Colin Bissessar: Ansha Fishing Resort

Ansha is a village that is part of the Xingsha district of Changsha. It is about 30 minutes by car from the Xingsha city centre.

I often go there to relax and get away from large crowds of people that congregate in city parks during weekends and holidays.

The make up of the village is the very old and the very young. Most everyone in between leaves either to go to school or to find better paying work in the cities.

This week China celebrated a festival called Dragon Boat Festival. It's a three day holiday for most people (not for me unfortuanately). I knew that Changsha would be crowded. Shops, parks, restaurants and bars would be filled to the brim. There was also a jazz music concert going on headlined by the Backstreet Boys (yeah, I don't know why either) that would bring even more people into Changsha from neighbouring cities. These kind of crowds are not my idea of a holiday.

So I went the opposite way to Ansha. As I was wandering around I found this fishing resort. Out of the city, the air is fresh and clean and the stifling heat and humidity that's a fact of life in Changsha at this time of year, melts away.

There is no fisherman. My idea of fishing is a boat and a cooler of beer - fishing gear optional.

The weather was clear and comfortable and I don't know if it's always this way but the place was almost empty. It was wonderful.

Source: changshanotes