Today we started out visiting a factory and showroom of Chinese silk rugs. We saw how they are made and learned a lot about this amazing Chinese art. The rugs were simply magnificent, but way too expensive for most of us to buy! Even very small decorative ones cost multiple thousands of dollars, so we mostly just looked and drooled over them.
After that stop we went to the Lama Monastery. This is the biggest and most impressive Buddhist monastery in China. It was converted in the 18th century into a monastery from its previous use as an imperial palace. It has 5 different halls in the temple complex all housing a variety of Buddha and bodhisattva statues. The place was absolutely packed today with visitors and devotees who were burning enormous quantities of incense in the courtyards between the various halls and then brining incense and flowers into the halls as offerings to the Buddha. In the Wanfu pavilion which is the last of the 5 pavilions in the complex stands a stunning 55 foot sandalwood statue of the Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha that will come in the future to bring peace and compassion into the world. The statue is carved of one single piece of sandalwood, that goes up 55 feet into the air and goes down below the temple floor an additional 20 feet. Truly, the pictures I took (on the sly as our guide said photos not allowed inside the halls, although some of us noticed folks ignoring the rule, so we did likewise!!) do not do justice to the breathtaking and awe-inspiring sight that greets you as you look up at this enormous statue. I was struck by the vast numbers of Chinese people who were praying and making offerings to the Buddhas, given that under Communism religion was pretty much wiped out in China and as a whole modern Chinese are not particularly religious. Our local guide, Jessica, said that there is a saying in China - when you see any temple, make an offering and offer a prayer for luck and longevity. So many Chinese people do so even though they are not really practicing Buddhists. This particular temple is well known and respected and people will go there to receive blessings for important happenings in their lives or before auspicious occasions "for luck" as much as anything. This temple is in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in one of the halls are the teaching chairs for the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, who don't go there anymore since the Dalai Lama went into exile in 1959.
After we left the temple we went to lunch and had Chinese noodles with a sauce of tomatoes and eggs. Reminded me that the Italians got spaghetti from China originally and, it would seem, even the idea for marinara sauce!! We also had a number of other dishes, including a delicious sweet pastry confection with pumpkin paste inside.
After lunch we went to the Summer Palace, which is located in a series of parks on Kanming Lake. It was the summer residence for the emperors during the days of Imperial China. It is a beautiful complex of temples, pavilions and halls where the imperial family spent their summer months. On the Northern shore of the lake is something called the Long Corridor, a covered walkway made of wood that overlooks the lakeshore. It is painted with hundreds of scenes from Chinese mythology and legends. It is absolutely beautiful. I've included a picture of one of the paintings which hardly does justice to the beauty of the place when you look down the corridor and see all of them as far as the eye can see. We walked along the corridor to the very end and then took a ferry across the lake back to our starting place. The Summer Palace is a beautiful complex and one can imagine the imperial family in the days of old enjoying their leisure there during the hot summer months, with the breeze from the lake, swimming and boating and beautiful trees and flowers complementing the elegant buildings.
After returning to the hotel for a short rest, we left for dinner and a show featuring the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. They were absolutely fantastic! The acts were superb including juggling, gymnastics, dance and the music and sound effects were cutting edge. Spellbinding performance that seemed to fly by and it was time to go. We then endured the endless Beijing gridlock traffic jam to return to the hotel. At this point, I'm pretty tired, having woken again this morning at 4 AM. I seem not to be able to adjust to China time!
The pics tonight include the Maitreya Buddha, the Lama Temple, one of the paintings in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace and the dragon boat ferry that we took across the lake. I've also included a stock photo of the acrobatic troupe to give you an idea of what they looked like. Photos were not allowed there either!
This will be my last post until Wednesday morning American time. Tomorrow morning we leave this hotel and spend the day here in Beijing. At 8:30 tomorrow night we take the night sleeper train to Xian where we arrive Wednesday morning. When we get to our Xian hotel I'll be back online, but after tonight its cyber black hole until then!
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