So I accepted the invitation of three friends who had asked me to visit their uncle’s home in the city’s suburbs and see the blossoming rape flowers.

We arose late on Saturday and headed northward from the western section of the city’s second ring road where all of us live.

Driving slowly for nearly one hour, we reached the Shuangli Village in Xindu, a suburban county of Chengdu.

While looking for the house of Fu Changhua, my friend’s uncle, we were intoxicated with the large expanse of rape flowers on both sides of the road. The flowers, which were in full blossom, look like a yellow painting scroll under the sun.

Known as the “Land of Abundance, the Chengdu Plain in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province is one of China’s leading farming areas. Since ancient times, locals have planted rape flowers to extract edible oil.

But not until recently have the rape flowers been a major attraction for urban tourists who loathe the sea of modern steel-and-cement buildings in the city and want to mingle with nature.

The rape flowers usually blossom in early March. But due to the warm weather this year, they have blossomed about 15 days earlier and are expected to last until early April. With a huge area, the flowers look spectacular in spring when people drive along any country road or take planes to Chengdu.

“When my plane approached the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport the other day, many first-time visitors like me were given a pleasant surprise that the rape flowers below were like huge yellow carpets inlaid in the Chengdu Plain. Hence came our first impression that Chengdu must be a beautiful place, said Sun Weide, a diplomat from Beijing.

Home-flavored Lunch

It was noon when we came to Fu’s one-story house beside a large river. Taking seats in front of the house, we were served a sumptuous lunch beneath an old orange tree. As our lunch table was set beside the rape fields and the river, we could smell rape flower perfume and feel the gentle breeze from the river.

The lunch consisted of homemade bacon, sausages, fish, mushrooms, bean curd and lots of vegetables fresh from the fields.

Sichuan people like eating bacon and sausages. They make lots of bacon and sausages in winter for the Spring Festival.

The homemade fare becomes scarce after the festival because most of it is eaten.

We enjoyed the Fu’s food very much as it was believed to be “environmentally friendly. “Our pigs are fed with rice and vegetables rather than feed and no pesticide is applied to our vegetables, Fu, 62, said.

After lunch, we were shown around the village of 800 people. Amidst the rape flowers were many two-story, stylish new buildings.

Well-off Villagers

We came across Lei Huaming, Fu’s son-in-law who said the villagers could be well off as long as they were diligent.

Every day, Lei sends vegetables to dumpling restaurants in Chengdu by motorcycle. “I’ve done the job for 12 years. Each day, I get up at 2:30am. When I finish sending the vegetables to dumpling dealers in Chengdu and return to my home, it is 8:30am, Lei, 36, said.

Earning a monthly income of 1,000 yuan (US$121), Lei owns a spacious new building and a new truck. Asked if he felt that life was hard, Lei said: “I feel very happy, for I have a stable source of income, my wife and eight-year-old daughter are very kind to me, he said.

According to Fu, most local farmers, including Lei, do not admire city life because they think that the city is too crowded and the air is heavily polluted.

“People in the city live in a very small house like a bird’s cage, while in the countryside we have much room for maneuver, Fu said.

He said more than 10 years ago, many villagers wished to become townsfolk as the latter had many luxuries, such as television and telephones.

But nobody wants to become an urban resident because they own all the luxuries townsfolk have and also what the latter do not possess closeness to nature and fresh air.

“They are afraid that one day they would lose their land once a tycoon invests in the village, said Fu, the former village head.

Thanks to Hospitality

As dusk fell, we finished our supper and headed for Chengdu, nearly 30 kilometers away from the village. Before we left, we insisted on paying Fu 100 yuan (US$12) for all his family’s hospitality.

Fu said most villagers were very friendly to outsiders. For a small fee of 20 yuan (US$2.4), a visitor can stay in a farmhouse for one day and have two meals, he said.

On the way home, the four of us talked about our day out and although it had only been a short trip, we felt the temporary escape from the city had been worthwhile.

Apart from the fresh air, picturesque country scenery and tasty food, we were impressed by the hospitality shown by ordinary farmers and their optimistic outlook on life, something lacking in many city people.

(Shanghai Star March 28, 2003)