Trips

Next we were driven to our home-hosted lunch in Shacun village. We watched the grandmother stir-fry our dishes on a wood burning stove. Usually we find these home-hosted visits a chore but this time the food was all wonderfully good and watching the cook and her efficiency was pleasant. We sat at a low table on the courtyard porch and devoured almost every plateful. Grandmother and Lisa performed a Three Course Tea ceremony of the Bai people, which is used at weddings. The first tea is "bitter" with green tea and baked rice, meaning one will suffer a lot before starting a career. Second is "sweet" tea (cheese fan, brown sugar, ginger, and baked sesame seed) symbolizing success or "no sweet without sweat." Third is an "after" taste tea with chili pepper, Chinese prickly ash (like black pepper), and bee honey implying a placid frame of mind after tasting all of the teas. We were given the recipes.

Stir-frying lunch

Our hostess and us enjoying the meal

Tea ceremony

Preparation for the tea ceremony

The family had lunch as well

Back in Dali, Lisa took us into the old town to see the Roman Catholic Church. It is very unique. It was built in the Chinese style and only looked like a Catholic church because of the cross on the steeple and the statues of Mary and the crucifix inside. It was very brightly colored and made of wood in the late 1800's.

Roman Catholic Church in Dali

More creative electrical work

Playing Ma Jong

Sleeping vendor

Tues., 6/18/13 - Dali
        This morning we drove 1 1/2 hours southwest to visit the Muslim village of Weishan (the Eastern Lotus Village). This is another one of the 55 minorities in China.
        We walked to the Eastern Lotus mosque, which was built in 1941 but resembles a pagoda with a ball and crescent moon on the top. We couldn't go inside because of the crowds of men arriving from all over for a funeral. We didn't wait to see the shrouded body and the Muslim men didn't want us there anyway.
        We stepped inside a farmer's house. It had the usual design of four corner courtyards with a large central open area. Animals (cows, ducks, rooster and hens) were kept in one part and two families lived on the sides.
        We walked along some more of the 200 year-old salt-horse road and entered a caravansary that is now a museum of sorts. Upstairs was a tearoom with a view of the roofs of the village houses.

Welcome to Weishan stone

Muslim mosque

Ma Ru-quing house

Wall construction - straw and rice milk

Tea horse road with solid stones in the center for the horses' hoofs

Museum of the Donglianhua Horse Caravan Culture

Decoration inside the Museum of the Donglianhua Horse Caravan Culture

View from upper level of Museum of the Donglianhua Horse Caravan Culture

We ate lunch in Weisham village - lots of tofu and pork with vegetable dishes. After lunch we strolled the main street, looking at the shops and sights.

Three-wheeled taxi

Open-air dentist's office

Street scene

Colorful stools made by the local people

Street scene - carrying goods

       Next we drove up to Weibao Mountain to visit some Taoist temples. We walked up a stone path with many steps to the Yi Temple and torch ceremony plaza. The statue of the first king of Tao (617 - 674 AD) is in the main altar. Statues of the other 13 Tao kings are on either side of the temple.
        We walked on along the stone path listening to the calming music coming from speakers along the route. It was pleasant in the shade of the trees at this high altitude. Along the sides of the path are the many tombs where the monks are buried. The living monks live at the top of this mountain.
        The Wenchang Palace was originally where the dragon was worshiped. Painted on the walls on either side of the YinYang doors were a tiger and a dragon. Inside was a Ming Dynasty bridge over a fish and turtle pond. The main altar areas had statues of the Writing Brush god with a third eye for intelligence, the Literature god, and the god to protect against cheating. High school students come here to seek help in taking their exit exams.