Obsessed with bonsai for over 30 years: a Longquan farmer creates a one-of-a-kind bonsai homestay

2018-05-20 13:47 | Zhangshang Longquan

Lian Yuesong

In Qiufeng Village, Shidashi Street, Longquan, exquisite bonsai are arranged in a pleasing, staggered display in the courtyard of a homestay, each one uniquely ingenious with its own distinct charm.

The person who created them is the owner of this homestay, named Lian Yuesong, who has been obsessed with bonsai making for over 30 years. Let's take a look at the story between him and bonsai.

Lian Yuesong's homestay

Lian Yuesong, after graduating from junior high school, came across an opportunity by chance and discovered that the local area had abundant bonsai resources, so he discussed it with his father and began growing bonsai seedlings. At first, his understanding of bonsai was still limited to being able to keep the trees alive; later, while doing the work, he looked up information and went elsewhere to study, and discovered that making bonsai was not a simple matter.

Lian Yuesong said that the first few years of making bonsai were relatively hard, as the shaping of bonsai takes a fairly long time to take form, at least five or six years. At the beginning, he supported his bonsai work with the income from farming and growing fruit and shiitake mushrooms.

In 2004, Lian Yuesong sold the first bonsai of his life.

Lian Yuesong said that managing bonsai is like raising a child; it is a tree and cannot speak, so ordinarily you have to rely on observation and experience to tell whether the tree lacks nutrients or has pests and diseases.

Lian Yuesong

The homestay is an integration with the bonsai business. Lian Yuesong said that on one hand, the bonsai can bring homestay guests over to admire them, and when homestay guests come to admire them, they will buy our bonsai.

After all these years, making bonsai has been very hard, but this is my hobby. Although it is a bit bitter and a bit tiring, I feel it is very meaningful, and I will keep doing it, so that my bonsai garden gets better and better.

Now, while making bonsai and running the homestay, Lian Yuesong also gives guidance and suggestions to other villagers on room setup, courtyard layout and other aspects in the construction of their homestays. He said he is also very willing to help them: once the environment of the whole village is well built, everyone will feel it is beautiful, and naturally more guests will come.

(According to Zhangshang Longquan, original title "Longquan Farmer Obsessed with Bonsai for Over 30 Years! Creates a One-of-a-Kind Bonsai Homestay." Editor Zheng Xinwei)