In November, students from Boston University Shanghai Center attended a day of cultural activities at the Sheltered Mercy Nunnery (Pear Orchard Temple). The group stayed at the Li Family Courtyard in nearby Xiake Village, a favorite homestay accommodation option for student groups in Shaxi. With a two-day itinerary provided by the Ginkgo Society, the group spent time working in local fields and gathering vegetables that they would later cook in the Pear Orchard Temple’s new kitchen.
The group learned local bread making from a famous Shaxi baker, tried their hand at hemp rope making and basket weaving. They enjoyed a dance performance by the Diantou Village Ladies’ Dance Troupe, led by Mrs. Yang Yu Ju, who is also the head chef at the temple. Diantou Village Elders’ Council Chief Mr. Luo Jing Wen spoke to the students about how life has changed in the village over the past 10 years.
Students harvesting in the fields
Learning how to work the fields from a local farmer
Preparing lunch in the temple kitchen
Heating up oil in the original temple kitchen wok
Cooking freshly dug potatoes
Traitional Bai dance performance by Diantou Village Ladie’s Troupe
Diantou village children watching the temple dance performance
Diantou Village women enjoying the dance performance
Students posing with children and dancers at the temple
A lecture at the temple on making baba, a traditional Bai style bread
Students successfully make their first baba bread
A lesson in rope making from a local village woman
A student skips the hemp rope he has learned to make
Weaving demonstration by Uncle Yang, the temple gatekeeper
Uncle Yang assembles a bamboo woven rice pot mat
Speech by Diantou Village Elder Chief Mr. Luo on changing village life in Shaxi
American students in Shaxi gather for a photo at the Pear Orchard Temple before heading back to the Li Family Courtyard in Xia Ke Village