Source: Ma Long
In the last three decades, China has seen unimaginable transformations in various aspects.Naturally, one of such alterations being the shift towards rebuilding urban areas, filling the busy centers with fancy sky-scarpers and modernistic architecture. While such developments are inevitable and perhaps necessary to an extent, they often come with the price of destroying old infrastructure holding invaluable cultural significance.
In efforts to preserve the vulnerable natural beauty that exists in old villages and more rural areas, one unlikely hero has taken matters into his hands, and in the process, has inadvertently created one of the most unique cultural centers in the country, and has built a unique niche in the domestic tourism scene that has never existed prior.
American national Brian Linden began his relationship with China in his early 20s, with his first visit dating back to 1984. During that time, after being granted a scholarship by Beijing Language University, he juggled various jobs such as translating (for CBS), doing camerawork and photojournalism, and even starring in a Chinese film named He Came from Across the Pacific. After going back to America for a short time to complete his education, he came back to China again and decided to fully explore it. He travelled to all corners of the country aboard trains, and was particularly keen on visiting old rural villages.
Linden decided to continue his studies at Hopkins-Nanjing Center, where he met his future wife Jeanee Quan. They quickly realized their shared interest in Chinese cultural heritage and antiquities, and decided to put their interest to good use.
They travelled the country together, collecting old paintings and miscellaneous articles, which they then shipped home to Chicago, where Brians parents ran an antiques shop, and later on sold the items at upscale galleries in Wisconsin.
Through this, Brian and Jeanee grew to cherish the valuables they were seeking more and more, and wanted to find ways to not only monetize them, but revitalize and honor them. Their vision was to have a place where people worldwide could come gather, and appreciate the beauty of the local art in an authentic way. Their vision, although having had to overcome countless difficulties and barriers, was successfully realized.
In 2004, the determined couple now married with young children left the U.S. for good, selling their house and leaving the trade business behind, with a clear goal in mind. The first steps of their journey were not easy, as they had been away from China for more than a decade, and now are back as a family. For the next two years, they lived in small cheap motels, and home-schooled their children, all in an effort to establish something grand.
After extensive travelling and searching, they arrived at the small village town of Xizhou in Dali (Yunnan province), and found a nationally-protected heritage listed complex. The location immediately impressed them both for its authentic unharmed nature, and for possessing a soul unseen elsewhere. Through great persistence, they managed to convince local authorities to allow them to use the ancient building for their passion-project, and quickly began with the restoration of the entire courtyard and buildings.
This mansion in fact belonged to the Bai ethnic group native to the region. The main building in the courtyard, is typical to the region, which for centuries was a thriving hub for trade and pilgrimage, as it is located on both the Southern Silk Road, and the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
Nowadays, it obviously is an extremely attractive destination for tourism worldwide.
\n
Comments
Post a Comment