Traveling to Chengdu

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah Psalm 46:2-3

Last week I had my first break from teaching since Christm*s. It was awesome! I went south with one of my friends here, Sara Zhou. She lives in the Sichuan province in a town called Renshou. We started our trip by grabbing a train and traveling 31 hours to get to Chengdu. If you have never traveled by train I suggest you experience it. However, take my advice, don't take a 31 hour ride on a hard sleeper! Yes it is much better than a hard seat, but my back is still recovering!

Sara

As we traveled south, we got to see the beautiful scenery of the Qinling Mountains. It was beautiful, even though it was overcast. It felt more like home. Though I don't live in the mountains, I was seeing more trees like we had at home...a much wider variety than we have up north. I was blessed to have a window seat to be able to view it all.

As we traveled, we saw homes that from a distance reminded me of our two story homes in the states. In the north, houses are only one story to keep the family warmer in the cold months.

Some of my favorite pictures are ones that I are in my memory. When traveling by train, you quickly lose the picture that you want to take or it ends up blurry. I loved seeing people working in their fields especially working in the rice fields with the farmers wearing the traditional Chinese hat.

My camera just can't do this area justice. They use every area possible. They cut into the land, into the mountains so they can farm on flat lands. The Chin*se are very smart and let nothing go to waste. We could learn some things from them in that area.

The dirt was red. It stayed that way all the way into Renshou. Clay dirt where ever you looked. I can't imagine how hard that must be on the oxen as they pull the plow through it. I was able to see that but not fast enough with the camera.

This is a local burial site. Up north they cremate the bodies and bury them in a large mound of dirt. Down south, they dig into the side of the hill and bury them in their. They place a door that looks like it could be the entrance. They have festivals in the early spring where family members go to the place where their dead is buried and bring them things. This is so their family members can do well that year in the after life. They will bring fruit and offer them money. They will burn the money as an offering to them. Before all this, they will light fireworks to warn off the evil spirits.

In the center you will see a blue tent. We saw several of these in this area. This was in the upper area of the earthqu*ke region. We saw large sections of rock that had fallen off the mountain sides and it made me wonder if it was from that or not. You saw many people working on building homes near these tents.

If you ever have a chance to travel through here, I recommend it. It is definitely His country, created by Him.