Yesterday was another “free” day, which we have a lot of, because we don’t speak Chinese and cannot listen to the lectures, nor are we part of the zeitgeist that willingly participates in large group events. For instance, having about 200 people photograph a group of trees simultaneously is considered a normal state of affairs. It’s just a group thing here in China. No one goes out and does stuff by themselves. They either all go together or not at all.
Our small group chose to head off in another direction to find a Buddhist Temple in the city of Bautou, the nearest big city in the area. Our transportation coordinator set us up with a couple of taxi cabs, a local cell phone so we could communicate with the cab drivers and google maps to get to the Temple. The plan was to get there mid morning, photograph, have lunch, photograph some more and return for the closing ceremony. Off we went to the Temple in Baotou.
We arrived at the Temple and it was simply overwhelming. Two blocks on either side of the Temple complex entrance were devoted to street vendors of all types. So, if for instance, you needed a book, there was a Baotou branch of Barnes & Noble.
Maybe it makes more sense in Chinese...
I could simply not deal with that atmosphere. I had seen enough of street vendors in Hong Kong and just was not in the mood to do shopping. I fled to the serenity of the Temple. Or so I thought. The Temple was crowded, with lots of people burning incense, praying and making offerings to the deities.
Burning Incense
There were Buddhist monks processing from Temple, chanting and banging gongs. I have some video of one of the processions, but the internet in China does not recognize YouTube, Vimeo, or Blogspot or a couple of other social network services. It was just by luck I chose Typepad as a blog host and happily, China allows access to this blog service.
Processing in vestments with chants
I think (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that great religions have incense, chanting and priests with colorful vestments. I was very comfortable in the Buddhist Temple Complex. I am not a great photographer of people, much preferring landscape and architecture, but in China, people are part of both and if they are in the scene, they are in the scene. Then it gets a bit more complicated because one must worry about where they are in the frame and if their gestures fit in with what you are photographing. Then there is the unpredictability of what people will do.
Waiting for my picture
To avoid those complications in the short time I was scheduled to be in the Temple Complex, I went more for the details of the experience, looking for things that most people wouldn’t see at first glance, the parts of the temple that were hidden in plain sight.
Firewood and Radiators with snow
Our group magically rendezvoused just inside the Temple gate at noon and we found the Taxi Drivers. They took us to the Temple Restaurant for lunch. We spoke no Chinese, they spoke no English but they ordered us up some of the best food we had on this trip. Great food in China also means great presentation. Witness the radish sculpture with the mushroom and celery dish.
Too pretty to eat
After lunch, we had a vote on what to do. One of our members was not feeling well and wanted to head back to the hotel for rest and a respite from the cold. Dave Best and myself joined her, because we could not fit the remaining six people in a VW Jetta. The respiratory assault over the past ten days finally catches up with you. The unrelenting cold (most nights it is double digits below zero Fahrenheit), the low humidity of the desert, air pollution and the cigarette smoke and foreign microbes can make you sick. Most everyone in our group is, has or will suffer from this Upper Respiratory Assault. Sometimes you just have to take a break from the activities to take care of yourself. That’s what I did.
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