[News Page-Taiwan Straits Network]
Located in The northwest of Taining County, Sanming County, Fujian Province, Jixi Village, Shancheng Town, Lin Shenshuimei and Danxia Pastoral Garden. Photo by Chen Xinyu
Taining, Fujian, March 1, 2019 The soap base and plant extract are placed together in a container for heating and melting, when the temperature drops below 45 degrees Celsius, add natural aromatic essential oils to stir evenly, and then pour into the cat's claw shape silicone mold, the next is to wait for the geling type... Under the patient guidance of Bai Zhouti, the children were careful and completed the handmade soap making step by step.
Located in Jixi Village, Shancheng Town, northwest of Taining County, Sanming City, Fujian Province, the forest is deep and the water is beautiful, and the Danxia pastoral scenery is charming. Bai Zhouti and Guo Xiaohong, a "husband and wife on both sides of the strait", built a Taiwanese nature education workshop here. Recently, a reporter from The China News Service walked into this workshop and saw this scene described in the opening paragraph.
Last summer, several old houses of villagers in Jixi Village were renovated, and Bai Zhouti and his wife were invited to move in to create a Taiwan nature education workshop. Photo by Chen Xinyu
The workshop building as a whole is dominated by wooden structures and is divided into four spaces. Tourists can follow Bai Zhouti to make creative handmade paintings with cups, canvas bags, ornaments and various colors of paint, make handmade soaps, or follow Guo Xiaohong to climb mountains, do yoga, practice meridian boxing, or recite classics.
"We want to let tourists and local families integrate into nature and feel nature." Guo Xiaohong is a native of Taining and once worked for a Taiwan-funded enterprise in Fuzhou. In 1992, Bai Zhouti came from Taipei across the sea and entered the company as a Taiwan cadre. In 1995, the two were "upgraded" from working partners to domestic partners, and soon after, they ushered in love crystallization.
The workshop building as a whole is mainly a wooden structure, which is arranged into four spaces. Creative painting spaces are filled with cups, canvas bags, ornaments, dough fans, and more. Photo by Yan Xu
However, after the birth of his son Xiao Zhi, he was diagnosed by many parties as an autistic child. Since then, Bai Zhouti and his wife have begun the process of fighting autism with their children.
"When I was in Taiwan, I was exposed to and loved Herbal aromatherapy. Later, I found that it can calm the beating child's heart, and I began to understand deeply and learn systematically. Bai Zhouti said.
Taiwan has more perfect autism rehabilitation and special children's education institutions, and Bai Zhouti and his wife often take Xiaojie back and forth to Fujian and Taiwan to seek medical treatment and learn from early childhood special education experts the professional knowledge of sensory integration. Xiao Jie's social skills are poor, so they take Xiao Jie to participate in community college courses such as astronomy, magic, acrylic painting, and aromatherapy, encouraging Xiao Jie to contact the "outside world" like a normal child.
In the process of accompanying their son for more than 20 years, Bai Zhouti and his wife met many autistic children like Xiao Jie, and they germinated the idea of starting a kindergarten for children with autism and intellectual disabilities. "We hope that these 'star children' will improve their self-care ability, integrate into society, be accepted by others, and live happily after systematic training."
In 2001, Mr. and Mrs. Bai Zhouti opened the first special education institution for autistic and mentally handicapped children in Fuzhou that integrates treatment and childcare, named "Xinyi". In the 8 years of running the school, "Xinyi" has tutored hundreds of children and families of all kinds to improve children's cognitive ability, self-control ability and physical coordination ability.
Under the patient guidance of Bai Zhouti, the children carefully and step by step made handmade soap. Photo by Yan Xu
In 2014, Guo Xiaohong returned to her hometown of Taining to set up a rehabilitation training room for sensory integration. In 2018, Bai Zhouti chose "Women Singing husbands and wives to follow" and returned to Taining with Xiao Jie. Bai Zhouti likes the natural landscape and fresh air of Taining, while Xiao Jie, who loves starry sky photography, loves the night in Taining: the terrain here is high, the light pollution is small, and in the middle of the night, climb up to the second floor of the workshop to photograph the beautiful and quiet starry sky.
In the same year that Guo Xiaohong returned to his hometown, Taiwan's Shangqu Zhiye team was also invited to enter Jixi Village, relying on the idyllic scenery of Danxiashan Township and the humanistic heritage of the ming Dynasty's military department Shangshu Li Chunye's hometown, to implement the "Cultivating and Reading Li Family" project to create an idyllic grand scene of "one side farming paradise and one spiritual hometown".
In Jixi Village, with the promotion of the "Cultivating and Reading Li Family" Mintai Township Construction and Creation Project, the Cross-Strait Cultural and Creative Exhibition Hall, Jingxin Academy, and Starry Sky Homestay were slowly built and improved. In the summer of 2021, several old houses of villagers were renovated, and Bai Zhouti and his wife were invited to move in, making this Taiwanese nature education workshop.
The picture shows various types of handmade soaps made by Taiwan Nature Education Workshop. Photo by Yan Xu
In the company of his parents, Xiao Jie grew into a confident and smiling big boy. Mr. and Mrs. Bai Zhouti hope to influence more children, through the nature education of teenagers, with the concept of self-help and help to spread the concept of family health care for physical and mental health; also hope to promote cross-strait cultural exchanges and integration.
"I hope that the epidemic can end smoothly, the two sides of the strait can have convenient exchanges, and invite teachers and classmates we are familiar with in Taiwan to come and exchange and do more cultural and creative projects together." Guo Xiaohong said. (Reporter Yan Xu Source: China News Network)