Splendid China! (part 2)

Minature China.  There were so many things and confusing paths to get to, that we missed lots of them.

Dali Three Ancient Pagodas

Leshan Grand Buddha Statue

Terra Cotta Warriors

I think that it is the Hanshan Temple

The Great Wall of China

The Potala Palace and the Nine Dragon Wall

(Front side of Potala palace and Nine Dragon Wall)

(backside of Potala Palace)

 The big finale was “Dancing with the Dragon and the Phoenix”.  There were so many things going on at the same time that I am sure I missed lots of cool things going on and both of the cameras were dying so we didn’t get many pictures of it, but did get some videos

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Splendid China! (Part 1)

Landon and I met up with a girl from church, Noelle, and went to Splendid China for the day.  Splendid China has two parts.  One the one side it is like the Polynesian Culture Center where they have all the different minority villages with shows and performances.  The other side is a miniature China which is composed of miniature sculptures of the historical and famous sites found all over China. Then at the end they put on a big production like they do at the PCC in Hawaii and it was my favorite part of the whole thing.  It was so much fun and I can’t wait to go and see all of the things in real life.  I have lots of photos and videos from this day, Noelle gave me all of hers.

We went inside one of the temples; they always have interesting designs, lots of Buddhas, and incense.

Landon with the One Thousand Eyes and Hands Buddha.

The Dai village

The Grand Horseback Battle Show - It was so loud that I plugged my ears for the entire thing and let Landon take all of the pictures.  We have about 50 of just the show, so if you would like to see more of it just let me know and I can send you more. 

Some interesting folk art. 

Uygur Village - Since I was pretty much the only blonde one there, I was chosen out of the crowd to dance.  He dipped me and I fell.  Then he picked me up and spun me around and I thought I was going to fall or throw up. 

 Tibetan Village

Yi Village - Landon got chosen out of the group to participate in this one. 

Part 2 will be coming shortly with pictures of the miniature China and the grand finale performance. 

Phoenix Mountain!! 凤凰山

One day we took a bus out to go on a great hike.  Man was it hot and was I out of shape.  Most paths are paved on these hikes and you have girls hiking up in their high heels and dresses on.  I looked out of place even more than I already do. 

The trail.  Landon took a picture of it because they didn’t have any guides/maps/ brochures so this was the next best thing. 

Our goal was to hike to the building on top of the mountain.  However, there was lots of construction going on up in the mountains and the security guard was stopping everybody part way up. But I guess since we were white the security guard at the stopping point let us continue. 

Some of the beautiful scenery on the way up. 

Half way up we reached a temple with a few shops and bathrooms.  As you walk up you see this.  It says “nan wu a mi tuo fo” , In the comments guess what movie this is from?  The other picture is just the top of that sign. 

   

 Continuing on the trail, the next part we decided that we wanted to take a short cut.  Here it is… and people still went up it in high heels.

Interesting paths and sights along the way. 

We made it! At the top… (there was some water on the camera which is why there are dots)

It was a hot and successful hike, my legs were sore the next day!

Longhua

This is just a very few pictures of what China is like.   Every day we kind of just wander the streets, take new buses, and try new things.  This is just a collection of random pictures when I have remembered the camera of some of the oddities. 

This picture is in a grocery store where they have live chickens in the back waiting for someone to buy one.  Most grocery stores will actually have them hanging up in the windows of the shops.  I actually got told that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in there, but I played the whole dumb American I don’t understand what you are saying to me card. 

The traffic and driving in China is crazy.  I would hate to drive here, it seems that everyone disregards the traffic lights and does what every they want.  This picture does not do it justice, but it is complete chaos.  Pedestrians cross at their own risk.  Landon and I call this live frogger when we try and cross the streets in between cars and bikes.  I will have to get a better picture of a traffic jam because they are frequent.  But surprisingly we have not encountered many accidents; I do not know how they do it. 

The streets of Longhua.  Almost down every street you can find little ma and pa restaurants or just stands on the street selling food with little tables out for you to eat at.  This is just down a random street.

We came across a Pagoda, there are lots of them around here. 

These poor pigs, there are lots of trucks and they try and pack as many pigs as they possibly can in one of these little trucks.  You can always tell when they pass by with the stench that floods your nose. 

Ni Hao CHINA!!

After passing through customs we finally made it to China which will be our home at least for the next three months.  We started looking in Shenzhen and Dongguan for an apartment. 

Here is Landon at the bus station and our tickets from Dongguan to Longhua, Shenzhen. Thank goodness Landon knows how to read some Chinese and speak it because I have no I idea what it says. 

A little shop outside the bus station.  Lots of ma and pa restaurants and convenient stores have eggs sitting outside ready for you to purchase.

A public toilet (this one is in the bus station).  The good old squatters; Landon says that this one is relatively clean and nicer than some of the other ones that you find.  I refuse to use them and wait till I get home to do my business. 

Beautiful scenery on our bus ride from one place to the other.

After lots of apartment hunting we settled in Longhua, Shenzhen with more pictures to follow