Hiking the Great Wall

Here are photos from the Great Wall (the Badaling entrance).

Temples of Wutai Shan

I have arrived in Wutai Shan, the mountainous abode of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. This is a Buddhist pilgrimage site, and the site of several monasteries and temples. Very few people speak English here, and the cold winds have become oppressive. Since it is off-tourist season, I am one of the only people on the slopes and most of the shops are closed. However, upon visiting the temples, I can hear the monks chanting, ringing gongs and bells, and striking drums.

The Lights of Pingyao

I have arrived in the ancient city of Pingyao in the North. It is a walled city in which even the infrastructure is antiquated. Power outages are common here and at the night the city is illuminated by red lanterns.

The Big Goose Pagoda and the Temple of the Eight Immortals

Here are two other great sites in Xi'an, the city of the Terra Cotta Warriors: The Big Goose Pagoda and the Temple of the Eight Immortals, eight traditional Chinese Gods.

The Terra Cotta Warriors

Here are my photos from the Terra Cotta Warriors. Keep in mind—each soldier is unique and archaeologists are still excavating them and estimate not be done until 2050. Who knows what else will be unearthed?

The Tea God

I have arrived in Shanghai, an international city of skyscrapers, heavy traffic, and modern streets. I came here on one of the overnight bullet trains. Beijing is said to represent the China of yesterday, whereas Shanghai represents the China of tomorrow. While walking around the Yuyuan Bazaar, one of the only ancient neighborhoods in Shanghai. A man and a woman asked me to take their picture. The man, Leo, taught Chinese to expats living in Shanghai. After taking their picture, we got to talking about Buddhism. I told them of my conversion to Buddhism several years ago and they invited me to a tea ceremony. I tried several different teas, all of which tasted completely different. I bought some loose fruit tea and ginseng oolong. Before serving each cup of tea, the hostess poured a drop of tea onto a statue of the Tea God. I also got a statue of the Tea God for my house. On the wall was a hanging scroll of various Chinese characters representing the three main religions of China: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, as well as other characters. Leo explained to me the meaning and history of these characters. The character for tea, he explained, is actually an image of a man picking tea leaves. After wards, my new friends gave me a bag of goji berries as a token of companionship. These are used to flavor tea in China, and also taste delicious eaten alone.

Whai

Last night I attended a concert at a bar in Beijing known for its live music acts, Yugong Yishan. There were two bands performing, Chasing Star and Whai. Chasing Star was entertaining, but Whai were virtuoso. It is a band comprised of three men, each from a different Chinese ethnic minority and combines the indigenous music of their three cultures with industrial rock.

The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven

Above are pictures of two resplendent temple and palace complexes in Beijing: the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven Park. The Forbidden City was built as a complex of temples and was sequestered from most of the emperor's subjects. The Temple of Heaven Park was a place for “worshiping heaven” and the immortals of the Chinese pantheon in order to ensure a good harvest.

Modern Art in China

Today I took a day trip into the 798 Art District, a famous modern gallery district in Beijing. I viewed art from several modern Chinese artists. It was fascinating to see the improvisations and innovations these artists had brought to traditional Chinese art. Instead of the traditional hanging scroll and ink paintings, many artists are now using canvas and acrylic and oil paints, but using many of the same forms and themes. I began taking down names of my favorite artists I discovered there. The list became two pages long. Some artists could be interpreted as subversive. One painted portraits of Chinese peasants who looked despondent. Another painted a portrait of Chairman Mao smoking a cigarette and reclining on a couch in front of the television. This gave me hope for the future of China. Previous Chinese premiers, such as Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping, would never have permitted these recalcitrant artists to display their work. While many websites are still censored in China, the 798 Art District has been allowed to exist and flourish. Perhaps this is evidence of democratic future in China in which civil liberties are given more respect, similar to its neighbors of Taiwan and India.

Under the Shadow of Chairman Mao

I have arrived in Beijing. When I landed at the airport, I exchanged my dollars for Chinese yuan. I received two shocks when I arrived: First, my bags were stuck in Guangzhou, a city in Southern China where I had a layover. (They were shipped to my hotel a few hours later.) My other shock came when I looked at the money and saw that the portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong was on all the money I received. When I tried to log into my blog, I realized that I couldn't because it was censored by the government. Since my warm clothes were in the bag that had been held up, people must have thought I was crazy walking the streets in only a T-shirt and khaki shorts. I realized that the street my hotel was on, Nanliuogu Xiang, was a historic street and full of charming bars, bubble tea stands, and a wonderful Tibetan restaurant with delicious yak butter tea, momos (Tibetan dumplings), and hot pots. I decided to take a night walk around Tiananmen Square. After learning the subways, I arrived in the square and saw a gargantuan portrait of Chairman Mao overlooking the square. I would have thought all the people killed under Mao's regime would have desecrated his image, including all the Tibetans who starved to death after Mao forced them to cultivate wheat instead of barley and who were incarcerated because of their Tibetan Buddhist practice. Yet, it seemed that people still viewed him as a national hero. Of course, my next thought was that leaders responsible for enslavement of Africans and genocide of indigenous people like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson are still seen as national heroes and found on money. Still, I found it egregious that Chairman Mao, whose oppressive rule was responsible for suppressing so many civil liberties, was looking down at the site of the massacre of students who demanded democracy. That night, I ate at the Crescent Moon Muslim Restaurant in the Dongsi neighborhood. I drank pomegranate wine and ate pan-seared peppers, all of which were delicious. The restaurant was run by members of the Uighur people, a Muslim ethnic group in China who have also been suppressed because of their refusal to capitulate their practice of Islam. Some Uighurs have incarcerated because their Islam has been seen as too subversive. I greeted them with “salam alleykum,” the traditional Islamic greeting which means “may peace be with you” in Arabic, Uighur, and several other languages. I thought of all the various groups oppressed under Chinese Communism, and decided that while I was here, I would do what I could to support them. There are several ways to do this. But supporting their businesses and celebrating their art are two small ways.