A Warm Welcome to Ancient Fenghuang (Phoenix Town), China

http://www.TravelsWithSheila.com
Not happy about the rat in the dinner restaurant last night, Travels With Sheila's spirits perked up the minute we stepped foot into Ancient Fenghuang. The word "Fenghuang" in Chinese means "Phoenix." A big square with a bronze phoenix in the center and throngs of Chinese and Korean groups running to and fro, paying 10 Yuan to dress in a Miao outfit and pose for photos.

In seconds, ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I were mobbed by groups of high school students who were very excited about our "foreign appearance" (hope that was a good thing) and wanted to take pictures with us and ask questions. Most Chinese have never seen or met a foreigner and only know what they see on television or in the movies. Such fun and the interaction is priceless....

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• China
• Fenghuang
• Phoenix
• Town
• Miao
• minorities
• scenery
• culture
• destination
• event
• travel
• sightseeing
• adventure
• nature

[jephboy]

btw, those are Korean kids. :)

[travelswithsheila]

@jephboy If they were, the ones we interacted with spoke perfect Chinese! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment....Best regards, Travels With Sheila

[jephboy]

You met the folks living in my ancestral home. Wish I had a chance to go there.  Fenghuang was once a thriving and large center of Hmong/Miao culture before the uprising in the mid to late 1800's. After the Qing goverment massacred everyone, my ancestors moved to Indochina, and that's how we got involved with the former U.S. Pres. John F Kennedy and his CIA liaisons, and ended up fighting in the Secret War in Laos, and ended emigrating into the West.

Sorry about the rat!

[travelswithsheila]

@jephboy Thanks for taking the time to post the very interesting comment about your background and watch. I loved Fenghuang and just wished we had another day to spend there. So very gorgeous... We have many, many rats in Chicago but I usually don't see them running along the floor. I do, however, remember one time in Bali when a rat that looked the size of a cat ran over the rafters. I thought it was a cat at first. Best regards, Travels With Sheila

[jephboy]

@travelswithsheila

The rats in the countryside grow to large size from eating all the crops. In the cities, they may eat junk. I saw fairly larged size rats in a Portland, Oregon Safeway just last year, but I assume nothing as big as what you saw there.