Movie Stars

So my newest BFF is named Diane.  She works at one of the other universities in Xi'an.  She invited/browbeat Tim and I into going to village north of the city with some of her journalism students.  Seems they are doing a video about tourists visiting sites in the area--and we're the stars.  We crammed into little cars--Tim got the center back on the hump! Off to visit Yuan Jia, in Liquan County.

They are famous for weaving cloth, paper cutting, and making vinegar and yogurt.  It is a charming little village, with lots of fun shops...for the perennial shopper!  First we check out the weaving and spinning loom.  The film crew sets up their tripod and catches us looking into the window and sitting at the looms, and buying a few scraps of cloth.  Next they film us going into the paper shop and learning how to fold and cut those intricate little patterns.  Yes we buy a beautiful peacock and some butterflies.  All the while spectators stare at the "movie stars" and want an extra picture with us.

After a lunch of delicious homemade noodle soup, and hot French Fried sweet potatoes, our friends played the starring roles making the vinegar and yogurt.  Then we wandered around and shopped some more.  Finally the film crew staged us meeting up with our friends and enjoying a bit of custard pie.  At every turn we were obliged to tell them how much we enjoyed the goods (we did) and how we were "feeling" about these wonderful crafts and old time culinary arts.  We also watched a great acrobatic exhibition from some young students, and learned to make tea.  Very tricky not to taste that when we were done!  They also found us some hot chocolate with marshmallow cream foam stencils on the top (Eiffel Tower and Hearts with an arrow).

It was another long day--the traffic coming back into Xi'an was horrible.  So instead of the 1 1/2 hours that it took us to go in the morning, it was 3 hours back home.  Fortunately, Tim got to ride in the front seat, but I was wedged into the back!  We went reluctantly, but it turned out to be a delightful day--the real China, updated.  We are anxious to see the video project--maybe they'll use it for the tourism bureau!