Temples, traffic and the UNESCO city


This group represents the start of the silk Road water route.

                 What’s up with these dragons?


The Chinese Dragon is a beautiful, wise and friendly being and not like the western Dragon, which is associated with evil and destruction. The Chinese Dragon is loved and worshipped by all. It has shrines and temples dedicated to this purpose. In return, the Chinese people believe that the dragon showers rain, good luck and prosperity. That is why even today, after thousands of years of passing down myths and traditions, the Dragon is still incorporated in their everyday life, celebrations and even businesses of the Chinese people.




 After a long day of travel, we began our touring in earnest. Quanzhou with 8.7 million by comparison is a third of Shanghai and twice that of NYC. 

We walked in the rain up to the Chengtian Temple.  Through the heat and fatigue, we tried as best as possible to absorb anything of the history and uniqueness of this special place.  This is a Buddhist Temple built in 1085 and rebuilt after the cultural revolution and is a beautiful peaceful 
spot.
. The call to prayer involved hitting this hollow piece of wood and ringing a bell and appeared to offer opportunities for outsiders to robe up and join.
 
The Qingling Mosque
Built by the Arabs in 1009 and restored in 1309. Only a few sections (mainly walls) of the original building survive, largely in ruins. 
Standing inside the walls of the mosque

 The adjacent mosque is a donation from the government of Saudi Arabia.
After dinner we returned to the hotel exhausted!

  The trip to Zongda’s parents offer a chance to see the countryside and village life. 
The old middle school where Zongda excelled allowing him to be sent away for high school and college at a great expense to his family is now some type of housing either with or without permission
 A walk on the beach  

These amazing designs made by crabs on the beach are the same as the ones I found on the beach in Australia
Hopefully, someday they can get this built out with a dock etc
 and a look through a partially completed resort was an extra benefit.
     An eight seat golf cart provided transportation Thursday to the Kiayun Temple and our mostly English speaking guide. 

Our guide shows me the Buddhist prayer ritual 
over 800 years old and no major reconstruction
Quite impressive
This was a sprawling complex flanked by two large stone pagodas each 130 feet high.

The Temple was built in year 685 during Tang Dynasty It was first built by a wealthy man named Huang Shougong, who dreamt that a lotus flower bloomed on a mulberry tree. 

The happiest of all the statues was a must stop

He built the temple on a mulberry field and named it Lotus Temple.  The temple was renamed several times since then and was finally named after the Kaiyuan reign of Tang Dynasty in 739.

   Off to lunch at an out of the way place in an area where Vincent grew up. Another restaurant that featured a wall of fish tanks, showcasing menu items.
   

The lotus flower is so important in this region that they made all of the street lights into the shape of that beautiful flower

 After lunch, Emily wanted us to have a special local dessert. Since I was full from lunch, I spent some time viewing ruins that were in the square out front. This was across the street from the Tian Hou temple. This is for worship of the Queen of Heaven to ensure a smooth going sea voyage. 

As a form of fundraising, you write your prayer on a roof tile that you purchase basically underwriting (yes it’s a pun) the cost of a new roof. If you use your translation app, you can read the prayers.
The temple has mostly been turned into a folk custom museum. 
This unrolled parchment shows an agreement signed by using the red stamps to the left
Vincent brought us over so we could get our fortunes… we got them translated, but they made no sense.
That’s better than bad news.

Dinner was at an authentic period style home that served as part store, part show venue, and part restaurant.  

The evening was arranged by his cousin to make sure we got a true experience. Good job!

Now for something totally unique
Happy puppy, pet baking…Not quite sure how the baking works
This is a toilet and a horizontal urinal. These aren’t everywhere but be ready… your feet on each side but no sitting 

On two of the nights once we had settled in, I went for a walk on a nearby street called middle Street. This pedestrian shopping area was a great place to people watch or catch a family enjoying their daughter’s song 🎶 on a roadside venue.

 


I just needed to find a place to put this one from Zongda’s parents property. Along with chickens there’s ducks and vegetables, including a lot of sweet potatoes. 

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