A village in a big polder

I don't know how many poets hymned these golden waves and how many painters set their panels on this harvest scene. Within a big polder near Poyang Lake, on a flat terrain, one sees nothing but endless golden waves in July. Though machine harvest (with an extra cost) is available and widely adopted, this old couple still sticks to their scythes. Their seemingly routine movements feel almost epic to me, and there is something eternal about it: rice growing may be the most ancient way that mankind is related to the earth, yet nothing else we build could sustain without it.

While harvesting early rice, farmers were getting seedlings ready for late rice.

When a problem happened to the irrigation system, the village leaders immediately organized people to fix the problem.

A most traditional village

This village sits right next to Poyang Lake, and is far away from cities. A villager humorously told me that in the past it was as isolated as Taiwan island. The farmers in the village have therefore developed a self-sufficient economy. They make full use of their scare fragmented fields growing all kinds of crops: rice, wheat, soybean, peanut, sweet potato, sesame...Even today as their livelihoods mostly rely on migratory work, they still plant these crops. I grew very fond of the village during my stay: people, especially women, no matter cutting sweet potato vines to feed pigs or making a simple winter melon dish in the kitchen, they do it with a smile, the kind that says they are content and happy.

They grow water melons for seeds, which are sun-dried and then roasted in the pot. In winter time, when there is less farming work, they will have water melon seeds while chatting with neighbors or watching TV at night. As other rural areas in China, most young people are now working in cities. When they come back for spring festival, the parents will have water melon seeds prepared and pack some in their travel bags: maybe these small seeds will make their daughters and sons remember the land where they were born no matter where and how far they go.

Fishermen

These fishermen live where the Gan River flows into Poyang Lake. They (usually husband and wife in a pair) row their boats out at midnight and come back the next day in the afternoon. Then children, women and men all gather around returned boats on the river, like a festival. Traders come too, riding their motorcycles, to collect fish and then sell them on city markets. With faces tanned in the sun, muscles trained by storms, there is a sunny and stormy beauty in their appearance. Among them I saw the most handsome man and strongest woman.

Growing delicacy

Young radish leaves are sold on markets at a higher price than other vegetables, but growing them is very labor intensive and needs great care. This couple is originally from Zhejiang province (Zhejiang people are famously known for being hardworking). They moved here as a result of a government reallocation effort due to dam construction in their home town. They usually pick the leaves in the afternoon (the hottest hours in a day), and take them to sell in the county capital (about 30 miles away) with a three-wheel cart early next morning (around 4am). I got to try this delicacy at a farmer's home in this village: it is delicious and unforgettable.

Cultivating pearls

Pearl cultivation is found in many places around Poyang Lake (naturally for its rich water surfaces). Some people made a fortune from it. But in the past several years, as pearl production was greatly increased flooding the world market, it is no more as profitable as it used to be. Cultivating peals is also highly demanding in skills, and experts are often hired from Zhejiang where pearl cultivation has a long history.

The risk of raising livestock

Water buffaloes can look cute especially when they are young, but their owners have a risk raising them. When a buffalo became sick, a person who's specialized in raising buffaloes and owned many buffaloes himself was called in to offer an expert's opinion. After he delivered the verdict that it would not survive, a buyer was called in. He offered 4500CNY for the soon-to-be-dead buffalo. But unfortunately, the buffalo died during the negotiation, and the price had to be renegotiated. It's becoming late, but the deal must be done today. The parties involved stepped aside to discuss a new price. It turned out the owner got 3800CNY at the end. A buffalo of this size, when sold alive, is worth about 8000CNY. (Every livelihood takes skills: to raise buffaloes, one at least needs to know how to estimate the weight of a buffalo by eye - when buffaloes are sold, they are not weighed with a scale.) (1CNY was about $6.5 when this happened.)

The fate of a village near the county capital

These fishermen live where the Gan River flows into Poyang Lake. They (usually husband and wife in a pair) row their boats out at midnight and come back the next day in the afternoon. Then children, women and men all gather around returned boats on the river, like a festival. Traders come too, riding their motorcycles, to collect fish and then sell them on city markets. With faces tanned in the sun, muscles trained by storms, there is a sunny and stormy beauty in their appearance. Among them I saw the most handsome man and strongest woman.

A model village

In the past several years, the Chinese government has been implementing a project called "New Rural Development." Villagers are given matching funds to build roads, new houses, indoor flushed toilets, separated water systems for kitchen and other usages, solar energy panels, children playgrounds and senior activity centers. This project has transformed many rural places in China, and is still ongoing. A local government official proudly told me that I would not be able to recognize this village if I had been here before. The newly installed bulletin boards illustrate future development plans. On one bulletin, I read ten ways to become rich and ten things that can lead to poverty and people should avoid.

(Ten ways to become rich: learning new skills, working hard, planning carefully, obeying the law, honoring honesty, corporation, helping each other, educating the next generation, serving the community, patriotic to the country - only the country is rich and maintains stability, can individuals become rich. Things to avoid: attending livelihoods carelessly, laziness, squandering money, gambling and using drugs...)

Guys on the road

These guys drive their harvest machines visiting one village after another. They work in the south when it is the harvest season for rice. They also travel to the north when it is the harvest season for wheat. They told me there were hundreds of such machines from their home county (Poyang County, on the east side of Poyang Lake) active across the country.

A vendor comes to village

Daily life