Shanxi in Chawu
Day Thirty Five
I arrived in Chawu town on a cold wintery day in 2009. It was cold for me as I had taken public bus which had no heating, from the heart of Beijing city to the terminal station in Chawu town over two hours. I always enjoyed a slow ride to explore the country when I have the time. That December, I had made my way to Chawu which is in Huairou district, to see a friend I had just met earlier in the year during the summer. Ms Wang was the head of the kindergarten in her community in Chawu.
I had decided to check out what the needs of her community were in the outskirts of Beijing, also known as Beijing’s back garden. It was an opportunity for business development and a chance to see the capital city’s urban development at street level. The bus passed by orchards and farmlands and finally entered the shaded long and straight boulevard, lined with poplar trees, before turning into a small urban community of Chawu. Ms Wang was there at the bus terminus waiting for me.
Ms Wang, a lady in her mid forties, was from Shanxi province and an employee of the Railway services. So were nearly five thousand of the residents of this little urban community tucked in a corner in the midst of Beijing’s farmlands with a few big reservoirs which supply drinking water for the city’s residents. It was a community of migrants who had been living in this part of Beijing for decades, serving the railway hub, which saw trains arriving from Datong every hour from early morning till late at night. There was a high school and a primary school in the community, and the kindergarten of course.
It would take a few more meetings with the leadership of the railway services, including a meeting with the mayor of Chawu district, who hosted me to a nice lunch in a greenhouse restaurant (reserved for international guests.. what a privilege!), to finally get the nod for us to be able to be immersed in the community to participate in community services.
Over the next three years, we would have the privilege of having youth volunteers from our polytechnic and universities involved in serving in the kindergarten, putting a new coat of paint for the building and main gateway, designing and painting wall murals both inside and outside the building, and providing resources for a media resource centre. The tech savvy youths held workshops and coaching sessions for the kindergarten teachers and helped them use powerpoint slides and media in place of chalkboards.
The most tangible change was to help raise funds to install a new set of children playground in the kindergarten. The spanking new and bright colours of the playground transformed the entire kindergarten front yard in lieu of the old metallic playground set of slides and swings. The joy on the faces of the children was reflected on the faces of the teachers as well as parents. It was said that playgrounds can catalyse community transformation and promote interaction not only among children but among the adults too.
In return for the weeks spent on the kindergarten premises by day and among the railroad workers quarters at night, the experience of living and serving among the Chawu community exposed the youth volunteers to the world of migrant workers. It is a world of living in the capital city yet not having been in it, as the children growing up in Chawu have not even been in the heart of Beijing city. The needs were many but the villagers were simple and happy and most importantly, they were a community, mainly from Datong in Shanxi.
I have travelled to Taiyuan and Pingyao in Shanxi, but never to Datong, with all the historical sites and beautiful attractions to see. Ms Wang had invited me several times to visit Datong and I had agreed. I hope to make good my pledge one day soon as China opens up her ancient doors to the world after the pandemic.
“Be lifted up, you gates… be lifted up, you ancient doors…”
Join me in 40-day reflection on life and hope in the wilderness
See previous day’s reflection on Shanxi Migrants
