Spring Break this year sees most teachers finally able to travel somewhere. For me this affords a much anticipated trip with a Taiji friends to the Tao Mountain (San Qing Shen) in the Jiangxi province beginning with a few days touring some of the scenic spots.

Jiangxi is a 3 hour train ride from Shanghai on the bullet train and we feel very much in the mountainous countryside here.

First stop was Jiang Ling a village nestled in the stunning terraced fields of rape. This plant flowers for only one month a year and becomes one of the four ‘seas of flowers’ in China, a major tourist destination.

Even though it was a cloudy day the effect is still stunning.

On the walk down we actually took the wrong path and bypassed some of the scenic spots but instead walked through the village where the locals live. In my opinion this was even more interesting seeing local village life and it transported us back in time with narrow alleys, ancient doorways and free range chickens!

We did do the tourist thing and bought the flower crowns which gave us a delicately scented accompaniment to the trip. I understand how bridal bouquets came to be as the perfume around us masked everything else

We have fun riding a miniature steam train and strolling through the fields of yellow surrounded by spring blossoms.

Then to have some of the local delicacy which tasted delicious.

Interestingly, these old country houses (still occupied) have mirrors above the door to reflect bad spirits away. look carefully for the small shiny circle. Superstition is alive and well in rural communist China.

In the afternoon we popped into a small museum where they decorate the local stone for ink grinding stones, the way ink was produced for centuries.

And finally, Leping and I had dress up fun at Huangling, the ancient town. These clothes and the hairstyles are Han dynasty. Apologies for the photo dump but we took loads!