Guangzhou Sightseeing-- Buddhist Blessing

Today our group met to do a little sightseeing. Minhua escorted us to Liurong Si,The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, a Buddhist temple built in 1097. The temple sits on a quiet street across from a Hofbrau House.

Entering the courtyard of the temple, the atmosphere was serene and peaceful. All around the temple were statues of Buddah and places to burn incense and make offerings--fruit and money ( I guess all religions are the same really). At the far end of the grounds was the main temple altar to where the families were escorted. We were asked to remove our shoes and then enter the altar area where a Buddhist monk was preparing his prayer belssing. We all knelt down and listened while the monk burned some incense, said a few prayers and then turned to wet us with a small Banyan leaf soaked in Buddhist holy water.

After the girls and the parents received a blessing we climbed the Hua Ta, Flower Pagoda, a nine story monument in the middle of the courtyard. On each level there were people kneeling and praying to various Buddahs inside the pagoda. From the top we could see the entire city from old to new. GZ has many, many high buildings mingled with the older homes and apartment.

After visiting Liurong Si we then drove to the Chan Chen Academy Museum, a restored home of a rich nobleman who lived in the latter part of the Qing Dynasty (approx: 1900). The home was surrounded by a high stone wall and inside the stone walls the home sits in a beautiful garden with hundreds of decorative Bonsai Trees (same word in Chinese).

The museum had hundreds of wood, ivory, and stone carvings depicting images of the late Qing Dynasty and atop the peak of the roof was another series of similarly ornate woodwork decorations.

Tess really enjoyed the outing today as she continues to awe at her surroundings. More and more we realize that all she saw for the first 9 months of her life was the inside of the Kunming Children's Center. Every day she smiles more, laughs more and eats more. And we might be biased, but Tess really is the most beautiful girl staying at the White Swan Hotel.

We're really looking forward to coming home with her so she can meet her big brother Mitch and her silly dog Baxter, her grandparents and extended family and friends. Hopefully life in New York will suit her nicely! Everytime we talk to people we point to Tess and say. "Ni Hao, New York" or "Hello New York" everyone is proud that a little Kunming baby will go to live in New York.