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AnonymousThis was just spectacular! Giant carvings in the sides of mountains. I remember I felt a little ill here and was trying to fight my way through my nausea...this was just travel related digestive stuff that was making me feel as though i were seeing everything through a fog..and it acutally was a bit rainy here, too. Our guide, Jerry was very exuburant (after enjoing quite a few beers at lunch). But as I said, this visit is very surreal to me. I have attached a photo I took as we came into Dazu.
AnonymousAt Dazu I actually understood some of the stories being told in the carvings thanks to visiting the Buddhist temple in Pingyao. I immediately recognized Buddhist hell with its punishments and horse- and bull-headed deities. I had not known about Buddhist hell before this trip, and now I want to read more about it to make sure what I think I remember hearing on the trip is what I actually heard.
Thee was also a carving of buffalo that told a story, but I have already forgotten how it goes. I will have to look it up because I remember thinking it was something I could tell my students when we study Buddhism.
I would also love to know more about the intricacies of the Wheel. I must have been still feeling poorly when we went to Dazu because I remember it, as Mary said, through a fog. I am pretty sure all of these things were explained to me, but I just can't remember. I know there were also a few really big characters carved into the rock which had to do with those who made pilgrimages to this holy place. Did it grant peace? Luck? Happiness? Ughhhhh.
AnonymousMaybe the fog was from the incredible heat of the day. Jerry taught us that we were in the "furnace of China".
Easy to believe. The caves and carvings were super cool. The giant Buddha on his side impressed me the most. Here is a photo of the guys posing with him. The Hades portrayal actually didn't come close to the horror of hell that we saw in, Taiyuan (?), at least for me.
clay dubeFolks,
Please take a moment to share some thought about what you did, saw, thought, or felt on this day. Feel free to attach a photo from the day (or perhaps of something that you acquired and plan to use or share). We'd like everyone to say something about each day.
AnonymousI'd agree with Lois that the fog of memory is probably caused by the extreme heat of that day. The carvings were incredible, though, and I'd have happily stayed longer in spite of the mosquitoes that nibbled at my legs. Jerry described the setting with more energy than I thought one person could possess, and his enthusiasm helped us push through the intense heat.
The night before, a few of us had wandered around Chengdu and found ourselves in the main square. There, McDonald's and Burberry sat under the watchful eyes of the Chairman. After so many days of 3 meals of Chinese food a day, we ate what were probably the best fries I have ever tasted. It all seemed surreal -- I'd been in that very square in 2001, and I actually had to go home to California and look at the old photos before I fully trusted my memory. The luxury mall and Vegas-esque buildings had replaced squat gray structures. A sleepy, bicycle-filled town was now pulsing with cars, and the construction sites were still active even at midnight. China was being transformed before our eyes.