From the bazaar we made a stop at the People's Square and park...right in the center of town. It is not nearly as big as the Square in Beijing, but very pretty.
Surrounding the Square were several city buildings and the city museum was within walking distance.
Around another corner was the city theatre.
I am still taken by the wonderful parks, flowers, and trees in all of the places we have visited. Somehow I thought it would be minimalist in a communist environment...and it is just the opposite. There were even bushes planted in flower planters along the interstate!
Lunch was enjoyed at a Mongolian BBQ...unlimited amounts for each person. Not like in the States where they weigh you plate before it is cooked and charge accordingly!
The three men cooking on a large round grill had to be sweating! They passed the food around the grill and the third guy was a whiz at ending with a flourish as he swept the food off the grill and on to the plate with the food flying through the air. To top off the good lunch, we got some sweet cookies for dessert rather than the usual fruits!
The afternoon was spent at a Buddhist temple...what an experience! Both coming and going we had to walk a couple of blocks...lined with very sick children in parent's arms, deformed people on mats, old women in wheelchairs ~ all begging for help. Made me think of Jesus as He walked through the cities of his time...only He could heal them and make them whole.
The temple had a large courtyard with 6 or 8 cauldrons with fires for the people to light huge bundles of wheat with incense in them. Then they would face three different directions and bow three times in prayer, going round and round for as long as they wanted to pray. The smell was overwhelming even though it was all outside.
There were two large buildings filled with giant gold covered sculptures..of various evil looking men as well as some laughing men...and, of course, large fat Buddhas in each building. Long narrow banners were hung from the high ceiling as well as red lanterns everywhere.
The temple is home to 70 monks wearing long brown and black robes. Upstairs in one building they were having a service. It was a large room and everyone was standing so it was hard to guess how many were there...probably 200-300. They were chanting when we stopped by...a bit eerie.
Then we went to another smaller building where there was a beautiful green jade Buddha who looked very much like a woman....we were not allowed to take pictures in there. Down the hall was another white jade Buddha laying down. Legend has it, he knew he was dying so he laid down and never got up again.
From there we were invited into a very large, pretty tea room. These monks make money by developing and selling teas. We were treated to a small sample of three teas...one to help you wake up in the morning, one to help you sleep, and one to help with high blood pressure/stress. We learned how to wash the teal leaves before using them, how much to use, and how you should use the same leaves many times during the day.
You can only get this tea by visiting the temple or ordering online...it is not sold anywhere else in the world. Just ask me for their website if you would like to try some...a 3 month supply was 100 yuen...about $17.00. There were pictures of various dignitaries who have visited the temple...Bill and Hilary represented the US.
We went to dinner at a restaurant located on the 7th floor of a huge, huge store that sold computers and phones on the first floor, and all kinds of appliances on the rest of the floors. It was a little odd. No windows in the restaurant to look out and see the lights of the city. It was probably the least favorite of our trip. David apologized afterwards...not real clean and pretty skimpy on the amounts of meat and veggies for as many people as we had eating.
Next, on to what was advertised as an acrobatic show...I would have called it a variety show...but it was very entertaining.
There were great gymnasts and tumblers, a knife thrower and plate spinner. There were a couple of comedy acts and one very strange woman doing tricks with playing cards, making them appear and disappear from no where while prancing around to music in a very sheik outfit.
There was one dramatic scene with a pretty Chinese girl and a handsome young man...at times they would do amazing formations high in the air wrapped in two very long sheer curtain like material...not sure how to explain it exactly. But, it was very pretty and took a lot of strength to perform. I have not a clue what they were trying to say through the performance.
The theatre was in the very plush Ritz Carlton where the Clintons stayed when they visited Shanghai. We drove through a very upscale part of the shopping district...fun to see all the stores along the way. In China, many upscale stores only sell products from one famous company. The fronts of the stores were all glass and well lit into the night.
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