The Arhat Temple
This is a very special site to Qing, as she visited this Buddhist Temple often,
as a child growing up in Chongqing.
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| The 1,000-year-old temple is now sandwiched between skyscrapers. |
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| Once again, we burned incense and candles, with thoughts for the health and safety of our families and friends back home. |
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| It is also possible to buy paper "money" to burn ceremoniously in the temple. |
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| Entering, with Melody and Qing |
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| One of the many rock carvings |
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| Chris, with his favorite-style Buddha |
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| As a fund-raiser for a new roof on the temple, they were selling old roof tiles, as keepsakes. |
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| Melody is artistic and precise. |
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| More Incense |
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Inside the temple, there were 500 life-sized, terracotta Arhats. The point was to choose one, any one, and then count up and down the corridors of Arhats until you've counted out your age, plus one. At that point, you've found your own personal Arhat. For a fee, you can ask the monk for your fortune to be told, if you'd like. .... (we didn't)
These Arhats are all new replicas, as the originals were (we've been told) smashed-to-bits during China's Cultural Revolution.
Some of the Arhats were pretty scary. Others seemed kinder.
After our Temple adventure, we explored more of the city.
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| One of Qing's (and our) students also spent the day with us. |
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We had lunch at a Peking Duck restaurant.....the most famous of foods in China.
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| Qing, serving traditional soup |
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| Whenever Melody has any spare time, she READS. Currently, she is reading "The Little House on the Prairie" series, translated into Chinese Mandarin. She's a most amazing girl! |
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After our Duck Dinner, we went back out into the neighborhood.
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| Cliff-side Bomb Shelters from the war years have been transformed into welding shops |
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| One of the reasons Paula has become vegetarian |
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| Selecting the best piece of Sugar Cane......great snack! | | |
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| Badminton, along with Ping Pong, seem to be national sports! |
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| Chongqing has many city parks. This one had photo-peacocks. |
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| Hesitantly, petting the peacock |
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| A famous poet built a grand house in the park. This character stands for "Love." |
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| We climbed to the top of this pagoda, for a great view of the city! |
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| View from the top |
Police stand where residents can find out the latest news on any criminal activity in their neighborhoods. Quite interesting.
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