Eric's Beijing Diary

Picked up a buckwheat pillow the other day. I first used a buckwheat pillow in the fall of 2004 when I took a trip to the countryside of Shanxi Province. Jean and Claire and I stayed in a Yaodong with a farm family. I wasn't sure what that unusual pillow was made of, but I really liked it. I thought perhaps it was rice or something. Since that time, I have encountered these pillows every time I stay in the countryside. Farmers always use them. They are really comfortable. More firm than a down pillow, but not uncomfortably hard. The problem with soft feather pillows is that they feel good, but never seem to give enough support. Not so with buckwheat pillows. They form naturally to your head, but also give you the support you need so that you don't wake up with a sore neck.

Somebody told me awhile ago that these pillows are filled with barley husks, but they are called "buckwheat pillows," so I don't really know what is in them, but no doubt some sort of grain husk. I was in the underground market on campus the other day when I spotted one. Definitely worth having. You will never want a goose down pillow after you have tried one of these.