First published: 24/12/18.

Zoë Sheng 1.0

Xidi And Hongcun

Xidi and Hongcun (Inscribed)

Xidi and Hongcun by Els Slots

I disliked both villages. I came with a tour from Huangshan which is very popular. I found that now that visitors are coming the locals make this into a tourist trap, selling overpriced vegetables and herbs and making them seem special. I walked around the villages twice in the hope to see something special but in the end all I got were farmhouses and farmers working on the fields, washing clothes in the dirty water. If I wanted to see that maybe I could go to Romania too? Once I saw everything the tour guide said we spend another hour here for "shopping" - how frustrating!

For people who think China is all developed because of its economic standing in the world: most of it is still farming. So if I get to farm villages with some traditional housing it isn't special. You can see that in a lot of places. It maybe is not protected or in a good state but that doesn't make it worth seeing. Elite metropolitans maybe think it is something they have never seen before.

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