Inside a Homestay in Zhejiang’s Tea Country | Miaoxi

0:00 I honestly didn't know what to expect when I arrived here. I left Shanghai that morning and met a guide and took a train with her. And she just rode with me to make sure I got to where I needed to go and I wasn't on my own. And then I was handed off to another guide, Joanna, and she stayed with me for the rest of the trip. And you'll hear more about her later in the series. From there, we drove out to this village in Hujo. I'll be honest, I was a little nervous. There was a language barrier, and I knew communication was going to look a little different. But even without words, there were smiles, there was laughter, and there was this sense that I was welcome.

0:44 And then I saw the view from my room, and I remember standing there thinking, this can't be real life. There's no way this can be real life. And they see this every day. The Tea Mountains stretched out as far as I could see. Everyone has a story to tell. We connect and relate to one another when we share our stories. My name is Melia Old, and I am your host of Voices of Inspiration. Join me as I share stories of friends, family, and strangers through my everyday life and travels. We will laugh, possibly cry, or walk away feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs. Everyone has a story to tell.

1:26 What's yours? Welcome to Voices of Inspiration. I'm Amelia. This episode comes from Miao Si in the Huja region of Jjiang Province in eastern China. Jijiang is known for tea production and you see that almost immediately once you're there. The hills are covered in it. And people talk about it casually, just like the way we talk about the weather. Once you're there, things slow down and you notice the quiet pretty quickly. When I first got to my room, I barely had the chance to even put my bags down before I was completely distracted by the view.

2:07 The windows were from floor to ceiling, and the room itself was stunning. The view looked out over the Tea Mountains, and they just kept going. And I remember standing there longer than I really intended. The room itself was beautiful. It was clean and comfortable. And of course, the view was amazing. And just imagine sitting in bed and being able to see that view every morning. There was also a spa tub in the room, too, which was nice. And I did not get a chance to use it, although I wish I had had that opportunity. But I think that it could be a really nice place for a solo trip or a really romantic setting as well.

2:51 As I walked around the property, I noticed that there is an infinity pool, and there's also this really long slide that's built into the space. And I could definitely see families and kids using it. At one point, I really was struggling to figure out how to use the thermostat. And it wasn't in English. And I stood there for a second just staring at it. And then I remembered I could use Chat GPT for basically anything. And so I took a photo and then I just asked chat which buttons to press, and that solved it. I know that is something so small, but it's definitely a really good tip for traveling internationally, especially when there's a language barrier.

3:39 You know, I didn't really want to bother anyone, and I had already stared at it for far too long. And so just taking a photo and asking, how can I do this? It's a really great way to use AI. The day that I arrived, someone said, Hey, do you want to hike up there? And they kind of pointed to the top of the mountains in front of us. And at first I was like, that's a long way. And then I thought, I'm not dressed appropriately. But then those thoughts quickly went away. And I was like, let's do it, let's go for it.

4:20 And so we didn't change clothes, we didn't change shoes. One of the locals, the driver, Joanna, and myself all hiked to the top of this mountain through the tea plants, and then we were able to take in this spectacular view. Wang Ying is from this part of Jiang. And today her parents, her husband and son all live and work here together. If you're watching the video version and you notice someone sitting with her during the interview, that's Joanna, the translator who I mentioned earlier. And you're not going to hear from her in this episode, but you will be hearing from her in upcoming episodes from the series. I asked Wing Ying to introduce herself.

5:02 After spending some time there, it felt like a good time to sit down and chat with her to actually hear more of her story. Hello, my name is Wang Ying. I'm from Zhujiang, Fuzhou. This is my homestead. And now my parents and my son is all here. We start our own business in here and we uh receive all the friends. We have two buildings. This building we have seven rooms, and the other we have eight rooms. Homestead is if you come here, and this is my home, and I am the host, I will take you around and start your countryside work.

5:52 And in my home, you're my friend. If you come here, I can be your local guide and I will treat you as my family member, and in my father will cook. You can taste our local food. I think this is a homestead. After hearing her talk about the place, it was easier to connect what she was saying to what I had already seen. The layout, the way people move around, and how family life and hosting overlap here. So I asked her to walk me through how it all works.

6:32 There are two buildings on the property, and the rooms are spread out enough that nothing feels too crowded. You have your own space, but you're still close enough to others to know what's going on and what's happening around you. As I mentioned before, it's easy to picture families staying here or groups traveling together, solo travelers, couples. There's definitely something for everyone at this homestay. I was really curious about what led to her decision to return back to her home and to start this business. I used to be an office lady in a financial company, and I like traveling.

7:15 So I have been traveled a lot of countries and I like homesy. So I think my home is very beautiful. I want to share my home to everyone, and this homestay for me is not only a business. Uh I think is this is a lifestyle. She talks about traveling a lot, staying in different places, and how those experiences started to shape what she wanted to do next. Over time, that led her back here. When she talks about welcoming guests, she keeps coming back to simple things, cooking together, spending time learning something new, letting days unfold without any strict plans.

8:04 I'm gonna pause right here for a quick break and I'll be right back. Today's episode is supported by China Eastern Airlines. They offer three nonstop routes from the United States to Shanghai Pudong, which is how I traveled while working on this series. China Eastern is headquartered in Shanghai and is one of China's major international carriers. The airline operates 108 domestic and overseas branches worldwide and serves destinations across China, Asia, Europe, and other global regions. They're also a member of the Sky Team Alliance, partnering with airlines such as Delta and allowing SkyMiles members to earn and use miles across participating carriers.

8:49 On international flights, China Eastern offers three cabins of service, first class suites, business class, and economy. Long haul routes include entertainment screens and Wi-Fi's available for purchase in Economy class. If you're planning travel to Shanghai or exploring future international trips, you can find current schedules and booking information on the China Eastern Airlines website, which I'll link in the notes of this episode. Alright, let's get back to it. That led us into talking about her relationships with her guests and some of the days that she remembers the most. Here go a couple from Europe. They came to my home state. And I didn't expect they're so interesting in our culture, traditional culture.

9:37 I think they will go somewhere to visit some city. And because they come is our traditional festival named Dragon Boat Festival. And they made the Tsung is a very traditional food, our Chinese food. So I think we came and start our own business. I know our culture is very popular for our foreign friends. I have a guest. Their family used in Shanghai, but uh later they moved to the north of China. Every year they have one time to back to Shanghai to visit their relatives, and they will make their schedule for one or two days, come to my home.

10:28 At this moment, I just I am a part of their family member. This is the meaning I start this business. In my home state, I think everything I want to for my guests. Just if you come here in spring, I think I suggest you can go to the Tea Mountains to take the tea leaves. If you come here in the summer, you can see firefliers in our village. And so I think every time you come to my home, I can show you different things, but also everything is interesting.

11:10 And this is our truth life, and just which I want to show you the lifestyles. So we have different experiences in different seasons. Every season is the best attempt to come to my home state. Her son was around during our time there, and at one point he was pouring tea for all of the women in the room, and a little later he ran around the room and he would come back again smiling. You could definitely see how comfortable he was in this environment and how it's a really great place for his upbringing. I can show my little boy how brave, how independent, and how powerful his mother is.

11:59 And he can be a natural child in this environment. And second, I want attractive more and more friends who can come to our country to start their own business and create their stories. And at last, I want more and more foreign friends can come to our China to know more about our China culture and about more about our Zhujiang province and our home state. We also got a quick look at something that's still in progress next door to the homestay, and it's a small hotel for pets that will be opening soon, or it could possibly already be open.

12:51 I know that they were talking about that when we were there, but it was actually beautiful. While I would love to take my own dogs, I'm not sure that I can take two German Shepherds and a Staffordshire on a plane just for a holiday week in China. Before I left, Wang Ying shared something off camera. The meaning was simple but powerful. There are very few things in life that can't be worked through after spending a night in the mountains. Nothing can be difficult when you visited the home state of Zhujiang. Before I go, if you're enjoying Voices of Inspiration, you can follow the podcast wherever you get your podcast.

13:34 Ratings and reviews really do help, and I really appreciate them. My website, AmeliaOld.com, is finally live, and you can sign up for my newsletter there if you'd like to stay in touch. I share new episodes, travel notes, updates from the road, and travel deals I think you may be interested in. More stories from this trip are coming soon. I'm Amelia Old. Thank you for listening.