3/25/12

Today we took the morning tour to the Buddhist “Liurong Temple”, to the Old Chen House, and the “Provincial Arts and Crafts outing”.

The Buddhist Liurong Temple (the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees) was quite interesting. It dates back to the 500s AD. It is in the middle of the city, about 15 minutes from our hotel. The pagoda appears to be 9 stories high from the outside, but in the inside it is 17 stories high -  very short stories. The various buddhas – Chinese and Thai (given as a gift), male and female – and the various buildings are definitely something unique! There was a lot of incense and offerings (which in one location, by the welcoming Buddha, included a six pack of Sprite).

Next we went to the Old Chen House. It used to belong to the Chen family – one of the largest families in China. It is extremely ornately decorated on the outside with amazing pottery and carvings! In the 1950’s it was given to the government and made into the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum and, thankfully, it was spared during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s.  (Interestingly, they let you take pictures of everything and anything in there! I just posted a few here for you to see.)

The “Provincial Arts and Crafts outing” was a department- like store that had nice quality jade and a few other items. The jade is guaranteed real (important to those buying since a lot of jade could be glass

or even plastic).

Tomorrow we are going on a Pearl River dinner cruise. I hope Violet is up for it because it is supposed to be lovely visually!