Chinese Farmers Guide English Tour

In Yangshuo, a major tourist attraction in southwest China known for its superb landscape, tourists are often surprised to find that lots of former farmers are now becoming local tour guides. And they can speak decent English and offer family hospitality.

"See the scenic Li River valley with this experienced English-speaking guide. Enjoy my tranquil guesthouse and hospitality in my local village," are the enticing slogans printed on the business card of "Mama Moon," whose real name is Xu Xiuzhen, one of the earliest tour guides in Yangshuo. The area is famous for its limestone landscape in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The business card, which prints the information in both Chinese and English, is just as professional as any business card with such necessary information as phone number and e-mail address.

The 56-year-old country woman can be easily found on Yangshuo's West Street, where Internet bars and restaurants are in abundance. The street, which runs along the river, is partially made up of century-old stone slabs that are lined up with the bars, cafes and western food restaurants. They are all two-story white buildings with reddish wooden window frames built to preserve the traditional southern Chinese architecture.

"Forty yuan (4.8 U.S. dollars) for a guided trip. Fairly cheap. Your trip needs one day. Doubt my price? Please consult with other tour guides. Here is my business card," "Mama Moon" said, wearing plastic sandals and carrying a bamboo hat as she bargained with a Swedish couple in clear and silvery voice.

The foreigners did not seem in a hurry. They casually talk with the country woman, their eyes fixed on hers, amazed by her openness and leisure style.

To foreigners, the atmosphere mixed with old and new, east and west, of the entertainment street is as attractive as the lush limestone peaks and the crystal clear water, which represents Yangshuo's famed landscape. The street is nowadays dubbed as the "Foreigners' Street" for foreign tourists on leisure trips and vacations flock there.

"Mama Moon" said that there are over 100 farmers turned tour guides working on West Street. All of them can speak English as well as she.

None of these people studied English in school. Instead, they learned their English word by word from foreigners, said "Mama Moon." She can communicate with tourists quite easily in at least four foreign languages, namely English, French, German and Spanish.

Although she is only able to recognize a few simple English words, she can tell legendary stories about local scenic spots and have casual chats with foreigners on topics as diverse as the Great Wall or tulips in the Netherlands.

However, when she started to learn English five years ago, she did not know what foreigners were talking about when they mentioned the name "Mama Moon".

The name was given to her by an Australian girl, who left complimentary words in Xu's notebook: "How I want to call you Mama.You are a kind of `Mama Moon' living at the foot of `Moon Hill.'" The hill is a local scenic spot, and the hill's formation is shaped like a crescent.

"Mama Moon" has saved five to six notebooks full of warm comments about her hospitality and talent. "They are an asset to me. Whenever tourists see the comments, they develop a trust in me, " she said.

Work as a tour guide is far from being very rewarding, but it certainly improves the family income. However, Xu began to feel the pressure from other tour guide professionals, whose English skills are much better than hers, and the tourist authority now requires tour guides to obtain certified licenses through exams this year.

"I'm not sure whether I can pass the exam for the license, but if I do I would certainly continue to do this job until I'm too old to climb the hill," said Xu, who often climbs up and down the hill's 800 steps several times a day with tourists.

She said it has given her a lot of heartfelt joy to see foreigners amazed by her skills of recognizing herbs and rubbing them on the skin to ease the itch from mosquito bites.



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