Week 7 - Donguan

After a night in the Taiwan Kadampa Meditation Centre watched over by the Buddhas on the Gompa Shrine and a brief visit to my old colleagues at ERM Taiwan, we fly to Taiwan's Jinmen island and take a short ferry back to Xiamen on the second entry of our Chinese visas. After one more day exploring Xiamen's islands we are back on the overnight sleeper train heading south to Donguan to visit Michelle's distant relatives.

The contrast between Xiamen and Guandong could not have been more stark. After the breezy greenery the endless industrial sprawl of Donguan felt stark and menacing. It took over an hour and a half to cross from the train station to the hotel without a break in this city of 7 million people. The relatives we have come to see, Wenzhounese cousins on Michelle's fathers side, own an sprawling branded leather goods factory and distribution business spanning the whole country and employing hundreds. Built from scratch over 20 years to hand down to the next generation, the whole operation is managed by family members in true Chinese style.

Needless to say we are warmly welcomed and well looked after and the following day are back on the train heading north to the Hakka roundhouses of Yongding and Liulian.


- Posted by Dave using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Donguan, China