Vivere in Cina Per gentile concessione dell’autore pubblichiamo una serie di articoli che illustrano alcune importanti caratteristiche dell’odierna società cinese, dove tradizione e modernità convivono in maniera originale. IN THE TIME MACHINE THROUGH SHANXI Belov Maksim * Shanxi（山西） has a millennial history. Many historical monuments of material and spiritual culture and history of the Chinese people are preserved here. The first and most vivid impression which remained in my memory of the trip is feeling as if I’ve have been in the medieval era with its life, tradition and culture, and a developed infrastructure of this province, making the stay in the world of ancient China easier and more comfortable. It looked like what you would see if you rode through ancient Chinese cities in a time machine called “Tourist Bus Through Shanxi”. The first stop was Taiyuan city, which is 2500 years old. Taiyuan as the whole province is famous for its cuisine, with noodles being especially popular. In one of the local restaurants guests were treated to a local meal. The restaurant was filled with songs and dances, showcasing local art and culture. But most foreigners were struck by the local chief’s spectacle of making noodles. At the beginning the chief showed how to cook “daoxiaomian” noodles (刀削面), then “longxulamian” (龙须拉面). Due to the unique elasticity of the dough, it’s easily planed and stretched, almost like bubblegum or inflated balloons. The secrets of making such a dough are passed from generation to generation for thousands of years. On the second day of the trip guests arrived at Qiao’s Grand Courtyard in Qi country (乔家大院). The yard is a large architectural ensemble, showcasing the original style of a typical home during the reign of the Qing dynasty (1735-1795) in North China. The next stop of that day was in Pingyao Ancient City, the only medieval city of China, which has fully retained its historical architectural appearance. Inside Pingyao there is the ancient seat of government (1346), the first Bank of China “日升昌”(1824), several historical monuments and about 4 thousand courtyards (四合院). Most of them are more than 6 centuries old. Now, hotels and restaurants are located in these courtyards. The foreigners spent the night in one of these hotels. The impressions were indescribable. The spirit of history reigned everywhere, starting from the front door to the furniture and shower room. It seems that modern technologies didn’t distort or violate the atmosphere. They only brought comfort and harmony, made the room cozier, and gave the opportunity for modern humans to simultaneously be in the past and stay in touch with the modern era thanks to Internet and electricity. They then visited Wang’s Grand Courtyard in Lingshi country. It keeps a history of the life of the Wang family. All buildings of this place saturate with symbolism. If viewed from above, one could see that the streets separating the small courtyards of this vast territory, portray the character王, the generic character of the Wang family; the number of steps to...