![]() ![]() Gladys adopted a number of orphans who went on to marry and have children. The old Inn of Eight Happinesses is known to local people but does not appear to be particularly noteworthy as it took people a while to help me find it. I do not know if they are descendants of people that Gladys Aylward converted or whether they came to Christianity through other paths. ![]() ![]() I was told in Yangcheng that there were still practising Christians in Yangcheng, although they worshipped in private homes. While a naturalised Chinese citizen, her attempts to return to China ten years later were unsuccessful as the Communists were unwilling to let her come back - perhaps for the better, as China was about to enter one of the most disastrous periods in the era of the People's Republic, the tragic Great Leap Forward and the ensuing so-called Three Years of Natural Disasters. She left Yangcheng in 1939 to take her hundred orphans to Xi'an, later continuing to work in places such as Lanzhou and Chengdu before leaving China for Britain in 1948 or 1949. ![]() Probably many more mementoes of Gladys Aylward's stay in Yangcheng could be found if one looked, including the location of Bei Chai Chuang (where she hid out from the Japanese), Chowtsun (周村 zhōucūn), which can still be found on Google maps, and other spots in the town, such as the yamen.ĭespite eight years of living in Yangchang and the significant role she played in events of her time, Gladys does not appear to have left a strong legacy in the town. Both the Inn of Eight Happinesses and some of the outlines of the old town were still visible. At the time this photo was taken in 2006, the sheds were on the verge of being demolished. Some old drinking troughs were still in evidence. Old mule sheds near the Inn of Eight Happinesses. But where to look? I wandered aimlessly around the area for a while but quickly decided that there was no way in that warren of streets (for a sample, see below) that I would be able to find, let alone identify, an old building that had originally been used as an inn by a few Christian missionaries. If I was to find the Inn of the Eight Happinesses (八福客栈 bāfú kèzhàn), the East Gate was an obvious starting place. The size of the house was such that Jeannie was confident of putting up at least fifty men and their animals. There are three k'angs specially constructed to sleep large numbers, two downstairs, one in the large room upstairs. Our house was built as an inn in the first place, hundreds of years ago. It was later decided that this premises should be operated as an inn. Practically every door was off its hinges there were piles of rubble on the flagstones, gaping holes in the tiled roof, dirt everywhere. The rooms of the double-storey dwelling opened on to balconies which looked down on to the courtyard. As Burgess describes it:įrom a square recess in the front wall, a small door led inwards to a large courtyard. The premises were square, like most Chinese dwellings, enclosed by four high walls. That was where Jeannie had rented a house quite cheaply because it was supposed to be haunted. When Gladys Aylward first arrived in Yangcheng she came to the East Gate, and it was near this gate that she met Jeannie Lawson in a courtyard off a narrow roadway. On this page we will see how successful I was in finding the Inn of Eight Happinesses. On the previous page we looked at the town of Yangcheng and traces of the era when Gladys Aylward lived there. I am happy for people to use them provided that acknowledgement of their source, and if possible a link to this page, is given.) (Note: I often receive requests to use these photos in giving talks, lectures, etc. Yangcheng and the Inn of Eight Happinesses (cont.) ![]()
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