Adventure_Monkey The stories here are past adventures I've been on.

Hongcun (Grand Village) is one of a few lasting ancient villages in southern Anhui province, China. A pond of glass surrounds the village and a smell of fresh water ensues as you cross the pond on a stone bridge leading to the village. Water from a nearby river flows down nearly every street of the city in small ducts providing an open plumbing system. The narrow waterways are segmented everywhere by small wooden dams that are kept clean by villagers. Absence of city sounds, refreshing air, unique architecture, depth of history, and friendly people make Hongcun a totally sweet place to visit.

While my foreign companions and I came to Hongcun for a unique, exotic, adventure, Da Hua, a Chinese friend I was traveling with, came here with a specific purpose in mind. Hongcun was settled over 600 years ago by a group of Wangs. Da Hua – his family name being Wang – was in search of some distant relatives as well as a chance to see what kind of place his ancestors had created.

In the main cobblestone square of town we dragged a table out under the open blue sky and ate lunch. It was here we met our guide. Being the only foreigners around, my travel companions and I drew a good amount of attention in the small village. A friendly older man who Da Hua described as “crazy about history, just like me” offered to show us around starting with the pair of primordial trees we were sitting under. The trees were as venerable as the village, more than 600 years old. A dance would be performed around one on the day of any villager’s wedding. A dance around the other marked the death of a villager. In fact, just the day before a 90 year old man had died and the dance performed. If we had been there a day earlier we could have seen or even partaken in the dance. Damn, but oh well.

On our trek through the narrow stone pathways of town a local woman cheerfully invited us for tea. We sat in an enclosed garden strewn with chirping birds, meandering cobblestone pathways, and exotic plants. Our patio table was encapsulated in an entanglement of vines and flowers. The sun pushed through the vines and the individual rays shining through to the table gave the area a kind of eerie yet calming feel. Aside from the birds, an occasional barking dog, and the gentle trickle of the open plumbing system I heard the thwap thwap thwapping of something just over the stone wall to my right. I imagined a woman, shrouded in dust, beating the daylights out of an old rug.

After finding out that Da Hua was a Wang and hoping to discover something of his roots, the woman who invited us for tea gave him a copy of an old family tree she had. Not only that, but our guide also mentioned his friend was a Wang and that he could bring us to her home.

The sun was lower now and the air a bit cooler as we walked to the woman’s home. Da Hua was excited about meeting with his distant relatives.

She happened to live in the largest house in town with a rooftop view of the entire landscape in all directions. She was a 94th generation Wang. Da Hua was 92nd generation; making him the older woman’s great uncle. “I wish you had come a day earlier” she smoothly and haggardly spoke. “My father was 90 years old and died just yesterday.”