29.03.2025 - 29.04.2025
18 °C
In the morning, I made my way to the southern part of the city to visit Lingnan Impressions, a faux "ancient" town designed to provide insights into Cantonese culture. It wasn't very effective in its purpose, but there was an impressive sculpture museum featuring works by a local artist who has displayed his sculptures worldwide, even at the Louvre. I also took an evening cruise down the river, which wasn't as relaxing as it might sound. They crammed people in like sardines, and the children were quite rowdy. To add to my frustration, I accidentally spilled beer all over the inside of my purse, which made me quite upset, haha.
Posted by baixing
06:02
Archived in China
Tagged river cruise guangzhou pearl
Previous
Next
Table of contents
Nearly every weekend was filled with an exam. There were entrance exams for international high schools, PE assessments for middle school graduates (which my daughter excelled in, scoring full marks in all), and mock exams for subjects like English, Chemistry, and Physics, among others.
Mon, April 7, 2025 - Tue, April 8, 2025 74 °F See 2025 Around The World on Susan Mercer's travel map.
15.03.2025 - 15.03.2025
04.04.2025 - 04.04.2025 20 °C
On Tuesday morning, June 17th, we got up at 5am to complete our packing and left for the airport by 9am. Our Delta flight #281 departed an hour behind schedule and landed in Shanghai around 4:30pm Wednesday, local time, which was approximately 1:30am PST on Wednesday.
Gazing at the stunning temple nestled at the base of the Songshan Mountain range in Henan province, southeast of Luoyang, I had finally reached a destination I had dreamed of visiting for many years. I found myself captivated by the legendary Shaolin temple, renowned as the residence of the esteemed Indian monk Bodhidharma, who is recognized as the founder of Zen Buddhism and Kung Fu martial arts. The temple's historical architectural complex, notable for its remarkable aesthetic appeal and deep cultural significance, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. After capturing my usual photographs of the temple, I settled in front of a statue of Bodhidharma and entered a state of deep meditation. As a practitioner of transcendental meditation, it was easy for me to transition into dhyana, despite the occasional noise from tourists wandering around the temple, primarily known to the general public as the birthplace of Kung Fu. My personal connection to this temple, shared with many of my fellow natives from my home state of Tamil Nadu, India, is through the great Bodhidharma, who journeyed from our city of Kanchipuram in 520 AD to promote Mahayana Buddhism in China. He spent nine years residing in the Shaolin temple, and I plan to share his story as recounted by Tsutomu Kambe, a former Physics Professor at the University of Tokyo, in his book 'Bodhi Dharma and Oceanic Silk Road.' I have long desired to write about the remarkable Bodhidharma for my blog readers ever since my visit to this region in 2003.
29.03.2025 - 29.04.2025 18 °C