Fantastic tour to Tong'an

About the author
Daniel Frenette, from Quebec, Canada, is studying Chinese at the Overseas Education College of Xiamen University(厦大海外教育学院). He has stayed in China for over half a year and he shows much interest in Minnan culture and customs.
由厦门日报社,同安区政府共同主办,厦门光大国际旅游公司,竹坝农场协办的厦门日报读者"采果一日游"活动不仅吸引了众多的厦门市民,还引来了老外的加盟.上周日,来自加拿大的Daniel和厦门老百姓一起去同安同享"果农乐",着实品味了一回闽南浓郁的乡土乡情.



After being in China for over half a year I've started to feel more comfortable and more "at home" and it is a nice feeling.

Recently I was invited to Tong'an, one of the districts in Xiamen, that is not only an industrial and technological sector but also has nice and interesting tourist spots. I accepted this invitation and together with two great guys, Clyde (guide/translator) and Mr. Yao Fan (photographer) joined the close to 200 Chinese people for a tour through the district.



Our first stop, a "dragon fruit (Longan)" farm; while going to a "farm" isn't exactly what most foreigners do during their stay in China, it was part of the tour, so before long I was in the middle of the farm learning how to pick the fruit. It was a different experience for me, but nevertheless an interesting one. It was very remarkable for me to learn that these Chinese people actually paid to go and pick the fruit themselves.

I did not know this would be our first stop when I accepted the invitation but well there I was, and I was determined to make the most out of it. Climbing the trees, pulling the fruit down, snooping and staying away from the bugs and at the same time trying to keep a conversation going was definitely exhausting. However, while at it I learned a few tricks about picking the fruit and even managed to make a few new friends.



After having spent enough time at the farm everybody felt hungry, so it was off to lunch we went. Lunch was a taste of the regional dishes with an Indonesian blend. After lunch we watched a thirty-minute performance by young and old performers that also had an Indonesian blend to it. Both children and adults gave us a sample of the local music and dances with a slight Indonesian influence.

After this we visited the local wine and liquor factories where we had a taste of the local "rice liquor" as well as the different varieties and combinations of fruit wines. After this we visited a few other places in Tong'an, including a miniature(微缩) version of the Forbidden City.



It was an out of the ordinary excursion for me but an enjoyable one. In all of my time in China this has been one of the most educational outings I have had. This particular outing really helped me see life in China from a different angle, and I was really happy to see how the other Chinese people in the tour welcomed me and tried to make me comfortable despite it being a new scenario(场面) for me.

Among other places to visit in Tong'an there is Brahma Temple(梵天寺), Brahman Pagoda, Su Song's ex-residence, Zhu Xi's Epigraph and Stone Inscription, the Tong'an Confucian Temple, Twelve-Dragon Pool, etc.



I feel very contented to have the opportunity to be in this great city (Xiamen), and so lucky to be able to visit these places in China and live out the full Chinese experience.