Londoner’s house hunt puzzles villagers
Print Edition
WHEN Edward Gawne went house hunting in east China, villagers couldn’t understand why the man from London then chose to buy something so damp and gloomy.
The house in Wuyuan, a county in Jiangxi Province, that Gawne, 31, bought with his wife, 32-year-old Selina Liao Minxin, was centuries old. The couple are turning it into an inn and restaurant.
The couple met in 2013, when Gawne was working in Shanghai. “Working hard jobs in marketing in Shanghai for a few years can take its toll, and many of us dream of more than we find in the depths of Microsoft Office and monthly financial reporting,” Gawne said.
The pair gave up their jobs in 2015 and went to Liao’s hometown of Nanchang, Jiangxi’s capital, where Gawne wanted to learn more about Chinese culture and language.
During their travels, Gawne was drawn to the old buildings in Wuyuan.
Known to the Chinese as “the most beautiful village,” Wuyuan boasts more than 4,000 ancient houses, most of which are in the Huizhou style with gray tiles and white walls.
“It’s impossible not to fall in love with the lost pleasures of bird song, long grass and the wild flowers that bloom in Wuyuan,” Gawne said.
“It’s a pity if those exquisite old houses disappear.”
They soon discovered that real estate agents didn’t sell the kind of old houses they wanted and they had to knock on doors and ask villagers in person.
But it was difficult to find one that fitted in with their plans.
Finally, Jin Liang, the Party chief of Yancun Village, came to the rescue.
He pointed them in the direction of Jinzhicheng Hall, originally an inn for merchants more than 200 years ago. It was expanded around 150 years ago to include 14 bedrooms, a formal hall and a yard for animals.
At one point the house was home to a wealthy woman who took in orphans at the turn of the 20th century.
More recently, it was used as a village office.
A ceremony was held after the couple acquired the house. They lit candles and burned incense. “Alcohol was scattered on the northern, southern, eastern and western ends.
“Jin, leading the previous owners, apologized to their ancestors for selling the house and asked them to watch over the new owner,” Gawne said.
They also used firecrackers to expel evil spirits and burned fake money to appease ancestors.
“We have preserved all the original early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) architecture, wood, carvings and stone,” Gawne said of his renovation.
“We are preserving the grandeur, elegance, beauty and stories of our house and the families who came before us, but bringing in soft beds, soundproofing, cold white wine, air conditioning, modern bathrooms and good Wi-Fi,” he added.
“Our dream is to once again bring smiles, warmth, visitors and laughter to a house which has been a labor of love for many generations of Wuyuan Village life,” he added.
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