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Location: Taiyuan, China
Tai Yuan, honestly there are so many things we did on the way and at Tai Yuan that make it difficult to hit them all. So I will capitalize on the highlights. So, a few days ago we got up at 5:00 to leave for Tai Yuan at 6:00. We visited the Buddhist Caves, the Hanging Monastery, the Little Flower portion of a state-run orphanage, Little Flower Graveyard and two village churches. Thus, as you can tell there is a lot to write about. So I will recap briefly on each. The Buddhist caves possess rock carvings of different Buddhas from as old as the Qing Dynasty.
The Hanging Monastery is called that because it was built into the side of a mountain and literally hangs off the mountainside. The Little Flower Graveyard looks like a walled in the botanic temple. One of the churches in Tai Yuan was in the village and the other was on top of the local mountain. The second church was a fusion of Roman Catholic influence and Asian culture. I left the orphanage last because it was definitely one of the most interesting experiences I have had yet. For some, they cried because it was a lot more run down looking than our regular Baby home. It seemed more rustic and underdeveloped. However, the care was actually quite good, but I believe a lot of people were not as prepared for reality as they thought they were. On the other hand, I felt completely different. I was surprised at how many of the children, babies and long-term care kids had smiles and enjoyed having us there. In fact, one girl and one boy who were either all or partially blind played the accordion and sang for us. Now, I’ve written a lot and I could probably write more, but thanks for reading my blog. Peace out…yo!