Temple in Town

This temple overlooks the city of Shaoxing - it is on Jiefang Lu, near the markets and not far from Lu Xun Walk.

I go past it in the bus almost daily and wonder what it is like up there, so last week I went.

It is a steep walk up the stone steps, and a turn left half way up (directed by a kindly old gardener) and I came to the ticket office. It looked closed, but I think the Chinese sign said something like "We are open but trying to keep warm inside" - but I was a bit confused so walked through the entrance.


A Chinese man gestured and shouted at me in a friendly way - I think he was trying to tell me that I must purchase a ticket, which he did for me. He gave me the ticket. A gift. This was another wonderful act of generosity by a chinese person. They really do want to welcome foreigners! I thanked him - and decided that I wouldn't possible explain that I had a free ticket anyway. It was only 2 RMB.


The grounds of the temple are a little sparse - no doubt the low fee means there is little funding for elaborate upkeep, but it was neat and tidy. The temple itself sat in the middle of the area, with covered walkways and seating surrounding it.

There was a lovely garden with Mondo grass - which looked quite impressive and if it had rained it would have glistened.

Around the walkway were framed photos of various aspects of life in Shaoxing. Quite impressive really.

I went into the temple to discover very steep steps which took one right to the top of the temple with a fantastic view over Shaoxing.

I went up two levels but the stairs were gettng steeper and there were no hand rails, so I chose to escape before it got too hard, and came down some of it on my bum. It was so scary going down and I didn't want to fall. It would have been a right royal pile up at the bottom of the stairs. Definitely a place only for young people to climb I would say - or the very adventurous. I did take some photos when I reached one part of it.

I will do some research and find out the name of the temple. It is well worth a visit and sometimes at night it is all lit up, so is a great sight.

The Museum

I'd heard about the museum which is opposite the entrance to Lu Xun walk and made it my business to go there.

It is called Shaoxing Yueguo Heritage Museum and I think is about the Yue Kingdom, which is famous around here.

Sadly there is NO ENGLISH anywhere in the Museum - not on any of the museum pieces, and the staff I spoke to had no English language skills, so it was rather disappointing not to understand the detail about the exhibits.

On paying the fee, one is presented with a rather grand brochure - the English on the front "Existing dust-covered history here let you see civilization's passing And dynasties' substitutions; Your ancestors stories here Make you aftertaste contend for hegemony And talk the world events at will" and on the back "Only in here Can you see more and better finer and nicer Elites of enriched culture and wisdom of Ancient Yue Kingdom's ancestors: Only in here Can you know truer and kinder Wider and deeper Historical and cultural Shaoxing."

Now I don't meant o be disrespectful, but I have no idea what it all means!!!! I wish that after translation from Chinese to English an editor be employed to make some sense of it.

Many of the exhibits are pottery items - with such fascinating items as a "Long Neck Fragrant Fumed Bottle." and a "Lucky Beast Pulse Pillow" There were daggers, swords, urinals, bowls, mirrors and jewelry and on the top floor which has a grand view over Shaoxing was a wonderful display with the "Tomb Figures of Military Forces"

On the second floor I was escorted by a delightful Chinese lady who had no English skills, but using hand signals endeavoured to show me what the exhibits were all about.

It is a wonderful place and I am sure if I could have read some English information on the exhibits it would have made more sense for me.

The top floor was amazing - quite a grand view over Shaoxing, with an exhibit of Tomb figures of Military Forces during the Tang Dynasty.

The entrance was grand, there was quite a hefty entrance fee (40 RMB) but I'm glad I saw it.

(Do you like the sign - KEEP OFF THE GRASS!)

Unusual meat

I've procrastinated about posting some photos here, as I know it will make some people cringe. But most people know that in Asia many foods are eaten that we in the west, from the UK, USA or Australia would find too difficult to eat.

In China, where poverty and starvation have played a big role in their history, it is joked that the folk here will eat "anything" - the reality is that they have had little choice, and so their taste buds and sensitivities are different to ours.

I remember when we were first told about dog meat, how horrified we were. One of the influential teachers here was shocked at our reaction to the thought of eating dog meat. Wasn't it the same as eating chicken, pork, lamb, or beef? It was an animal. The meat of dogs is savoured by many and dogs are specially bred for this purpose. So should we be horrified?

There certainly is no discussion on animal cruelty here - certainly not as we know it in Australia. I wonder at the ducks and chickens kept in a small cage at the shop front watching as their "friends" are killed, plucked and prepared in front of them! Poor chickens! Poor ducks! But this is a different world here - and it will be many years, if ever, that the sensitivity to these things will be an issue here.

I keep reminding myself that managing such a huge population - feeding them, housing them and employing them is on a scale that we don't really understand in the west.

There are two photos. One of dog meat in the local village adjacent to the university, and the other in the wet market where part of the dog is on the chopping block. The only way I knew it was dog meat in the latter is the feet of the meat, which are still attached. No hoof - just a dog paw.

The Wet Market

I had been to these markets some time ago - they were old, smelly and undesirable, though I had wandered through several times to see what foods were sold. Several weeks ago I noticed builders around the corner where the markets were and saw what looked like the markets under makeshift tent like structures in the car park. I though maybe the wet markets had moved there, but thought that it would be a less pretty sight than what I had previously seen.

In any case, I noticed the temporary markets gone, and at the same time we accidently found our way into the new wet markets. They had been completely renovated and although the floors were wet and messy, the smell was no so bad. It looked much cleaner and fresher.

It was there I purchased some very expensive cherries - fat juicy expensive cherries which I savoured. They were great.

I went back in today as I was walking around the area and took some more photos.

There are many fruits and vegetables that are unknown to us. Getting a translation is often difficult as they are not known well in the English speaking world.

I wandered around an the sellers tried their best to interest me in their wares but I was just taking photos.

KEEP OFF THE GRASS!

The photo is not very clear, but I think it is clear enough to understand the message. For reasons that we don't quite understand people are "discouraged" from walking on lawns. Sad in a way as our feet only get to plod on cement or rock paths, and tiles indoors.


This message was on a tree at a museum I went to today. Perhaps this will help some folk understand why there is so much "Chinglish" - it is not easy to directly translate from Chinese to English and make sense at the same time.

Freezing Cold

We didn't have a late night on New Year's Eve - so we were quite bright and cheery on New Year's Day, but it was bitterly cold. I think it was -2 at one stage, so I chose to stay indoors for most of the day.

I did venture out to the new supermarket and found bottle of some red wine - this version of Grand Dragon has no English on it, so I have no idea what is really in it. Some of the Chinese wine bottles have some English but it is usually something about being made from the best grapes in the world by the best winery, and how it can make you healthy.

It remains unopened - but I'll probably venture to taste it later today. I stayed indoors and watched two movies - I have not used my DVD player very much, but in this cold weather it was worth it. I will be prying to take it home to Australia now I have mastered it, but nothing in the instructions is in English, but I manage.

The first movie I'd found at the DVD shop in Shaoxing was called "Two Brothers" and Australian actor Guy Pearce was in it. I thought it a delightful movie and will be taking it home with me. I know some children that might enjoy it! It was made in 2004, but I had not heard of it.

The other one was called "Ballet Shoes" which was great too. This movie was made in 2007 - and that too would be enjoyed by my grandchildren.

I sat with my heaters on, a small hot water bottle which I kept filling up, a glass or two of wine, and I was really pleased when it was bed time as I crawled into my very warm bed (thanks to the electric blanket) and had a good night's sleep.

I wish the heaters were efficient - but they are not as warming as I would like.

Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne in China - yes, our musos at the Banana Leaf were happy to lead us in this old Scottish song on New Year's Eve. We perhaps can pretend it was near midnight, but the reality was that it was several hours earlier - but we were happy to sing and join arms to dance this old Scottis song. You can get the lyrics here.




We had enjoyed a great meal and cameraderie at the Banana Leaf - and some of us returned to the college campus and others went on to continue the celebrations.

It was freezing - probably around 1 degree! I do not enjoy the cold and scampered back to my warm apartment and warm bed. Brrrrrr. I've never lived in such cold conditions and I don't like it.