18th August 2010
Macao
Ferry to Macao – the trip was problem free. We even saved some money by buying a group ticket with some other passengers. We arrived in Macao and checked straight into our hotel – the Casa Real - near the ferry terminal. We were in time for an early lunch and had Dim Sum in the Hotel restaurant.

The we went to the centre and walked around the old town with its Portuguese buildings and churches. Also, we had great café con leit at a nice old Portuguese café. Lian Choo also had a pasteis de nata which was almost as nice as those in Belem in Lisbon.


17th August
Shenzhen
We took a long distance bus to Shenzhen where we had planned to go straight onto the ferry to Macao – but the bus was late and the last ferry had already gone. But friends who live in Shenzhen helped us and booked us a nice hotel in the grounds of the university. They also took us to a restaurant in the Overseas Chinese section of town. Shenzhen has this neighbourhood because of its status as a Special Economic Zone and many overseas Chinese have invested in it. Because it is next to Hong Kong it has been very successful – it grew from a small fishing village to a huge thriving city in 20years. There were posters of Deng Shao Peng all over town because they were about to celebrate the 2oth anniversary of special status. The city has been one of the main drivers of development in China. The contrast with the area where the Tulou are still lived in is huge.


15th August 2010
Tulou
We took a bus to Yongding which is a village in Fujian nearby many Tulou. The Tulou in this area are still occupied by whole families – some of whom are the 6th generation to live there. They are incredible places – communal living that is very practical and of course in the past offered safe shelter from animals and bandits. We visited the Hekeng village group, the Tianluokeng group and the Kuiju group. The Tulou are accessible and easy to view. Some offer rooms for the night – with very basic facilities.


14th August 2010
Visited the old town which has lots of buildings from the 1930’s that are in fairly good condition and are being used as shops. Visited the Phu Thor Temple – it has the usual architectural style and layout. Nice though.