日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Business
Home / Business / Companies

American hotelier chases small town Chinese dream

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-11-07 17:15
Share
Share - WeChat

KUNMING — In Xizhou, a small town in Southwest China's Yunnan province, workers use chopsticks to move curds making rushan, a kind of cheese, while visitors look on.

The Linden Center is run by Brian Linden, an American. Visitors from China and abroad can get to know the Bai people, who make up the majority of the local populace.

"Even though I am a foreigner, I have always dreamed of finding a way to learn, share and discover Chinese culture," Linden said. "The Linden Center allows me to do just that."

The center helps preserve local traditions such as the Torch Festival and the Rice Transplanting Festival.

Linden's journey in China started in 1984 when he was a carpet cleaner in the United States before a friend invited him to China, where he played several roles in films, worked as a photographer, and traveled widely.

He returned to the United States and, in 2004, sold his house, and brought his wife and two sons back to China to embark on a two-year odyssey across the country.

"My sons needed to study, so hotels and trains became classrooms," Linden said.

When train tickets were hard to come by, they bought standing-room-only tickets, he said.

"We just wanted to show the kids how important it is to chase dreams and how their parents can make their dreams come true."

From the Northwest to the far South, the Linden family voted whether to stay in any given place or move on and eventually settled in Xizhou. The town is close to Erhai Lake and Cang Mountain, making it a "land of idyllic beauty," as Chinese writer Lao She put it in his book about Yunnan.

What captured Linden's attention in Xizhou was the Yang family compound, a building with the distinctive features of Bai architecture. It was built in 1948 and put under nationally protection in 2001. Linden wanted to turn the compound into a boutique hotel and after four years of negotiations with the local government, he was given permission.

Instead of using a professional architect, the Lindens decided to renovate the building themselves.

"Just the cost of fire safety measures and rewiring exceeded one million yuan ($151,000)," Linden said.

During the renovation, he spent half his time at the construction site, and the other half in the village, talking to people, making friends and explaining what he was doing.

"If the Linden Center really wants to be part of Xizhou, the support of local people is very important," he said.

About 100 people were involved in the renovation and the center now employs about 50.

"We could keep the ball rolling with just half of them actually, but I want to help local employment," he said.

In 2008, after almost nine months of work, the Linden Center opened with the structure of the original compound and delicate wood carvings intact.

From the very beginning, the center was more of a place of cultural exchange than just a hotel. When it opened, Linden invited dozens of foreign painters to work there.

Years later, the center has evolved into five big courtyards, and 16 guests rooms. Besides accommodation and catering, visitors can take part in all kinds of cultural activities, textile dyeing and cookery lessons.

One of the courtyards has become a place of education, receiving student groups from around the world. He has set up connections with Yale, Stanford and China's Fudan University.

"In the Linden Center, I have found my way to learn, share and explore Chinese culture," Linden said.

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
CLOSE
 
主站蜘蛛池模板: 日韩在线高清 | 婷婷色中文字幕 | 一区二区欧美视频 | 精品91久久 | 天天影院免费看电影 | 日韩欧美视频一区二区三区 | 精品国偷自产在线 | 久爱视频www在线播放 | 成在线视频 | 视频二区| q2002在线观看免费 | 第三级视频在线观看 | 国产精品久久久久久久久久免费 | 青青在线香蕉精品视频免费看 | 国产伦精品一区二区 | 偷拍在线观看视频在线观看地址 | 国产成人久久 | 日韩污视频 | 九九九热视频 | 国产91成人精品亚洲精品 | 在线观看免费视频日韩 | 久久a区| 精品一二区 | 美xxxx| 99久久精品日本一区二区免费 | 欧美zzzz| 超91视频 | 亚洲精品无码成人A片九色播放 | 六月婷婷久久 | 黄在线| 国产精品资源网站在线观看 | 5月激情网 | 国产一区高清 | 免费国产黄频在线观看视频 | 欧美精品在线观看 | 亚洲欧美综合网 | 久久影视一区 | 日韩 欧美 综合 | 精品久久久久久免费影院 | 国产精品欧美一区二区三区不卡 | 午夜精品视频在线观看 |