On May 24, 23 teachers from the Elite Youth Service Center formed five convoys and drove to Sandalwood Island, Dongguan for inspection and study. Tanxiang Island is a privately developed ecological island in Shijie, Dongguan, known as the Sun Moon Lake on the Dongjiang River.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

To get to the island, you need to build a boat. The roaring diesel engine drives the ferry and carries dozens of us people cheering towards the island. The Dongjiang River below our feet is majestic and rushes towards the South China Sea with clumps of reeds. The surface of the river is shining with silver, and the weather is very good today.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility
Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

The first thing you see when you go to the island is a Dazhai Gate that looks like the Miao people. The entire Dazhai Gate is made of bamboo, using the traditional mortise and tenon technique without a single nail. There are 7 classified trash cans at the entrance of the village. Each trash can recycles one type of items: glass, plastic bottles, peels, wood, aluminum cans, waste paper, and general garbage. I looked carefully at the 7 trash cans. Except for the plastic bottle trash cans, which contained a few mineral water bottles, the other barrels were very clean. I heard from Teacher Deng that the owner of this island is a Taiwanese and has been promoting it. Today we need to thoroughly study the concept of ecological and environmental protection.

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In the morning, we visited the island on our own. In the Family Garden, a group of parent-child families were engaged in farming and rice transplanting activities. There were two rice fields and two rice fields. Many children saw the rice seedlings for the first time. Some were very curious and actively followed their parents. While working in the farmland, some children did not dare to step in the mud and cried and refused to go into the water... which caused a burst of laughter from the adults on the shore.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

Farming experience

Children living in cities are so happy that they have never seen rice, let alone how the rice we eat comes from. Through this kind of rice transplanting class, experienced farmer uncles tell the story of a grain of rice in the field, which can help children understand the hard work of hard work and cherish every grain of grain.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

After lunch, Teacher Xiao Duan, the senior nature teacher on the island, led us to visit the projects on the island and introduced ecological concepts.

 

In the herb garden, we got to know lemongrass, which is used to make lemon fish, which has a lemon-like fragrance; there is green mint, which people use to make chewing gum or eye drops for improving eyesight; and there is stevia, which is very sweet. , the leaves of this plant are sugar-free but very sweet and can be eaten by diabetics: and rosemary, which we often use in making pizza... The small garden of dozens of square meters is full of various different edible spices. plant.

What interests us the most is the sandalwood tree. It is said that there are 100,000 sandalwood trees on this island, so it is named Sandalwood Island.

 

The sandalwood tree is an ancient, mysterious and rare tree species, a semi-parasitic evergreen tree. What is unique about it is that there are thousands of "suckers" growing on its fibrous roots. These "suckers" are tightly attached to the host plant. Robbing them of water, inorganic salts and other nutrients.

Symbiotic System Huanghuali Wood

Each person has a huanghuali crutch, so heroic!

Plants like Guri incense are planted everywhere on the island. After Teacher Duan’s introduction, we learned that the symbiotic plants in Sandalwood Village are Huanghuali trees and Guri incense. Sandalwood survives mainly by sucking the nutrients from the symbiotic plants through the suckers at the roots. This is the plant. The principle of symbiosis is also a breeding technology commonly used in ecological agriculture.

 

There are some plastic bottles hanging on many trees in the orchard. The bottles contain sex-inducing hormones that can kill pests. This ecological operation method does not require the spraying of pesticides, ensuring an organic ecological and fully green production method.

There are three large earthen kilns for baking pizza on the island. They are very interesting and shaped like a yurt. The earth kiln is built with a layer of soil, a layer of glass, and another layer of soil. The top layer is a layer of bricks. The outermost layer of the kiln roof is a layer of mud and crushed grass. Every time it is used, a handful is burned in the kiln. The fire is turned off when the outer wall of the kiln is also hot. The temperature in the kiln can reach 400 degrees. At this time, the pizza is put in and baked. The most environmentally friendly and primitive pizza baking is completed. This kind of baked food is believed to have the most mellow and fragrant taste, but it is a pity that the oven cannot be turned on in summer and cannot be tasted.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

According to Teacher Xiao Duan’s explanation, in order to reduce energy waste, the island tries to reduce the mileage of various ingredients: it is very intuitive to allow a crop to be transported from sowing to harvesting to food or even to being excreted without long-distance transportation. felt. This small island already has a complete set of recycling and green recycling systems. I really hope that this concept can have great benefits and be promoted across the country.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

After learning the ecological concept, everyone started a kayaking battle in the lake. From free play to the water splashing battle, everyone had a great time.

The day's natural ecological experience learning on the island came to an end quickly. On the way back, we came to Nanshe Ancient Village not far away.

 

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility
Nanshe Ancient Village is an ancient village from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has won titles such as "Traditional Chinese Village" and "Excellent Chinese National Architecture - Charming Village".
Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility
Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility
As soon as you enter the village, you will see a long pond in the center. The entire village is built around this pond. On both sides of the pond are spacious streets, and then extending outward are the ancestral halls, theaters, centenarian temples, and mansions facing the streets. , and then expand outwards to become ordinary people.
Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility
The ancestral halls on both sides look quiet and calm under the reflection of the water, like a weathered old man sitting and looking into the distance with a smile.
Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

The largest surname in Nanshe Ancient Village is Xie, so the largest ancestral hall is the Xie Clan Ancestral Hall. The Ren Tiangong Ancestral Hall is the Xie Ren Tianfang Ancestral Hall, the 14th generation grandson of the Xie family. Scholars, one of their ancestors also followed Zuo Zongtang in the north and south, and was named General Jianwei.

Hundreds of years of glorious glory have all turned into history: this history is engraved on several stone tablets, which record the achievements of some ancestors of the Xie family; this history flows into the pond and turns into lotus flowers that bloom again.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

At night, red lanterns light up on the fences on both sides of the pond, illuminating the entire street like a festival. There is a sense of tranquility and serenity in every photo.

After the busy work, you can come here to hold hands with your loved ones and walk around, which will make you feel like you have been in love for ten thousand years. Or you can take students to experience the vicissitudes of history and experience the rise and fall of a family, which can inspire students to have a deeper love for each other. Cherish life and admire history.

Travel Notes | A garbage-free island, a 400-year-old ancient village, where you can find natural innocence and tranquility

In this way, we ended our day's trip touched by the history of the ancient village. In the morning, we visited an environmentally friendly and ecological island with a green lifestyle like Li Ziqi's. In the afternoon, we visited a century-old ancient village with the same simple and slow pace but with an added layer of history.


The morning was about thinking about green life in the future, and the afternoon was about understanding the development of ancient village civilization.


Both lives are in stark contrast to our busy cities. Yes, we need to stop often to feel the green natural ecology and appreciate the weight of history.


We need to start at a fast pace, but we also need to find a corner to slow down and appreciate natural history, the world and life.

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