Market Day in Fuli
28.11.2025
23 °C
In Fuli, we stepped back more than forty years to a time when Sheila lived in Beijing. It was a time before private cars, before cellphones in every pocket, before super-fancy hotels on every skyline, and certainly before every market trader displayed a QR code for instant payment.Yet, here in Fuli, the sights, sounds and smells of old China linger... 
This is truly a place where two worlds collide. We arrived in Suzy’s husband’s Tesla with all the bells and whistles, while the local farm people still bring their produce on ancient machines or tricycles… 
Citrus fruits are in season and our god-daughter, (driver, guide and translator), Suzy, was good at bargaining for some mandarins and sweet potatoes for the Tea Cozy staff…
While these pictures tell some of the story, the atmosphere is impossible to capture. The buzz of conversation, the thump of chopping blocks, the scent of spices, and the good-natured curiosity of the locals all merge into something unforgettable. Sheila remembers her early days in China when her presence as a western woman would quickly draw a crowd. Even now, in the maze of stalls at Fuli market, we still turn a few heads and spark warm smiles…
Rose and Suzy may have their hair done at a fancy salon, but the locals here get a trim in the market…
Fuli’s farmers’ market is held on nine days a month and is often avoided by tour guides because one of its traditional specialties is dog meat. Today we saw none of that. Instead, there were stalls piled high with pork, chickens, ducks and pigeons, along with frogs, river snails and tiny turtles. The sheer abundance is overwhelming. While most food is grown locally, we spotted fruits and vegetables hauled in from all corners of China. These women were selling young plants that, even this late in the season, will take root and thrive…
Dried foods remain very popular here. Wherever we turned, the harvests dangled in the sunshine. Dehydrated cabbages and persimmons are particularly popular and these pork strips, seasoned and air-dried, will carry the unmistakable flavour of country-style cooking…
Our visit to the market was only the beginning of a wonderful day. Curry and his wife insisted we stay overnight in their beautiful home in Guilin so that we could experience the historic city after dark. These are the famous Sun and Moon pagodas in Shan Lake in the city's heart... 
Our plans to take our friends and their lovely daughters, Ruby and Katie out for dinner dissolved when Rose unveiled a magnificent home-cooked feast. There were crabs, beef, chicken and a huge bowl of delicate white mantis shrimps, a prized Asian delicacy...
But their kindness went even further. Very late that evening James revealed a hole in his sock. Without a word, Rose ordered five new pairs online and they were delivered in under thirty minutes. Almost anything can be bought and paid for by phone and everyone pays by scanning a QR code - even for a few cents in the market. Curry operates almost everything in his home from his screen, including the robot that washes the tile floors. Suzy gives spoken instructions to her electric car and hardly anyone still uses cash or even cards. We wonder if the sugar cane seller who comes along our street still takes cash…
Our time in China will soon come to an end and tomorrow we will take you on a cruise along the River Li, one of the most breathtakingly beautiful waterways in the world.
Mesmerized by the blue 3 wheel truck. If that contraption in front is what drives it--how? Electric? If not, what is it for, and where is the motor? Heavy duty leaf springs bit much for carrying cane bundles or is that a large water/fuel tank in the box with copper tubing outlets?
Saving this photo on my desktop and look forward to future detailed description.
by R and B