with rice, meat and vegetables. The group then played cards before going to bed.
I really enjoyed our time in Hongkeng cultural tulou village which surprised me as it was the place on our itinerary that I was least looking forward to. Apart from a rooster waking us all up at 2am on both our nights in the Tulou, this was just part of the rural life authenticity. I felt that this was the most cultural part of China we had seen, although how true it was to Hakka life I am not sure. The Village seemed very traditional but it was difficult to tell whether it was created more just for tourists. I did like the area because we were the only Westerners there so it felt like an unknown place. Whatever the case I did enjoy the time we spent there as it was rural, peaceful and a unique experience.
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