Thursday, March 7, 2013

Some more photos - Huangshan and Hangzhou

Here are some photos of our recent trip to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) and Hangzhou - a great way to finish up our time in China.
 Our favorite view in Hangzhou
 Ming Dynasty era rock carvings
 At the top of Huangshan - famous mountain area in China which has provided inspiration to many centuries of artists - we are a little nervous on the edge of a precipice here

 A misty day in Hangzhou
 Trying a delicous Chinese treat - Chinese hawthorn fruits covered in melted sugar - lovely!
 Inside a Daoist temple
 China loves its lights - and Hangzhou is no exception!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Wuxi Trip

We recently took a trip with one of Andy's students to the city of Wuxi, famous for its huge lake, huge Buddha and dumplings ...

 Alice and Evan at the entrance to the huge temple complex

 We climbed up to the top of the base of the 88 foot high Buddha - its good fortune to touch the big toe of the Buddha - here we are getting lucky

 the $220,000,000 palace complex - amazingly beautiful and huge

 Inside the palace

 We loved the blending of Chinese Horroscope animals with Buddhism - there were 12 golden statues of the animals in Buddhist postures

 This was fantastic - the enormous ceiling is a rotating pattern of colors and patterns
After being amazed and blessed, we stopped at a famous Wuxi restaurant to try the local dumplings - we really loved them, but Alice was less impressed - being a proud Shanghainese, she staunchly prefered the rival dumplings from Shanghai