May 17, 2012

Countryside Scenes and a Bridge in Taishan

On a balmy early evening about a month ago we drove some kilometers south from Kaiping and crossed a little ways into the county of Taishan (see map at end of post). Our mission was to have dinner in an unassuming countryside restaurant (read: converted private home; no name, no address, no license) that had become popular merely by word-of-mouth.

While the others ordered our meal - all from live and fresh farm ingredients - I grabbed my camera and walked down a path off the paved country road. Want to come along? You may like the images better enlarged.



I crossed the bridge to find farmers working in a rice paddy and vegetable field, although it was quite late in the day.


Turning back, I see both sky and river showing off soft pale pastels.


Not long after, the sun painted the sky this rare (for Guangdong) brilliant orange for me.


Taishan, 2012

Taishan, which I've always called the Cantonese Toisan, is a county-level city. You can see most of its borders in pink on this map below, and we didn't drive far into it this evening. The tip of the arrow marks the dinner spot.

Taishan is the place of origin for many of the Chinese who migrated to California to work as contract laborers during the Gold Rush, then later to work on the Pacific Raiway. The Taishanese were among the many migrants from four counties (Kaiping, Enping, Taishan and Xinhui) who established the Chinatowns in North America. Until as late as the 1980s, when more Mandarin-speaking Taiwanese and Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong people started to emigrate to North America, the languages I most heard spoken in Chinatowns were the dialects from this region.


I am linking this post with the blogging communities at Skywatch Friday, Weekend Reflections, Sunday Bridges and Scenic Sunday.

42 comments:

Kate said...

The countryside is quite beautiful, and thanks for the history lesson. I don't think I'd like to navigate that bridge on a scooter.

Vicki/Jake said...

That bridge has a bit of wow factor in it! Amazes me how minds work to create things sometimes. And the sky? Glad you took the pictures, that's beautiful Cisca. And how interesting that these people chose to come to America. Wonder how many ended up in the camps.....

Stay safe xox

Tina´s PicStory said...

wonderful pics from an other world for me :)

DeniseinVA said...

Amazing photos! My sister-in-law and nephew are going off to China with her school at the end of the month. First time for both of them. They are really excited about the trip. I should send her your blog post.

EG CameraGirl said...

You are showing us a marvelous view of China! Absolutely wonderful, Francisca!

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

What a wonderful day that was -- a good (I assume) meal and all that lovely scenery. And to get pictures of the workers....thanks for the interesting history as well. I always learn something new here.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I love these glimpses into other countries and lives. This bridge is so quaint and I bet it was very peaceful and quiet there.

Wonderful photos.

FlowerLady

Unknown said...

Wonderful tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sylvia K said...

What a wonderful, fascinating post, Cisca, and your photos are superb as always! I love the information you include, it makes the pictures all the more interesting! And the skies!! They are absolutely breathtaking! Glorious way to end a day and the reflections on the water are awesome! Thanks for sharing the beauty and the fun!

Sylvia

Gemma Wiseman said...

An intriguing post! So loved this wander through the countryside! And such brilliant skies close the post! Love the little bridge style which begins your walk through the rice paddies!

Ms. Becky said...

these photos are just superb - a sampling of the beautiful countryside and the flavor of the land and its people. how delightful it must be to live there for however long. I would treasure it, as I'm certain you do. thanks for sharing Francisca. happy day to you.

Karen said...

Thanks for the great tour!

eileeninmd said...

Sounds like a great day, I love the beautiful sunset. The bridge and rice paddy are just wonderful scenes. Thanks for sharing. Wonderful post.

genie said...

I think I would have blown off dinner and just kept on shooting pictures.What a wonderful spot. Love seeing life just going along as usual. The fields and the water are so pretty, and that sunset is out of this world. Wonderful photos. genie

Louis la Vache said...

What a fine post, Francisca!

LadyFi said...

Oh, what marvellous shots of the countryside!

Luna Miranda said...

this could be in Nueva Ecija or in Negros.:p a captivating sunset with beautiful reflection on water.

VioletSky said...

It looks so beautiful there. And interesting to hear about the people who emigrated. I think we tend to see China as one big homogenous entity (much as we refer to their language as Chinese, when really there is no such language. It must grate on them.)

As for my NF photo - that 'smile' was a pleasant surprise but I have no idea what it refers to. It was why I chose those particular binoculars.

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Such a classic Chinese landscape scene, but that bridge, now that is really spectacular. Beautiful, beautiful, shots.

Malyss said...

All I can say is : Woaw! Your last pics are sooooo beautiful! What a fabulous walk you're offering to us! Thank you!

LindyLouMac said...

I am calling by as another participant in Weekend Reflections, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and of course the gorgeous reflections.

Traveling Hawk said...

The green in the rice paddies is always so refreshing. I like your sunsets too, Francisca!

Unknown said...

What a setting and what a very cool bridge. The sunset shots are awesome!

Simon said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking me along. I love this series of shots. Thought the first image would be my fave, but scrolling along, each one was wonderful. You didn't mention if the "word of mouth" was true.
I totally owe you an email-in fact "totally" is beyond the level of owing. Been working a lot and finishing up my college course. Feel just barely hitting the ground again.
Hope you have a happy weekend.

Pat Tillett said...

Very interesting and thanks for the tour! These photos are all very good, but the one looking both the path and the canal is fantastic...

Jeannette StG said...

Guess I was not long enough in China to catch the beautiful skies you have posted here! Everything looks so peaceful here (no city traffic, lol!)

H said...

If I were riding down that road on a motorbike, I would have to be the driver!
The countryside is beautiful, so green and rich :)

Chubskulit Rose said...

This makes me miss my place in the Philippines.

Please come and see the Sky View at a football field. Have a great weekend!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

still under JAGA? meaning guard? My husband talks a lot about Sino Philippino relations, I am not interested.

Birdman said...

Thanks for the suggestion to enlarge. Quite a trip.

Amy Burzese said...

Beautiful countryside and reflections!

s.c said...

You see a lot of beautiful things on your travels and know how to capture them perfectly. Well done.

Kim, USA said...

It is very beautiful. I have seen many rice paddies here in the Philippines for now. So nice to see countryside like in China. Great shots!

Kim,USA

Andy said...

As usual Francisca your photos are superb.

Dimple said...

Beautiful shots! It's interesting about the regional source of immigrants to the US. I was in the San Francisco Chinatown many times, and never knew the people were mostly from only part of China.

Linnea said...

Very interesting about the migrants. I had no idea, and I'm very close to one of the largest chinatowns around! I love these scenes...the colors are so vibrant and the landscape looks so peaceful. Thanks!

genie said...

Francisca...I love your poem about No Word Verification. You did a great job. genie

Kim, USA said...

Hi Francisca, yes right now I am still here in the Philippines. Thanks for the visit! ^_^

Francisca said...

Thanks, Genie... the poem pretty well sums up what I think of word verification, but it's not mine. The clever ditty was written by Susan Anderson (her blog is linked in my sidebar.)

Anonymous said...

Lovely serene and simple places. Captured very nicely on camera.
These places will never be visited by me, and are not known to ordinary Indian people.

Thanks for sharing a glimpse of the countryside.
Pattu

http://www.gardenerat60.wordpress.com

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Ah... Some lovely idyllic shots there...

jennyfreckles said...

Your brief pre-prandial wandering was richly rewarded. I don't think I'd have been able to resist exploring either. Hope you enjoyed your meal after that aperitif.