China Puzzle #37

This Week's Puzzle Challenge:

China Puzzle #37

The Summer Palace.

195

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China Part XXVIII Church & the Pearl Factory

It was Sunday morning in Beijing, so for many of us it was time to go to church.

After a short bus ride we parked in an alley next to a high rise building. We left the bus, walked alongside a hedge until we came to the street and the front of the building. It had stores on the street level and the entrance boasted an awning which sported two large red lanterns. There were uniformed men near the entrance, I don't know if they were police, military or security.

Inside the lobby, to the left was a Dairy Queen and to the right was a liquor store. Curious location for a church, it riminded me of where I attended church when I lived in Manhattan, New York. That building had on the ground floor, (adjacent to the church lobby...the chapel was on the 3rd floor) a deli, the Museum of Native American Art, a restaurant and the lobby to a 30 plus storty apartment building. Throughout the years I lived there, the shops and such went through several different incarnations but there was never a liquor store. Above the chapel, which because of the high ceilings occupied the space of the third and fourth levels, was an identical space occupying the fifth and sixth levels. It housed tennis and racquetball courts when the building opened in 1976. During the first year or so you could hear the faint bouncing of the balls during the church services, a little distracting to say the least. Eventually the courts were closed and the space was left empty waiting for anticipated growth when it would be converted into another chapel. It was often discussed but never seemed to materialize. The space was in due time converted and put to use. Today it is the site of the Manhattan L.D.S. Temple. The original chapel on the third floor is still in use for regular Sunday services.

I don't recall what floor the Beijing chapel was on, but it did not have the high ceilings like Manhattan did. It was more like a large meeting room that had been adapted into a chapel. The service that we attended was an English Speaking congregation, or branch, reserved for foreigners only. We were told that the Chinese and foreign branches are, by law, not permitted to interact in any way. Missionary work or proselytizing are not allowed. If a Chinese resident wants to learn of a Christian Church's doctrine they have to go to the semi-autonomous former colonies of Hong Kong (more) or Macau (more) where such religious activities were allowed to continue. The Hong Kong LDS Temple was allowed to remain in operation when Great Britain's lease expired and the colony reverted to Communist Chinese control.

The Beijing LDS chapel occupied only a portion of the buildings floor. In the chapel's lobby there were bulletin boards filled with notices of activities for the three different congregations that use this chapel.

 

There was also a nursery and the offices for the various branch presidents and clerks. The particular congregation which we attended is the same one that the U.S. Ambassador to China, Governor John Huntsman, attends. He was the governor of Utah before being appointed ambassador. He was not present the Sunday that we visited, however, so we didn't meet him. 

Dee Anna wasn't feeling well and left the service to sit outside in the lobby. I joined her. We could still hear the sermons through the speakers there. When the church service ended we left the building to continue on our scheduled activities.

          

After stopping in at the Dairy Queen for some ice cream cones...Yumm!...we then drove the short distance to Pearl Factory, passing a couple of Buddhist temples along the way (sorry, I have no information on these).

We had lunch at the factory restaurant, presumably, to build up our strength so that we could do some serious pearl shopping.

 

After lunch we descended on the Pearl Factory. Our tour started with a brief lecture and demonstration, by our hostess, on the history of pearling both natural and cultured. The differences between them and their consequent advantages and disadvantages.

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Farmed Oysters that grow Cultured Pearls are by far more productive as demonstrated in the photos below. It is rare to harvest multiple natural pearls from a single oyster, but in these photos of a farmed oyster there are over 30 pearls in a single oyster.

 

The orientation was given all under the watchful eye of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Read more of Cixi here,  here, and here.

Or see more photos of her here.

Furthermore, the color of the pearl can be altered depending on the type of seed or implant inserted into the oyster and changing its environment and what it is fed. In the store after the orientation we saw a vast variation of pearl colors and hues. Here a just a couple of examples:

If you are going to China to buy pearls do you homework before you leave. The factory tours are probably not the place to get the best prices and products. There is a lot of information on the Internet on how to get the best product for the best price. (The same goes for the Jade, Silk and Cloisonne factories.) You can enjoy the factories and extract some information and if you choose to or you can choose to be annoyed. Thankfully, for me, this was the last factory tourist trap that we would be subjected to. After the Pearl Factory we headed for the Summer Palace.

Up Next: The Summer Palace

China Puzzle #36

 This Week's Puzzle Challenge:

China Puzzle #36

The Pearl Factory

195

To start puzzle click on picture.

Puzzle will open in new window.

To rotate pieces

select piece with mouse

and use the mouse roller

to rotate the piece.

China Part XXVII The Sacred Way

We left the Cloisenne Factory behind and headed for the Imperial Necropolis commonly known as the Ming Tombs. It is located in a valley 30 miles NW of Beijing. The valley is just off the freeway that goes to Ba Da Ling. Many Chinese bus tours to Ba Da Ling also come here, visiting the spirit way and one of the tombs at but at a blinding speed, so if you want time to explore some of the unrestored tombs (highly recommended) you may have to make a special trip.

I can't recall for whom this particular monument was erected, we drove passed on our way, but it was a general from some past era (hope that's descriptive enough.LOL). 

By and by we arrived at our destination. 

The Sacred Way or Spirit Way (shen dao) should not be missed. The main entrance to the valley is the Da Hong Men (Great Red Gate), beyond which is a pavilion housing China's largest memorial stele, and beyond that the Sacred Way. 

We were short on time and it was decided that we would not be able to visit any of the Tombs but would only have time to walk the Sacred Way.

At the entrance to most Imperial Necropolises, there is usually a Sacred Way (or Divine Road) which symbolizes the road leading to heaven. The Emperor, known as the Son of the Heaven, came from Heaven to his country through the Sacred Way, would in time return to Heaven via that very same road.

There are many 'Sacred Ways', the one at the Ming Tombs is the best preserved and most complete. The Sacred Way starts with a huge stone memorial archway lying at the front of the area. Constructed in 1540, during the Ming Dynasty, this archway is the earliest and largest stone archway existing in China today. Continuing on, the Shengong Shengde Stele Pavilion can be seen. Inside it, there lies a 50-ton tortoise carrying a stone tablet. Next there are two Roof Pillars on each side of the road, whose surfaces are carved with the cloud design, the tops are shaped like a rounded cylinder. After the 18 pairs of stone statues which are all sculpted from whole stones, and larger than life size, comes the Dragon and Phoenix Gate.

The Sacred Way was originally built to lead to the Changling mausoleum. Afterwards, twelve more mausoleums were built. It is a ten-minute bus ride from the Sacred Way to Changling. (One of the Mausoleums is called the DingLing Tomb, or as I called it the 'Ding-a-Ling Tomb'. It is one of the restored tombs but according to most of the travel guides, the restored tombs are dank, overcrowded, and uninspiring. The Ming Tombs are so unpopular with foreign tourists that they are often excluded from tour-group itineraries. In contrast, The Ming Tombs are at their most charming along the Shen Dao and on the grounds of unrestored tombs where the admission is free).

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/beijing/0201020278.html#ixzz1BPAJiyT3

(The map at, at right, depicts the layout of the valley, its tombs and all of the other features.)

The Sacred Road is generally lined with stone statues which are important decorative components of the mausoleum. These statues are customarily:

 
12 human figures including the general, civil officials and meritorious officials.

24 animals, including the Lion, Camel, Elephant, Xiezhi, Qilin (one of the four "divine animals", the other three being the dragon, phoenix and tortoise) and the Horse. There are 4 of each of these animals: two standing and two squatting each has different meanings. 

The Lion symbolizes awesome solemnity because of their ferocity.

The Camel and Elephant are meant to suggest the vastness of the territory controlled by the court, because they are dependable transport in desert and tropics.

Xiezhi was put there to keep evil spirits away, because it was believed to possess the sixth sense to tell right and wrong. If two men fight, a Xiezhi would gore the wicked one.

Xiezhi (獬豸 Xièzhì, hsieh-chih/해태, haetae, often spelled haitai) is a legendary creature which resembles a lion but is, in fact, a fire-eating dog. It is believed as a guardian against disaster and prejudice. Furthermore, they are said to guard against all forms of disruptive or violent change. It has the body of a lion, and occasionally is depicted with a unicorn-like horn.

Qilin, an auspicious symbol, was placed on two sides.

Qilin In Chinese mythology, the Qilin is a kind of unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. Appearances could also indicate the benevolence of living emperors. A Qilin has a single horn on its forehead, a yellow belly, a multicoloured back, a horse's hooves, a deer's body, and an ox's tail. Legend has it that a Qilin appeared to the pregnant mother of Confucius. 

Horse, as the emperor's mount, is absolutely indispensable. It is said that these animals is supposed to change guard at midnight.

I'm positive that surfing bareback is not a sanctioned activity along the Sacred Way (but I'm sure it's not the first time it's been done either).

It was a long walk.

  

Bob got tired of pushing Granny's chair so Raylene, ever the faithful spouse, gave him a break.

The Sacred Way is lined with stately Willow trees and immaculately trimmed shrubbery. The entire road which runs from the Stone Archway to the Changling Tomb stretches out about 7 km. The part of the path which we walked is slightly curved to fool malevolent spirits in accordance to the Feng Shui (fung' shway) philosophy.

By the time we had walked the length of the Scared Way the sun was setting and the moon was out.

It was getting dark by the time we arrived at the Shengong Shengde Stele Pavilion. The pavilion was constructed in 1435.

Stele Pavilion as it appeared in 1900.

We walked inside to see the 50-ton tortoise carrying the stone tablet on its back. There is a white marble Huabiao (ornamental pillar) positioned at each corner of the stele pavilion. At the top of each is perched a mythical beast facing either inward or outward, expressing hope that the emperor will neither cling to the palace nor forget to return to the Palace to handle state affairs. 

 

The Turtle and the Stele.

Driving home the traffic was horrendous. Some of the group was hoping to get home in time to go to the Hard Rock, Beijing. It took us so long to get home (it was only bout 30 miles) anyway, it took so long that their plans were more or less foiled.

We arrived back at the hotel bleary eyed and tired we just had a bite to eat and went to bed.

Up Next: 

Going  to Church, a Pearl Factory and The Summer Palace.