Art of Travel to Artful Living

I visited Phoenix Town for the second time in 2009, a good few years after my first trip. The changes have startled me.

Like almost all touristy places in China, visitors can feel a sense of resemblance. Not the natural surroundings, not the people nor local culture, but the transformation that rapidly turning each and every destination into a commercial machine, and a lot of times doing so without the consideration of future impact.

I can remember clearly the simple, tranquil and culture rich Phoenix when I first visited almost 10 years ago. Everything was as it should be, all locals lived by the river, only a handful of fisherman’s boats goes up and down the water daily. You cannot find any trace of concrete and steel. The houses were built with wood and bamboo, the roads were paved with stone, you can only find a couple of vendors selling small quantity of handmade goods from baskets under their arms. Haggling was completely unnecessary since the honest locals only wanted pennies for their products and produce.

Today, you, as a tourist, you can sleep in the traditional wooden/bamboo houses that standing a few meters above the river for a small premium; you can also dine in one of those houses that functions as restaurant or cafe; when you walk down the narrow paths that crisscross the houses along the river bank, you will be greeted by shops trying to sell you factory manufactured goods that once were made only by hand. Neon lights decorates the whole town immaculately in the dark. Locals have moved into newly developed concrete apartment blocks outside the old town, living the lives of those city dwellers that come here to break away from the urban dust.

A subtle way of “trading places” almost, except the differences are only superficial. They still drink the same beer at the bar, except a river floats outside instead of tarmac; they still eat the same food, since they couldn’t resist the flavour they grow accustomed to, or perhaps the lack of courage to try different things; they still hang out with the same people, because being in a group is seemingly the only way to do anything; they will probably end up with souvenirs from the same factory that supplies to other popular tourist destinations, too.

There are benefits from such changes, of course. Locals now live the lives once they only knew existed on TV. But I’m not going to list them here, as I tend to find more bad points for every good one. I will however, share with you couple of photos I took during my stay.

All images © Gu Photography.

I ran into her at 6am in the street, she had already done half day’s work by that time -  she recycles empty aluminum cans, at age of 76.

When I told her she looked like 67, she could not hold back her joy.

She is the daughter of the lady below.

Mother is 92 years young.

One stubborn lady, I tell you that.

He almost pleaded me for business, but I was having none of it, thankfully he took it gracefully.

He spent 6 months searching, travelled hundreds if not thousands miles looking for a small village outside Phoenix town based on a photograph on the internet that captivated him. He then built a house with local’s help, recruited another two volunteers from other parts of China, three of them now teache local children who can’t afford to go to school.

He has an amazing skill of carving immaculate pictures on bamboo pieces, big and small.

Simple and rough working condition in the dark for the young sculptor.

Very fine detailed work he produces every night.

This fella only allowed me to photograph him if I guessed his age right. I said “82″, he smiled and said “85″, but he liked my answer better.

She kept eating even when I got so close that I nearly knocked off her bowl with the lens.

Children can find joy in almost everything, even mud. Why can’t we adults do the same?

The lady vendor was reluctant to have her photograph taken first, then a little compliment created such a wonderful moment.

More later, stay tuned.