Kelly and I landed safely in China yesterday. After 36 hours traveling I was relieved to finally get back to my apartment and pile my bags in the entry way, mind you half are still sprawled there as I dug through to get out the few things I needed. 

My trip home was worth all the trouble. It provided a much needed relief and a fresh start to the upcoming semester. With a roommate now and a new found determination to learn Mandarin it is already shaping up to be a great semester.

The trip began with me eating my words I gave the previous day to my friend Maria. When dropping her off at Bakersfield to head home I’d teased her about the Prop-Plane at the Airport. I’d never ridden in one and hoped never to have to. Everything comes back to bite you I’ve learned and sure enough before I knew it i was boarding a Prop-Plane to LAX. It was everything and worse I’d imagined!

Upon exiting the Prop-Plane my purse broke! I’d always made fun of luggage and bag stores in Airports, I mean come-on by the time you are getting onto the plane shouldn’t you already be packed!! But here I was stranded with a broken purse still facing another 24 hours of travel, I was willing to pay anything for relief! I found a tacky Hollywood bag at Hudson News and headed to my next gate to settle in for a long layover. Poor Kelly, we were to meet up at LAX and catch the same flight to Beijing together. She got stopped at every security check and pulled aside for further scrutiny. We tried to change seats to sit together but it was a full flight.

As they began boarding we ran to Starbucks for a last meal. Fiji water, blueberry scones and shrink-wrapped turkey sandwiches. I found my seat and was relived to find yet another window seat. I’m sticking with Expedia, since adding a window seat preference, that’s all I’ve scored on flights through them. I’m finally learning the trick to sleeping on international flights, oh another dozen and I should be a pro! Flights went smooth. In line after costumes I ran into the Sorensons, the BYU teachers from Jinan. I had ran into them going through security at LAX when flying home in January. We all had breakfast then headed to our domestic flights.

The puddle jump from Beijing to Qingdao was quick and James was waiting at the luggage carousel. It was intriguing watching Kelly’s reaction to Mainland China on the two hour drive home. I felt relieved to be done with flights and back into a normal routine. Qingdao to Weifang seems to be practically a Tulare – Visalia run most weeks.

James took us out to lunch before heading to the apartment. Lunch was wonderful. I’m thrilled to no longer be the novice with chopsticks, knock on wood. Kelly is reminding me of all my first experiences that have now become casual everyday events. Lunch was a usual conglomerate of vegetables, meats and tofus, chopped, diced and sauced up! With a hot bowl of noodle soup for the main course.

Once back on campus and in the apartment I finally felt I could relax after 36 hours of travel.

It’s good to be home and settled back in!

Okay okay I know, I lied, sorry. I said I’d have my blog caught up before I left for Harbin but that just didn’t happen. I leave in an hour and lets face it I’m just too long winded to finish the 6 posts sitting in my draft box. So another week will pass before I can touch it.

If I don’t start catching up on Friday, I’ve frozen to death in the northern regions of China. So in the Spring thaws the frozen foreigner clutching the hot water bottle in the Red Michelin Man Jacket is me. Will someone please make sure my cremated remains make it back to the mantle in Tulare.

I’m not kidding, Harbin this week was in the -30*F.

The center of life!

 After dinner I was shown to my kang in the adjoining room. One thing I’ve learned the Chinese pull out the red carpet for foreigners. I felt truly guilty when I realized they had given me the large Kang in the Master Bedroom, all to myself no less. There were no heaters in the house so I went to bed in thermals skeptical of the kang’s ability to keep me warm. Wrong decision! I soon learned the errors of my ways as I began stripping layers, then I was glad no one else was in bed with me as I eventually got down to my skivvies and still had to throw the blanket off at times. Holy smokes who knew!

Full Squid, hummm, did I really say that was the great dish?

 Friday morning I woke at 8 and entertained myself until I heard Wendy get up in the adjoining room.  Breakfast was leftovers from dinner and a larger dish of what I had commented on the night before. My bad, it was squid. Okay I hate squid unless it is battered and deep-fried and smothered in a cocktail sauce but I had to admit last nights did taste good surprisingly. But now it was the full squid not just strips.

Peter's Junior High

There is just no way to describe the loss of feeling when you finish this one.

Who said Exercising couldn't be entertaining?

That was a good stretch.

On to the Open Air Village Market. I was the only foreigner obviously and mostly likely the only to have ventured there. I was shocked when I few asked if I was Peter’s wife. Did not see that one coming. We finally just stuck with Wendy’s little sister, Can’t you see the resemblance?

Village Outdoor Market

A relative of Peter's, he gave me two free Candied Hawthorn sticks.

Oh no, please don't, oh great Peter just bought that for lunch. Umm do I have to I mean really what is it?? Oh just Pupas well in that case of course.

Then a quick spin to the beach, on the way we stopped at Shandong International College. The campus was dead.

Shandong International College

Can we say a little Europe in Shandong?

 

This was a random building on the campus. We never did find out what it was for but it just seemed so out of place.

Wendy says this place is packed in the summer.

I'm going to miss these two!

Sea farming

Are engines damaged when they get water logged?

Everyone does it! "Happiness to China"

Peter has quite the arm.

Collecting shells, I collected shells, Peter collected rocks and Wendy just shook her head asking what we planned on doing with them.

 

Beach homes of the rich.

We soon headed back for lunch, which I must admit I was not looking forward to as I knew the menu!

Don't these just scream yummm? Yeah I didn't think so either.

I'll try anything once, the second time is optional.

Pupas are Peter’s favorites it turns out so I turned to him for eating tips, wrong idea should have just waited for his dad. I tried Peter’s way first, pop the whole thing in you mouth and chew don’t swallow the casing just the creamy inside. After a few that way, yes I had a few, his dad came in a insisted his method was better, I have to agree with his dad. Pull off the end and using your teeth to squeeze/suck the filling out. I think I had about six although Lao lao didn’t think that was enough. I never could bring myself to eat the heat sack on the inside it was hard, after the gooy insides I just couldn’t bring my self to chew something crunchy.

Lunch with the family

Friday evening I watched “The Founding of the Republic” the Chinese film about the birth of China. It was on television and had English subtitles, surprisingly good subtitles to boot. I was also surprised at the sypathetic way in which Chang Kai Shek was portrayed throughout the film.

Saturday was colder than Friday so we remained in doors most of the morning. I took the time to study Chinese with Wendy.  A’yi and Lao lao made fish dumplings for lunch which were to die for.

A'yi and Lao lao making dumplings, yumm Now there's a wok.

After lunch I asked if I could take a walk around the village, Peter volunteered to give me a tour. It was fun just walking and looking but the guided tour made it amazing. He showed us all his old haunts and favorite spots.

Main Street

Peter's home village. Looking down Peter's street back to the Main Street.

 

Peter and his childhood home. His home is at the end of the lane.

Side Street

Nothing like a good game of "Arrows & Bows" Peter's favorite growing up.

The boundary between villages, crossing over

The villiage across the river - This is where Peter attended Elementary school.

Before garages where needed this was the original parking space.

This is a piece that has been up since Peter's childhood days, I'm guessing the original from the 50's. Where is Mao?

Exploring the villiage in the late afternoon was picturesque, now if I could only learn to capture that.

The family garden.

Saturday evening I watch one of Wendy’s favorite films, a good Chinese Spy movie. When I discussed the plot with Victoria upon my return boy did she have a good laugh at the historical inaccuracies of the aligencies portrayed in the film. It was intriguing and the subtitles were dencent. If you haven’t caught on by now the quality of the subtitles is something of a running debate in China. There is no point in commenting on the quality of the film, I mean what do you expect from bootlegged copies. But really are subtitles suppose to be legit no matter the picture quality?

 

Sunday Morning A’yi and Lao lao woke early to make a fresh batch of dumplings in China it is a tradition to serve dumplings prior to a departure as a sign of good luck. The dumplings resemble little boats and the attached saying is equivelent to “Smooth sailing”.

Sunday's farewell breakfast. Traditional dumpling sendoff.

You enter into a courtyard and rooms are situated along the right and back walls. The front walls are storage and pig pens there is only the outhouse along the left wall and a staircase to the roof.

 

 

Feeding the Kang

 

* The Kang is heated from outside. Corn husks are dried and stored all winter to feed the fires lit beneath the stone beds.

 

 

 

 

would anyone like their number?

Merry Maids of China

I should have taken before and after shots or at least the process. Katie and Thomas through insanity, is my only guess, agree to help me clean and move in.  The came over around 11am and stuck it out til the bitter end at 7pm. Those two can clean an apartment like professionals. They are so organized and thorough. By the end of the day we figured he could count half a year done for home-teaching.  

They dusted, swept, scrubbed, mopped, wiped down, sprayed down and cleaned out. It was such a relief, I was able to pack, arrange, transfer and move. Yes, my list was a lot easier for that I apologized profusely. I know I will never be able to repay Thomas fully for scrubbing the bathroom floor. Really could I please find a guy that is able oh and willing to do that.

By the end we had taken out 3 loads of garbage, done 6 loads of laundry:bedding, rags and towels and moved just about every piece of furniture in the apartment.

The topper of the day though had to be beating the rug. Katie and I took the rug outside and threw it over some exercise equipment across the courtyard. (I promise to add pictures later) Both of us where in short sleeves, and flip-flops from cleaning indoors. We were quite a sight to be seen beating a rug outside with a broom in 30* weather. Of course 3 different students passed and asked what I was doing, I would have figured that was obvious but hey when the Americans do something it is always a spectacle. Thomas came out to join us and we all took turns whacking that thing. Boy is beating a rug therapeutic. I love that scene in the new Sense and Sensibility when Eleanor takes a good whack at the rug, really it helps.

Once all the cleaning was done I told them their slave hours were over but they still offered to remain and help move the last of my things down. Troopers to the end. Thanks to them it was all done by 7.

Unfortunately, the customary doughnuts and take out pizza was unavailable for the moving crew but we were able to settle for McDonald’s after a long day. I felt truly pathetic repaying they entire day with a Big Mac but that was as good as it got.

So here is another THANK YOU, to Katie and Thomas, I could not have done it without you.

About a month into this excursion I realized there were going to be plenty of moments where no words would capture my feelings. That’s when I discovered the phrase “Welcome to China”, mind you your arms must be thrown up into the air and your head shaken to get the full effect. This is the closest I’ve come to expressing my feelings.

Since I’ve discovered this line I have used it on numerous occasions to which all westerns have agreed. A child tinkling on the bus while the mother holds his legs spread eagle, “Welcome to China.” Afternoon planes never being less than 2hours delayed, “Welcome to China.” Class is canceled tomorrow (from your students but not a word from administration), “Welcome to China.” Shall I continue, okay you get the picture.

The truth, I’m getting sick of this phrase but it seems to be the only thing keeping me from insanity. I know common sense and culture is unique to each country and I know “West is not always Best”. I wouldn’t dream of forcing American ways on anyone but really basic human nature people? Anyone?

It is interesting to note that at lunch today Bonnie, Katie and I had a rather surprising conversation on the effect of propaganda here. After so long you just stop resisting. Scary, but true.

Okay I just realized how long this was, I needed to vent. Sorry, I obviously got carried away

Ahhh! I’m still cooling down.  A 45min bus ride turned into a two hour ping-pong game! We were suppose to have one last shrimp fry before Adam and Dantzelle took off. Okay so the journey started at 5:20 I decided to go ahead of Adam and Dantzelle as I didn’t want to sit around until Dantz finished classes. I was half way to Jusco (supermarket) when I realized I didn’t grab the money I had laid out, crap okay just skimp at the store.

I was trying to get ingredients for Easy Almond Roca for the Christmas Party this weekend. I needed to use Katie and Thomas’s toaster oven so couldn’t put shopping off. Chocolate is so dang expensive here. Don’t even try finding chocolate chips so I settled on a Y20 Dove bar got the rest and tried to find a bus direct to the University, this is were all my troubles began.

I should have just walked the extra two blocks and grabbed the 16 but no I wanted to be lazy. I called Katie and she told me the 52 would work but I would have to transfer to the 16 once I got to DongFong Lu, okay I can do that. Well obviously not. As warned the bus went down shady back allies but got back on a main road headed east. I thought it was the wrong street but I noticed that the 16 ran parallel so I jumped off, NEVER CHANGE your answer. That was something I learned in Elementary always go with the first answer second guessing is ALWAYS wrong.

I got off and tried my hand at characters. I knew the characters for South Gate (南门) found the stop four away and waited for the bus. Mind you I take full responsibility for the following adventure but the Chinese sure are not helpful when it comes to directions! Let me lay out what I know, Katie and Thomas work at Weifang University which in Chinese would be Weifang Daxue. They live outside the South Gate which is Nan men. Okay so logically put the two together and you get their stop right?!? Well the bus stop sign had a stop that read Nan men, I assumed (yes I know what assuming means) as Weifang University was a big place in town they were just dealing with gates. I hopped on the bus and asked the Driver Weifang Daxue nan men. He said no and point across the street to the opposite bus stop. The 16’s are tricky here there are two 16 routes both will eventually pass the University South Gate.

That is when I should have gone with my first answer yet again. I knew which direction I wanted to go. So why I was letting someone direct me differently when there was obviously a language barrier is right up there with getting in that cab with a stranger. I crossed the street and looked at the board again okay, I’ll give the driver this much to get to the stop marked Nan men I needed the opposite side of the road but turns out I was reading the wrong stop. I figured this out 15 min later when I realized I was back on the street I started on, back at Jusco. My heart sank, I called Katie to figure out what had happened, that’s when I found out all though it is a University they don’t call it Daxue it is Xueyuan or College! What the heck! So the bus stop I needed was on the original side labeled, Weifang Xueyuan Nan men. What I can’t figure out is why the driver didn’t catch my drift when I said University (Daxue). Daxue Nan men should at least indicate I want to go to a school. Turns out Nan men bus stop is a shopping mall. COME ON PEOPLE work with the foreigner here please!!!!!

I get off cross the street and broad yet another bus. This one was the right one I knew for sure as it was the bus stop I should have just walked to in the first place! By then I was completely exasperated with the whole situation but mostly at myself as I should have just gone with my first instinct.

I’ve come to realize I can gauge my mood by the volume level on my Zune. It is normally at about 6 while riding a bus. By the time I made the final switch I was on 14. 20 is when I buy a ticket for the next plane out of China. Excessive today, yes, hormones aren’t helping anything. To top it all off I missed my stop as I was too absorbed in self pity. So what should have been a Y2 45min ride was Y4 2hour ping-pong game across Weifang. By the time I reached Katie and Thomas’s I was on 16 and then Katie asked for the bread crumbs I’d promised to pick up. Whoops, Katie is just to gracious she was on the ball with a substitution and not a hint of frustration.

So lesson learned always go with answer number one. NEVER EVER EVER change your answer.

So I’m finally home. Ahhhhh……so I’m safe and sound and tired as all get-out so I’m off to bed. Just wanted to reassure you Mom that I’m once again safe in my little corner of China and much in need of a good skype call. So I’ll get on when I get up in the morning your Sunday afternoon.

For everyone else, the Trip will follow tomorrow. I will post them on the days I went so look for previous posts, on 4,5,6,7,8.

Were both up and ready by 7am so we headed out the door, no point in wasting daylight. Traveling with Victoria was a real treat. As soon as we were both ready we hit the road, we were both eager to see all the sites so it was a marathon of sorts.

Hotel Subway stop.

Before we headed up to Purple Mountain we decided to find the metro stop next to the hotel. As not everything was in Pin Yin I found it easier just to take a picture rather than try to memorize the characters. One plus to Chinese subways is that each entrance/exit is numbered which makes getting out on the right street a breeze. Some of the stations will dump you out on to as many as 8 different locations depending on the exit.

Jumped in a cab to head up to Purple Mountain, this time we had an illiterate cab driver. The night before the concierge had written out the instructions for us in Chinese to show the cab driver. He looked at the paper and shook his head, then I showed him a picture from my travel book and he brightened pulling into traffic.

Unfortunately we didn’t understand the mountain and the cab driver didn’t understand what we wanted so he pleasantly dropped us off at the foot of the mountain and took off. We looked around and I panicked for a min. Not a single English sign and no big ticket office. Okay this is a big site with more than one HUGE historical attraction so where are all the people? There was a nice couple by the big wooden sign with the layout of the mountain, thanks to Victoria’s nifty guide book we were able to match up characters and point to where we wanted to get to. The one thing I do have down in Chinese is numbers. So after a lot of gestures and the number 20 二十 repeated a half a dozen time we figured out we could take bus 20 up to Sun Yet-Sen’s Memorial.

The bus ride up the hill was another adventure in itself. One sure trick I’ve learned, chant the name of the place you are trying to get to in the poorest Chinese possible (which is no challenge) and when you get to the right stop half the bus is happy enough to kick you off. We finally made it to the top and found our way to the clearly marked ticket office. We purchased the full park pass but were unable to figure out where to catch the shuttle between sites.

The first stop was the Sun Yet-sen Memorial. It was magnificent. Victoria told me the memorial is almost identical to the Memorial in Taiwan.

Entrance to Sun Yet Sen's Memorial

Brief History: Sun Yet-sen is considered to be the Father of China. He is revered and loved by both China Mainland and Taiwan as he was the first official President of China. He was the leader of the Nationalist party prior to the split of Chiang Kai-Shek and the Communist party. He was a great man who was a true visionary for what China could become.

View from the top.

The memorial and view was breathtaking, both visually and physically after the hike up the stairs. The hike provided plenty of time for a history lesson on the founding of China and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. After China I think I’ll just laugh at a StairMaster. As they love to say in China, “It’s good for your health”. They use that line as an excuse for just about everything, especially their lack of elevators and love for long walks UP stairs.

Memorial Room

As we entered the Coffin Chamber there was a guard reminding visitors to be quite. This was the first place I’ve been in China that has requested reverence. It was a beautiful tomb. (I was not able to take a picture at the tomb, this is a postcard) Victoria said it was the complete opposite of Mao Zedong’s tomb in Beijing years ago.

Field Trip!

On our way back down from the Tomb we came across school groups on their way up. Of course I had to take pictures, it is only fair right. I was asked to be in two photos on the way down. Oh the stardom of being a foreigner in China. After a small rant of having your picture taken oh so obviously by Chinese Victoria reminded me that I too take pictures of Chinese to catalogue my trip and they are just doing the same. Okay so then I felt bad and had to agree.

The grounds were just so peacful.

Just didn't really fit the overall mood in my opinion.

We contemplated walking to the next area of the mountain but as we could not accurately judge the distance we finally just decided to find the shuttle. It is horribly convenient speaking English because really there is always a student who can muddle through directions. We found a group of school girls who helped us locate the shuttle, which turned out to be a tram. Victoria and I think someone here visited Disneyland. What do you think?

Bought my Chinese Christmas tree ornaments.

Designed by an American as a memorial.

Climbed to the top of the 8-story Pagoda. I had debated whether to go all the way up and boy am I glad I did, I’d  hate to lose face with the elderly man with a cane coming down the top flight. The view from the top story was well worth the work out. Some of the leaves were beginning to turn purple. I wish the view of Nanjing was clearer but that is too much to ask in any Chinese city it seems.

View from the top of the Pagoda looking down on the entrance.

Temple Courtyard

Visited the Buddhist temple. The temple was moved to the present location to make way for  a tomb. There are three major tombs on Purple mountain dating back to the Ming. Learned more about Buddhism.

Last stop on the Mountain was the Ming Tomb Complex. We took the tram from the Temple. We were not informed that the tram dropped us off at the end of the complex. Half way through the self tour we figured out we were going through the complex backward. We just assumed the DIY tour book was horribly organized, whoops.

We started at the final stage of the tomb. This is the Entrance into the burial section.

Further down the processional. It was one long complex with numberous buildings along the way. Each held significance in the funeral process ensuring a prosperous afterlife for the decesased emperor.

Another stop along the way, China is a very hands on country regardless of what the signs say.

The final Gate House before the Burial Mound. You just got to love the incomplete guide book. If a half constructed picture in the guide book does scream replica I don't know what does.

The book said they don't clean the walls because the grim gives the "ruins" an ancient feeling.

Thr burial mound, There was a path leading up to the top. I couldn't help but think of the burial mounds from the Lord of the Rings, the first book not the movies.

 

Remember this is backwards... This is the end of the Sacared path before you reach the tomb complex.

After touring the complex backwards we stumbled into the back door of the museum and proceed through the exhibits backwards, no joke. So the Ming Tomb was great backwards. Hint for park transportation, drop non Chinese guests off at the front!!  or at least have clearly marked signs reading EXIT at the drop off point.

We caught the bus into town and were able to find a metro stop back to the hotel. We crashed for an hour and then headed out to find a restaurant that served the local speciality, Nanjing Duck. Turns out the local speciality is hard to find unless you want the flash freeze foil take home. Our hotel provided the flash freeze take home version but did not provide a meal, go figure. We ended up settling for chicken wings and breaded pork. We were both pleased with our stay in Nanjing. We were able to see everything on our list with time to spare. I was so excited to have extra time in Shanghai!

Okay the only way I’m actually going to get everything posted is if I take it a day at a time. Please remember I am printing my blog as my scrapbook/journal for the year so please feel free to just skim through and look at photos. I know I get long winded so you’ve been warned. 

We left Victoria’s at 6:00am to catch our flight. She had arranged for a cab to pick us up and he was waiting just out side the building. When we got to the airport we found our ticket counter and were thrilled at the short lines, then out of nowhere a Chinese tour group saddles up next to us and we realize the first customer in line is the tour guide who is getting tickets individually for each member. Needless to say all the foreigners in line were ticked, there was a group of Russians in front of us.  After a few min a kind Chinese women tapped us on the shoulder and pointed to the other side of the counter to open lines. Thank you, check-in was a breeze from there.

Plane Food! and in China wet-naps get handed out at every meal.

The great thing about airports is the fact that check-in is pretty universal. You just hand the person your reservation and your passport, when they point to you bags you shake your head and make a carry-on motion and you are good to go. All relevant information is in numbers and letters and tickets are bilingual with English as the second language. The flight to Nanjing was only an hour and they gave you an entire package of crackers with a beverage. Do they even serve snacks on 1hour flights in the US?

Quick history Lesson:

• Nanjing literally means ‘Southern Capital’. It plays a prominent role in Chinese history as the seat of many of the dynasties. Beijing was actually only established as the main capital for the last two Dynasties, Ming and Qing. Nanjing as the power house of Ancient China became the headquarters for many of the riots and revolutions that have taken place in the last two hundred years. Many of the sites we visited reflected these historical ties. With Victoria as my guide I got a walk through of Chinese history as we visited each site.

Took a bus into the city easy enough. Most people have a background in English and with a combination of horrible Chinese, basic English and exaggerated hand motions things are fairly simple to figure out. Having all our reservations in Chinese was helpful too of course. Once at the hotel we asked directions to the first site and hopped on the bus hoping for the best.

Map of Nanjing, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting around with only a Chinese map!

We started with the Heavenly Palace also known as the Presidential Place in later years. It was a large complex with few English signs, and those were sent through google translate it seems. (not to diss google, Dad can attest how much I’ve come to love Google, but really you can NOT just translate Chinese word for word it just DOESN’T make any sense.)

Originally built as two successive ducal palaces in the early Ming Dynasty. It really saw its hay day as the headquarters for the Taiping Rebellion in the late 1800’s, Sun Yet-Sen was sworn in as President in the Early 1900’s and finally as the headquarters for the Chiang Kai-Shek and the Nationalist Party before fleeing to Taiwan.

The Chinese love models! So here is the first model of the trip. The Heavenly Kingdom Palace

The decorations throughout the rooms were phenomenal.

The Gardens were beautiful, I have fallen in love with the moon gates

the gardens were extensive so this is one pavilion of many throughout

The ancestor worship hall within the complex

More gardens

A modern picture of Sun Yet-Sen and the Nationalists

Chiang Kai-Shek's office

Next we took the bus to the South Gate. It was huge, well preserved and unlike most of the historical sites in China, original. Built in 1368-1386 by the first Ming Emperor Hongwu, it was the most extensive in the world at the time. (DK-China)

 okay can you tell what college drilled into me? Mom how do you site a guide book?

Zhonghua Gate -  On the south side of Nanjing, this is the city side of the Gate complex.

 

Side view of the Gate complex, there is a ramp on the side that leads to the Gate house area on the very top.View from the entrance

Ramp to the Gate house. Got to love the Cheesy Soldiers.

View from the top of the inner stairs looking towards the city

Some of the blocks contain the signatures of the brick maker and crew with the date.

View of the city wall extending out from the Gate

We decided to risk the walk to the Temple and set out with our Chinese map to find the Confucius Temple. Originally built in 1045 it was the seat of Confucius teaching the area for hundreds of years. Rebuilt in the 1900’s.

The entrance to the walking street on which the Temple was located. We just stumbled across it.

It was a pleasant walk and to be perfectly honest we just lucked out in finding it because I took a turn and was lost on the map for a second. The temple was tucked away down walking streets.

The Fuzi Miao Temple

Burning Incense in the temple courtyard

The stone inlay was spectacular. They represented various stages in Confucius Life.

Scenes of Confucius Life, all in stone

The dragons were my favorite

one of the many structures with in the temple compound

 

Prayer tree in front of the temple.

Market Stalls around the temple, great finds!

Went shopping in the market stalls. Found some beautiful fans, wasn’t sure if I really like the first few so I decided to wait, yeah should’ve gone back but oh well. I did find my NANJING piece of jewelry though. A beautiful jade pendent. (I collect a piece of Jewelry from each city I visit. Light weight non dusty collecting souvenirs, that are functional and bring back memories each time I wear them.)

China towns look like Chinatowns in the states!

 

A good taco pot-sticker! Yumm.

I have to admit I was dissapointed in the lack of enthusiasum by the person who lit this monument.

 We walked back to the South Gate hoping it would be all lit up in true Chinese fashion (aka completely tacky) but were disappointed to find it rather dull. I had the map and was the designated navigator. I still say according to the map the closer metro was to head south for what looked like three blocks. Well China maps seem to say one thing when reality says another. We ended up along a shady street that just made the wrong side of the tracks look pleasant. Finally we saw a metro sign but couldn’t find the entrance when we asked the shop keeper about the metro we just got confused looks. So when all else fails hail a cab and hand over the hotel business card!

Now for the part, a cab driver with a bad optometrist! He couldn’t read the business card, he even held his lighter up to it before finally giving up and asking a teenager on the sidewalk to read it to him. We did make it back to our hotel and turned in for an early morning!

Well I’m on my way. I’ve made it to Qingdao and tomorrow morning bright and early Victoria and I will head to Nanjing.

This is my first official sightseeing trip in China and couldn’t have chosen a better travel companion. I met Victoria my first Sunday at church and hit it off then. She is a world traveler and taught AP Art History before coming to China. Let me just say it, she is my idol. Together we plan to hit all the worth while spots in Nanjing and Shanghai, namely the museums and architectural must sees.

The itinerary is as follows:

Fly from Qingdao to Nanjing: early Wednesday morning

Stay in Nanjing through Friday Morning

Take the train from Nanjing to Shanghai: Friday morning

Stay in Shanghai through Sunday afternoon

Fly from Shanghai to Qingdao: Sunday afternoon

Catch the late train home to Weifang Sunday evening.

I promise to post pictures as soon as possible so Monday morning my time, Sunday afternoon Cali time.