Oh, I already left Beijing and I just got back from Chengdu! That looks pretty awesome though I never liked eunuchs TBH. They ruin everything!Phantom Pabulum wrote:If you're in Beijing, I hope you pay a visit to the Eunuch Museum.. http://gorgeousbrian.blogspot.sg/2012/0 ... useum.html
That's so weird and I'm sorry! I've only felt the pollution once my entire stay here in Shanghai and it was mostly that I felt a bit out of breath. We've been having beautiful weather too lately, perfect for my mom and I to go strolling around the Bund and People's Square, places like that.The last time I went to Shanghai (with my school) I couldn't enjoy myself AT ALL because the air was so polluted. My whole face dried up and my lips were cracking and I felt really bad.
I felt the pollution on my second day in Beijing though, towards the end of the day, I got this cough and my lips started getting chapped too. It wasn't terrible though because I was busy doing all these things. I felt a total difference coming back to Shanghai!
I really like those, but my favorite are baozi. So delicious! At Yuyuan Gardens the other day I got a box of mini crab dumplings, SO DELICIOUS. I can never eat xiaolongbao properly, even though my friends get all because of that. I don't always love the soup inside and I'd prefer it without it, haha.I hope you have lots of xiaolongbao. I can't believe I missed that the last time I went.
I went to Chengdu, Wuhou Memorial Temple, and it was AMAZING!
I can't even describe how happy I was! The temple area is HUGE, sprawling! I can't believe they say the suggested time to stay is one hour, you can stay there an entire day. My mom and I were the only foreigners there pretty much, haha. People stared at me and some girls were trying to speak English, asking where I was from and how long I've been in China, aw!
There were so many different types of gardens to stroll through, all with vivid colors, as well as shrines, tombs, tablets, statues, paintings, exhibitions, etc. You can walk through them all day long and feel so relaxed, as if you never want to leave. I can't believe all of this was dedicated to Zhugey and Three Kingdoms hundreds of years ago and I could experience that! All the poems about Zhugey are so beautiful.
Some of my favorites by Du Fu:
His Excellency's shrine, where would it be found?
Past Damask Town, where cypresses grow dense.
Its sunlit court, gem-bright greens—a spring unto themselves.
Leaf-veiled, the orioles' sweet notes to empty air.
Thrice to him Liu Bei sued, keen to rule the realm:
Two reigns Kong Ming served—steady old heart
To die, his host afield, the victory herald yet to come
Weep, oh heroes! Drench your fronts, now and evermore.
He describes the place perfectly!Zhuge's mighty name hangs proudly on the upper sphere;
Stern and grand, the royal liege man's likeness claims respect.
In the tri-part world below he spun deep schemes.
In the age-old realm of cloud, one single plume unites our gaze.
Who rank his peers? Yi Yin and Jiang Ziya;
In command he was more sure than Xiao or Cao.
But the stars had turned; he could not save Han's reign,
Toiling to the end, body broken, will unbroken.
It's amazing how much people love Three Kingdoms here too. Almost everyone had Zhugey's fan and were on the floor bowing to all the generals' statues! I learned so much about all the Three Kingdom's people through the audio guide, even things like Zhugey's relationship with his son It's so true that it's the most sacred Three Kingdoms site, it's the best!
At one point I sat on a rock, started crying, and said, "I can't believe I actually have to leave I'm coming back one day right? " I cancelled the rest of my plans and ended up staying until closing time. This was the reason I came to China, how can I not enjoy myself fully? I got a ton of Zhugey things... A shirt, big wooden scroll, figure of him on a horse, another Beijing Opera figure, old stamps, a book about the temple (including translations of each poem/plaque), a mini-Zhugey figure, a Zhugey pen...
I took a million fangirly pictures with Zhugey with my Zhugey action figure I finally did it after waiting for so many years to go there, this is amazing Okay, done nerding out!