A two-hour drive from Shenzhen will bring you to a well-preserved and 10 square kilometer original river township --- Gulao River Land in Heshan, Jiangmen. The narrow strip of land interwoven with a network of rivers and ponds constitutes a unique ‘pier’ texture, which also gives rise to a self-sufficient and relaxed lifestyle here. With a history of seven hundred years, the villagers of the water village have continued the way of life of their ancestors, working and eating according to the time and freshness, and living gently with the water and land without panic. At the start of 2020, the OCT Group (Jiangmen) was invited KAI to Gulao River town to think about how to transfer the local living fascination of Gulao to the public.
In the hope of better exploring the "symbiosis" of cultural tourism development with the local culture and creating a connection between Gulao's own charm and the public, the OCT and KAI jointly launched a two-month field research in Gulao River village. The cultural context of Gulao lifestyle gradually became three-dimensional and clear through walking around the village and observing people's daily lives, and having in-depth conversations with more than 30 experts from various industries and locals.
Under the guidance of the collection on various aspects of life, we have unearthed not only the representative local cultural symbols such as Wing Chun and Dragon Boat, but also richer and more vivid contents - for example, the daily fun of the villagers in picking up farm boats, the legend and elaboration of fishing for fish in mid-autumn, and the several ways of doing a pangolin in the water village ...... Little by little, we were truly struck by the diversity and specificity of the real interest hidden in the pier. We have compiled these fragments into three volumes, "365 Fun in the Gulao River Town", in an attempt to give a first glimpse of the local living fascination of Gulao.
This research process has also led us to believe that the essence of local cultural exploration is the continuous and open collection, as well as understanding of the local lifestyle. As a result, a platform for cultural co-creation was born, with the aim of using the power from more individuals to reach out to the life of the river town, and to create more links between the local lifestyle and the daily lifestyle of the public. In collaboration with the OCT Group, we were planning the "Wandering in Gulao" project. "Wandering" represents the openness of wandering in the water township without constraint, and looking forward to encounters. ‘Exploring’ is a way for people to engage by communicating with the land and activate the interests of local life. As a long-term cultural co-creation platform, the project will continue to invite different guests and the public to go deeper into the life of the river village, capturing the characteristics of local life from their own perspectives, and using their expertise to express and create in various forms, thereby activating and conveying the charm of Gulao.
"In the first season of the project, three co-creative guests embark on a journey of collection and creation
For the first season of the 'Wandering in Gulao' project, we have invited three guests with their own expertise - Yushan, a painter and architect who paints the beauty of living in the landscape; Jieni Fu, a perfumer who uses scent to express and write; and Xiaohe, a musician and initiator of the Ballad Project, which is to start their creative journey.
Yushan
Yushan, Zeng Renzhen is an architect and painter who enjoy the company of all things. He has published popular works such as "The Creation of the Realm", "Love Story Amongst the Grass", "Journey Amongst the Grass" and "Garden of Illusions"Etc..
The highlights of "Wandering in Gulao"
Yushan was fishing, tasting morning tea, leaning about dragon boats and Wing chun.
Jieni Fu
She is an independent perfumer and the owner of the O D’ HORA brand. She was admitted to the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, which only admits 12 students worldwide each year, with her excellent olfactory talent and solid cultural background. Now, she is the official representative and appointed lecturer of the Grasse Institute of Perfumery in France.
The highlights of "Wandering in Gulao"
Jieni was cutting longan, learning about Chenpi, searching for tea scents and wandering on a lotus pond.
Xiao He
He is a musician and initiator of the "Wandering in Gulao" project. Xiao He focus on the connection between people by using ballad as a clue, which aims to explore and recreate nursery rhymes from different cultural regions. Before coming to Gulao, he has already visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changsha and other cities with “Ballad project’’.
The highlights of "Wandering in Gulao"
Xiao He listened to stories and learned songs from a number of elderly villagers in Gulao.
In their research, more aspects of the life in the water town were gradually revealed - the fun of living and travelling together in the pier landscape, the unique and natural atmosphere of the water town and hand-made products, the vivid stories of the past recalled by the local elders ......
The unique local charm that these guests have uncovered not only attracts outsiders, but also makes many locals to see their daily lives in a new light and fall more in love with the place where they live in. One villager shared with us that these waterfront courtyards and stone bridges are places he lives and passes through every day, and it was only after being told about them by Mr Yushan that he first realised they were quite interesting. The genuine interest in the waterfront that inspire the three groups of creators also became the soil for their creations, so that the three creations not only retained their own style, but also grew naturally into the most appropriate look that belongs to Gulao.
Creative notes from Yushan
The research for ‘Wandering in Gurao’ is not about generalising a particular style of Gulao. Rather, it is about discovering the appropriateness and decency that grows out of life, the wisdom and poetry that comes from the simple way of life.
Creative notes from Jieni
The scent of Gulau that I feel stems from the continuation of its inclusive, dedicated and affectionate traditions, resulting in a certain authenticity, simplicity, non-contentiousness and unobtrusive routine and customs. Through the three fragrances, I hope to bring the peaceful and relaxing scent of Gulao to more people, in which every one can feel a moment of peace and joy.
Creative notes from Xiaohe
Through the rhyme research, we connect with what is most rooted in this land and water; I think this beauty will not only touch outsiders, but also activate the feeling of local life for people in Gulao.
Derivative creation from experience, linking local cultures and the public’s life
The expressions and creations of the three guests have created a new link between Gulao culture and the current public aesthetic. In order to bring this charm rooted in Gulao into people's lives, it is necessary to transform the process and results of co-creation into something that can be directly perceived and participated in through experiential projects.
Based on the 'Wandering in Gulao' project, we have developed documentary films, cultural creations, exhibitions and other experiential content to create more opportunities for the charm of the water town to reach the public. The paintings, aromas and songs will be used more extensively in the project in the future, creating a unique label for the visual, auditory and taste senses of the water town, which belongs to Gulao.
Documentary - conveying the beauty of Gulao from the perspective of three guests.
We followed the three guests throughout their ten-day journey of searching and collecting in Gulao, recording their experience of life in the water village and their interaction with different locals. As they enjoyed their travels, we followed them in their quest to discover and capture the wonders of the waterfront. The ten-day journey from morning to night is condensed into three documentary episodes, "Gulao in Search of Fun", "Gulau in Search of Taste" and "Gulau in Search of Rhymes", with the hope that more people can experience the local living fascination on nature and humanity of Gulao, through the eyes of the three creators.
Gulao in Search of Fun
We followed Yushan to capture the fun of life in the watery village of Lingnan.
Taste in search of Gulao
We discovered the nature and specialties of the waterfront with Jieni.
Rhymes in search of Gulao
We joined Xiaohe to listen to the memories of the water town in nursery rhymes.
Cultural and creative products - Bringing the charm of Gulao life into the daily life of the public
The three groups of "Fun", "Taste" and "Rhymes" have been developed into cultural and creative products such as picture books, indoor fragrances and music USB sticks. We hope to bring the unique charm of the water village into the lives of the public through products that connect the everyday. In the future, we will develop more derivatives from the creative works to the public.
"Fun"- the picture book
We can start an imaginative journey on exploring the local living life fascination of Gulao through interesting images and vivid words of this book with Yushan.
"Taste" - the indoor fragrance
We hope to bring the relaxing scent of a lotus pond into everyone's home by creating an indoor fragrance based on one of the three scent creation.
"Ballad of Gulao" - the music USB stick
A small boat-shaped USB stick carries three live music tracks from the "Ballad of Gulao", inviting everyone to listen to nursery rhymes from the river town.
The "Wandering in Gulao" gift box
The three cultural and creative products have also been assembled into a gift box, hoping that it will serve as a representative gift "Gulao style", which makes everyone to experience the unique charm of sight, smell and sound drawn from the water town.
The exhibition - a fun guide of exploring the water village
The "Wandering in Gulao" exhibition will be launched in the Gulao Water Village soon. The full creative output from three guests will also be available for viewing at the exhibition, in which the creators' handwritten will be uncovered to tell interesting stories from own experiences and recounting the vivid details of their journey in Gulao to visitors.
We have chosen the guest center of Gulao Water Village where is the first stop for most of the public, as the venue for the exhibition. We hope that the journey of the three creative artists will provide a guide for visitors to the water village, opening a window to the hidden delights of the water village and guiding them to explore it better. We will share more about the exhibition with you in due course, please stay tuned.
In the end
As with the original idea of the 'Wandering in Gulao' project, this journey has allowed us to connect more deeply with the life and people of Gulao. We would like to thank the local people for their help in every aspect of our ten-day journey, and they may not all appear in the documentary, but we would like to thank them in particular - the grandmother who gave us electricity from her house for the concert; the villagers who lent us their own benches for audiences; Uncle Yao, who allowed us to use his pavilion as we pleased; Wenwen, who lent us her glass house for several days for recording; Mr.Li, the driver who helped us from morning still night; Dr. Ren, who wrote handwritten notes to introduce us to the Red Smoke Station; Haiwen, who invited the fishermen to his pond and cut longan for us to eat; Master Fai in Wing Chun, Master Wing Chun and Master Tang who are maker of dragon boat reserved time for us; Auntie Zhen, who rowed us to her vegetable garden; Auntie Huang, the owner of specialty shop; Master Wu from the Tea Mountain, all of whom shared their songs with us. Every one of the elderly people who enthusiastically shared songs and told their stories ...... Because of these generous and lovely people, we have grown to love Gulao and believe in the meaning and value of the ‘Wandering in Gulao’ project. We have expecting the next journey, and set off together again.
