Daily Life in China                  

Shu Family Complex:

  The Shu family complex is in transition. The original family complex is in the center of what has become a large family compound or very small village but all Shu family. The old complex is in transition to updated buildings.

  This is the family citang.  It was moved here from the original complex.  There's no lack of kids in any of these complexes. 

  The citang altar. The back tables (paiwei) have the deceased family names (Their all Shu but there are branches).

The original complex is unseen in the back.  In the forefront is a later complex with many other buildings.  The older buildings are being torn down and new building erected with red kiln fired brick.  This is a wonderful complex. The lanes between houses are all cement throughout most of the complex.

This is not the Shu complex but very similar.  It's just to show the cross roofs which connect the long main buildings.  The cross roofs form the tianjing sky well.

Sky well.

Part of a long building has been removed exposing a second building forming an open courtyard.

Same thing here, the close building was removed making a nice open courtyard.

Nice apartment front in the original Shu complex.

The doorway to one of the updated buildings in the center of the complex.  This building has been updated and modernized.  There's running water and electricity throughout.  The building has a bathroom and the kitchen a modern cooking area with a sink.  What I have not mentioned in most of the descriptions is that most of the complex apartments have hard packed earth floors. Some, very few have cement floors.

Tianjing currently used for drying crops.

Some complexes have stores, very few.  This grandfather is sells a few things and has his grandsone close by.

This ladies apartment is in the main complex which has been partly updated. Her apartment off a central tianjing is to the right and has not been updated.  

Her bed, hutch and a small room in the back (spacious).

Stove opposite the bed.  She was cooking when I came by.

Just up from the above is a long updated section of the old complex.  This shows another form of sky well, long and open slit between long building roofs.  Someone has there veggies ready for washing in the tianjing well.

Nice older section apartment front left in place during updating.

Older section of the newer (but old) complex about 1/2 unoccupied.

Seemingly abandoned this area is still use.

Typical pantry setup for any complex.

Someone setting up for lunch. 

Guo cooking does not require much other than a spatula or shallow or long handle shallow scoop.  Food is prepared with a cleaver. Veggies and meats are processed with a cleaver.

Typical kitchen setup.  Hard pack floor, typical.

Pantry, typical and about the same could be in any home in China.