Jiaguan’s Mountain Side of Guogou

郭沟夹关的山边

Since my wife’s hometown is Jiaguan, an ancient town nestled in Sichuan, China, I had the opportunity to visit the area where her grandparents live, known as Guogou. Although Guogou is still part of Jiaguan, it is located on the mountainside, where few homes are scattered and surrounded by abundant greenery and farmland. To get a better sense of this serene landscape, take a look at some of the photos I captured during my visit!

由于我妻子的家乡是位于中国四川的古镇夹关，我有机会拜访了她祖父母居住的郭沟。虽然郭沟仍属于夹关，但它位于山边，那里很少有房屋，周围环绕着大量绿地和农田。为了更好地了解这个宁静的风景，请欣赏我在访问期间拍摄的一些照片！

Nearby, there’s a hiking trail that is also used by locals for farming purposes. This path takes you on an upward journey through a stunning and vibrant bamboo forest. As someone from Canada, where bamboo forests are non-existent, encountering such a unique landscape is always a wondrous sight. The locals here make good use of the bamboo, building various structures from it due to its rapid growth and sturdy nature.

附近有一个徒步旅行点（当地人也会将其用于与农业相关的目的），你可以沿着这条小径向上行进，穿过一个美丽而充满活力的竹林。作为来自加拿大的人，看到竹林总是令人惊叹的景象，因为加拿大没有竹林。这里的人们利用竹子建造各种结构，因为竹子生长迅速且非常坚固。

Below are a variety of photos that show the lifestyle of living in Guogou, demonstrating what the houses are like as well as the farmland. It can be quite cold in the winter but generally not cold enough to snow or at least allow snow to stick to the ground. The houses generally do not have heating equipment installed, people instead sit around coal being burned in a large wok or other large enough container to maintain warm. In Sichuan, many people prepare Sichuanese sausage, my personal favourite sausage here in China due to it’s flavourful spices used during preparation.

下面是一组展示郭沟生活方式的照片，展示了房屋和农田的特点。冬天可能会相当寒冷，但通常还不至于积雪或让雪粘在地面上。大多数房屋没有安装供暖设备，人们通常围坐在燃烧的大锅或其他足够大的容器里的煤炭周围取暖。在四川，许多人制作四川腊肠，这也是我在中国最喜欢的香肠，因为它在准备过程中使用了丰富的香料。

Lastly, the locals here keep dogs to ward off intruders, as the dogs bark at anyone who passes by. Geese and ducks are raised for their eggs and meat, while pigs are primarily kept for their meat. This practice differs significantly from farming in Canada, where geese and ducks are not commonly consumed as part of our diet.

最后，当地人养狗是为了防范入侵者，因为狗会对任何路过的人吠叫。鹅和鸭子则被饲养用来获取蛋和肉，猪主要是为了肉。这种做法与加拿大的养殖方式有很大的不同，因为加拿大的饮食习惯中很少食用鹅和鸭。

Additionally, in the photo above, the small shed contains meat being smoked for enjoyment during the Lunar New Year holiday. Have you ever visited the Chinese countryside? What were your thoughts on the experience?

另外，在上面的照片中，小棚子里正在熏制肉类，以便在春节期间享用。你曾经去过中国的乡村吗？你对那次经历有什么看法？