My China – Connecting With People

The second part of Amanda Greatorex’s independent travels as a young girl in China 20 years ago. Click here for the first part

I was travelling mainly with another curly haired, blue eyed female. When we hired bikes, crowds would gather. I never found the Chinese people intimidating or threatening in any way, in fact, it was quite amusing to be gasped at when I allowed my freckles and the fair hairs on my arms to be inspected and discussed at close range. Word was out that there was a European on a particular 2 day train journey I undertook on my own (virtually the length of China) and my compartment (white lacy tablecloths, tea flask, white bed linen) was constantly visited by small groups bringing me oranges. We would chat, laugh, (neither really knowing what the other was saying – a few drawings here and there trying to explain) and one young performance troupe sang their whole repertoire for me. Then, of course, it was my turn. I sang “Edelweiss” (though no-one had actually seen the “Sound of Music!)

Way down in the southwest region (Yunan, Sechuan provinces) were cities like Kunming and Chegdu plus villages where we spent a few weeks (Dali, Lijiang) learning Tai Chi, having hot steam baths and eucalyptus oil massages. We cycled to the Tibetan borders to meet a renowned Chinese herbalist Dr Ho, we ate fresh marinated fish, unusual mushrooms, lots of rice. We walked through beautiful parks and gardens, sat by lakes and pagodas, meeting all sorts of people including, one particular day, a party of school children. It was quite hot and my nose was burning so I licked a leaf and stuck it on my nose – the children, perhaps thinking this was some strange European tradition, all picked leaves and tried it too. Afternoons like that were such joy!

I travelled for 2 years – 3 months of which was in China. I was fascinated by the people and the culture of the world I too inhabited and needed to experience and wondered at the amazing people and places that were on the other side of my world. I was aware I was only skimming the surface in my transient travels, but in a country where verbal dialogue was virtually impossible, universal communication through smiling, respect and curiosity, transcended the need for language.

I finally travelled to those mountains. An alien landscape of limestone hills near Guilin, eroded apparently from acid rain over the years, protruding out of a flat land. We hired bikes, took them with us on an early morning barge downstream and cycled back slowly all day through the mountains.

I never saw the Xian Army or walked the Beijing Wall, but I did explore some rural corners, translate some menus into English in my favourite cafes and invent a novel method of facial sun protection. On my return to the UK I studied Chi Kung and vibrational energy for many years (using sound and colour) based on the Ancient Chinese Law of the 5 Elements.

I’m sure I would have a totally different experience visiting China today, with myself and China having moved on some 20 years. Maybe it’s a youthful, romantic memory I have of the country or was it a timeless connection I found in my searching years which rang true somehow? Now back and settled in the UK, The Tao and the interconnectedness of the universe is a key piece in my understanding of the flow of life to this day. Visiting China gave me that first hand.

POST SCRIPT
On strumming an Autoharp for the first time back in the UK, the sound of all those bicycles came back to me and the song that had been going round my head writing itself whilst cycling hand in hand with a handsome exchange student in Hangzhou, suddenly came into being!” to hear “soft” click here.