I had a wonderful trip with a Christian group to a typical Dong village in Sanjiang County from June 18 to June 21, 2007. The trip was so valued to me.

Sanjiang is around 130 km to the west north of Guilin city. However, most of roads are county roads which are quite bumping, and some of them are still under construction. So it normally takes about 6 hours to go there by van. We departed Guilin at 9:30 am on June 18, and when we arrived at Ma'an village in Sanjiang, it was already 4:00 pm. Ma'an village is famous for its Wind & Rain Bridge which is called Chengyang Bridge.

Everyone was tired after such a long journey. However, when an elegant Wind & Rain Bridge above a crystal river appeared in front of us, all the exhaustion was vanished immediately. The bridge looks like 5 connected pavilions on the river. It is so beautiful and special that it is totally different from the modern art we are familiar with, especial for our foreign friends. The bridge was built in 1916, and it has been standing there sheltered the passerby from wind and the rain for nearly a century. It is the best and largest one among the wind and rain bridges existing. It is a wooden structure bridge which is 64.4 meters long, 3.4 meters wide and 10.6 meter high. There are 5 stone-made large piers standing firmly on the Linxi River supporting the whole bridge. The most amazing thing was that not a nail was found to be used in the bridge. How the people made it? The Dong people will give you a convincing answer if you go to visit the village. The entirely wooden structure bridge had showed the brightness of Dong people to the world. Most of Dong villages have Wind & Rain bridges. It is one of the specialties of a Dong village.

The villagers like to sit in bridge chatting, relaxing or doing some needle work. When we crossed the bridge, they smiled and said "NI HAO" to us, just like we were honored guests to them. Dong people were hospitable. The wind & rain bridge also served as a gate to the village. When passed it, we entered the Ma'an Dong village where we had stayed for 3 days and 2 nights.

All houses in villages are wooden constructionvfb je gd . We stayed in one of them. Most the rooms of the houses have very cute balconies from where you can have a view of the bridge.

There are 8 Dong villages in Chengyang area. We explored 6 of them the next morning, visiting the lovely natural market and hillside farms. We found that every village had a Tower named Drum Tower in the middle of the village. The local people told us Drum Tower is symbol and even the soul of a Dong village so every village should have one. The tower in Ma'an village is old but preserved very well. There is an old open theater nearby the drum tower, where the local people celebrate the holidays, have funs, or see the operas. The villagers gave us a performance when we were there. They sung the folk songs and danced. They also invited us to join them to dance. We were infected by their hospitalities. Most of us joined them to dance gladly.

In the afternoon, we pay a visit to the primate school which the Christian group already visited for nine times including this time. It was the most important activities in this trip. They came to visit the Dong village once a year from 1998 except the year of 2003, as they couldn't catch the flight. They came back every year with different people but with the same thing-love. They donated funds for the school to build the washing rooms, basketball playgroup and bought computers and multimedia teaching facilities. We have the pictures of the school of several years ago and nowadays. It really changed a lot. The condition was improved with the help of the Christian group and other people like them and the support from local government. We had a briefing with the school master and teachers. They told us the situations for the past years and extended special thanks for the Christian group. And we were very glad to see the improvement they got and encouraged them to get better. Although it was very hard to compare with the schools in the cities, they were satisfied. They never stinted their laughers and they kept hopes. We brought some gifts to the students this time, like books, pencils, colorful balloons, viscid pictures, all of the students were enjoyed this special day, they felt like their new year day is coming. The schoolyard was full of Laughers.

We went to visit a special well after leaving the school. In 1999, just the second year of the visiting of the Christine group, they met an old man from one of the villages who tried to refit a well. The well was very important to them because it provided the drinking water to them. Without it, their drinking will be a problem. However, they had not enough money to refit it. Although the local people donated as much as they could, it was still far from enough. Looking at their sad faces, the people of the Christine group took out the money from their packets immediately. When the group leader gave the donation to the organizer, the old man cried…That's enough for them, so they rebuilt the well smoothly. The villagers appreciated it so much that they carved the name of donators on a stele. When we were seating beside the special well, dinking the water from it, washing our hands, we were gratified.

Another special and important thing for me was that I was baptized in the Linxi River under the Chengyang wind and rain bridge by Priest Ellis. I was ready to receive baptism and looked forward to the opportunity for some days. It is quite meaningful to me to be baptized in this special place during this special trip. I was moved and thanks Lord prepared the special plan for me. I also received lots of gifts and blessing from my dear brothers and sisters. All of them celebrated my new born. I felt myself was the apple of God's eye.

At night, we had a welfare dinner with the local brothers and sisters. We tasted the delicious foods and communicated with each other and sung the anthem. They spoke no English but with the help of the translators, the over two hours' activity became one of the most memorable experiences for all of us.

I was so moved and thankful to join the group and have the special experience. Love can change lots of things and will make our world more beautiful. Keep love in mind, love people, love life, love the world…

Author: Lina          Date: June 22, 2007

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