We went on a big day trip/adventure driving four hours out of the city to the countryside, where our destinations included the Qianyang and Fengxiang counties. This was an amazing opportunity to see first-hand how some of the traditional Chinese artisans live. Each place specialised in making a range of different crafts, similar to those at the Gaoling Cultural Centre, including tiger shoes, slippers, home decor, festival and wedding decorations, as well as ornaments, cushions, silk and fur hoods, and festival garments.
I was mostly interested in observing how these people live in contrast to the lifestyle of those people in Xi’an city or ourselves. The contrast in lifestyle and the difference in living quarters was fascinating, with the rural dwellings being a lot more humble with very little emphasis on possessions. The interiors and exteriors of the buildings are influenced by traditional culture, decorative archways, and curtain doors, and sweeping tiled roofs. It was much harder to detect any western influence in comparison to the inner city, where western shopping stores and technologies have been incorporated into every day life.
