An Afternoon In Bengbu, China

By Shanti Ayadurai BENGBU (China), June 21 (Bernama) -- The streets of Bengbu, a city in the eastern province of Anhui, are like those in many other major cities in the country: wide, clean and with pretty trees lining both sides of the road and bicycles neatly arranged in the side paths for rent. From the bus I am travelling in, along with a group of fellow ASEAN journalists on a tour of Anhui’s leading businesses and industrial set-ups, I am carefully studying the people walking on the roads, to confirm an observation earlier. The Chinese do not easily sport a fat belly. Indeed I have started counting the number of those on the road with huge bellies. So far, I count none. Flat, flat, no tummy, flat, flat again and the counting goes on. There is danger in generalising, but at the end of my exercise, I had to draw a conclusion. The Chinese are doing something to keep their stomachs flat. Men and women. "It is the lifestyle,” quips my bus-seat partner. "Or could it be the green tea? Perhaps the diet of more protein and less carbohydrates?" The bus turns into a narrow road and pulls up close to a brown building. We leave our fact-finding conversation hanging to join the rest of the passengers who are scrambling down the bus and to the entrance of the Bengbu Museum. EARLY CIVILISATION A museum staff quickly gathers the group and starts on an introduction to the museum, beginning at the centre of the ground floor where a reconstructed and fully assembled skeletal structure of an extinct specimen of the elephant is on display. The huge elephants with straight and long tusks were ancient Chinese elephants said to have roamed the forests of Bengbu area thousands of years ago. I am quite convinced that the English translation of the explanation of the elephant had less information by virtue of the limited sentences versus the voluminous text in the Mandarin version. The Bengbu Museum, which includes 12,000 sq metres of exhibition area, is divided into several sections covering the ancient history of Bengbu, the development of the modern city and the history and culture of Huaihe River. On the first floor, the story of the early civilisation, based on the traces of human activities and excavated items from the Xi you Site of Huaihe River basin some 30,000 years ago, is well depicted with the use of life-like models of hunters and ancient forest scenes and extinct animals. From hunting to food gathering and daily living, the survival tools seen in the hands of the models are also showcased in the exhibition room. It is a comprehensive collection of the earliest basic survival stone tools to the more advanced tools that were used along with the progressing years. Also on display are carved symbols from the archaeological findings in the Shuangdun site dating 7,000 years ago, said to hold possible clues to the development of the Chinese language. Also retold in this section is the history of Emperor Yu who is said to have met other leaders at Tushan Mountains, the Tomb of the legendary Ruler Bai, and the establishment of the dynasties of Xia, Ming and Qing. Along with their stories, their bronze ware, porcelain and other cultural relics and artefacts are featured in the museum. The museum’s modern developments section starts with a model of a steam train and images of the old train station of Bengbu, which opened in 1911, connecting it to Shanghai and Beijing via rail for the first time and raising the profile of the city. The poignant image of an old man at the railway station somewhat evokes the sense of a bygone era. The colourfully painted streets of Bengbu in the 1920s are brought alive through the use of hologram technology, transporting visitors to the streets for a glimpse of the men and women clad in classic cheongsams and going about their activities. We are not given enough time to explore the Bengbu Museum, where there is much to see and learn but then there are more places for us to visit that hot summer afternoon in Bengbu. EXPOSITION PARK The bus takes a ride up a hill to give us a bird’s eye view of the Longzi Lake Cultural Industry Quarter, also known as the Exposition Park of Chinese Ancient Houses. It is the first outdoor museum in China featuring 450 ancient Chinese heritage houses and various cultural heritage and arts of the country. Anhui Tian Sheng Industries Development Ltd Corporation has undertaken the design and construction of the park with a registered capital of 700 million yuan. With several man-made lakes and mountains forming the background, the eco-friendly homes sport traditional items from various periods of Chinese history. We visit one home which has exquisitely carved doors, verandas, balconies and pillars recovered from an old house from the Ming period. Both traditional Chinese architecture and modern techniques and materials were employed in the building of the houses. There is a stage and tiny rooms on the first floor, with even tinier windows that open to the courtyard. The video shootings, camera shutters clicking and selfies are endless, as the group explores the house with an open-air courtyard in the centre. Chatters of excitement fill the air in the bus with the discovery that we are headed next to famous Chinese actor Jackie Chan’s gallery not too far from the house. The actor’s mother is from Anhui, someone informs as the group enters the gallery, which features items salvaged from historic buildings or houses that were purchased by the actor for restoration purposes. Two fascinating gateway dragons, carved from what looked like jade, sit at the entrance courtyard, while a huge "dragon" art piece said to be made from the actor's used items in filmmaking such as reels, chains and lights, fills up the centre of the gallery, offering the charm of the old and sophistication of the new. RESTORATION OF BUILDINGS A China Daily reporter informs that the actor has been making an effort to restore buildings of significance to preserve the traditional culture of Chinese architecture. These include wooden structures from old buildings from the late Ming Dynasty (1368 -1644) and the late Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911). The afternoon gets a little cooler and what greets the group next is a pleasant surprise – theatre performances from the artists of Anhui Sizhou Opera Theatre Co Ltd in one of the units in the park. It is entertainment par excellence. Based on the “Flower Drum Dance”, a form of folk art combining music, dance and songs, the performances begin with the melodious rendering of a folk song opera style, describing the beauty of nature, followed by a duet and dances. The performances with their vibrant music, songs and energetic moves transcend any language barrier and entertain with easily understood human expressions, humour and fluid movements, ending our afternoon in Bengbu on an interesting note. -- BERNAMA