September 27 - China: Chengde

We woke up early for a four-hour bus trip to Chengde.  We each packed a day bag with some stuff for tonight and we left our backpacks at the hotel.  When we got to Chengde, we checked into the hotel and Jon went out to walk around.  I decided to take a nap because I didn't sleep on the bus and was really tired.  When Jon came back, he had bought some veggie dumplings from a little food street around the corner.  They were pretty good and incredibly cheap!

In the afternoon, we met the group to do a tour of some of the temples around Chengde.

Temple Potaraka Doctrine

Chengde was once a major Chinese city, however now it has just a few temples to see.  The Emperor who made Chengde a major city was a devout Buddhist and surrounded the city with beautiful temples.  One was the Temple Potaraka Doctrine, which is a copy of Tibet's Potala at 1/3 the size.  We only had an hour to see it, so Jon and I bolted up the stairs so we could get to the top in time.  

Jon - if you remember - didn't get to see the real Potala because he was so sick for 2 days in Lhasa (See Aug 17).  So I did whatever I could to describe what the real Potala was like.  Despite the fact that this is a replica, it really isn't the same at all.  The Potala is a maze of dark little rooms, hallways, and stairways packed with statues, candles, and treasures.  So packed, in fact, that we could barely see some of the little Buddha statues because they were almost hidden by other artifacts.  It was as if there are so many treasures in the Potala that the monks just put them wherever they found space.  If we hadn't been guided, I would have certainly gotten lost there. 

Here, the layout of the temple was symmetrical and square.  It was very easy to get around and the few artifacts they had were advantageously displayed.  The view from the rooftop, however was lovely and we could see the town of Chenge from above.  I really didn't feel like I was in the Potala, though, because there were no prostrating pilgrims.  They are really what made Tibet for me.

We saw a group of Chinese people playing Mah Jong with special cards, and we stood and watched them for a few minutes.  They play much, MUCH faster than we do but they weren't betting which surprised me.  I'd thought Mah Jong is to the Chinese what poker is to us: why play if there's no money on the table?  But they seemed to be playing for fun, just like we do!  Mel and Ken joined us in watching the game and Mel is now on a mission to find the cards.  They are obviously more portable and much lighter than the tile sets. 

Puning Temple

After the "little Potala", we went to the Puning Temple.  We were all pretty tired from the early morning start and long bus ride, and we were definitely lacking in enthusiasm.  But as soon as we walked into the main temple it all went away.  Inside was a 22 meter wooden statue of Avalokitesvara, of whom the current Dalai Lama is said to be a reincarnation.    It was incredible.  Jon and I stood there for a good 10 minutes looking up at it, until we had terrible cricks in our necks.  The statue has 42 arms and 44 eyes, which are supposed to be symbolic of helping people and seeing those that need help.  The detail in the woodwork was so beautiful, and I can't imagine how it was made or even brought into the temple.  It rises up 3 stories all the way to the roof.  We left the temple and walked around, and then went back in to look at it again.

The Puning Temple also had a very bizarre display of "Buddhist Hell" in a separate little building.  In it were some plaster statues of people being punished by demons in various ways.  It was almost comical.  One woman was being boiled alive, another was kneeling on a bed of sharp spikes.  There was also a man who was hung upside down and was being sawed in half - beginning with between the legs.  But all these statues were painted in bright colors and the presentation was sort of Disney-like (if you can imagine that).  At any rate, I guess this is what happens if one has bad karma.

Back at the hotel, Jon and I walked around looking for bananas but couldn't find any.  So we found a guy who was roasting corn-on-the-cob and we got two of them.  

Dinner With the Group

Down the road from the hotel was a restaurant with bright neon lights outside.  They gave us our own room and an English menu so we ordered the usual assortment of dishes.  The staff was incredibly attentive and very, very nice.  In fact, there was one girl who was only assigned to our room so she was literally at our beck and call.  After dinner, we tried to give her a tip but she refused saying, "Tips not allowed.". Hmm.

On our way back to the hotel we passed a bunch of construction on the street corner.  Apparently there was a water main break and our hotel has no water now.  No worries - as long as we have some by tomorrow morning!

Mah Jong - the Card Version

Mel found her Mah Jong cards in a store near the hotel, so we went back to their room and played a few rounds.  After playing with the cards, we all agreed that playing with the tiles is much more fun.  But of course we played anyway.  The funny thing about this game is that Grant - for once - had a string of luck and consistently won every game.  Since we have five people but Mah Jong is only for four, we play "Elimination Mah Jong" so that whoever sits to the left of the winner has to leave the game and the fifth person comes in.  Because of the elimination rules and Grant's winning streak, we made him switch seats after each game so the same person wouldn't have to leave the game again.  

While we played, we would occasionally get up to check the status of the water.  At about 11:00, it came back on so we called it a night and retired to our rooms to shower and sleep.