Life in a post-daughter Canton

Guangxiao Temple

As noted in my previous post I've found myself in the midst of a busy travel period. There was the trip I took with my daughter to Japan last month, and just last weekend the wife and I spent the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in Macau 澳門. Next week we'll be exploring somewhere in China (the itinerary has been left entirely in Shu-E's hopefully capable hands), and there are travel plans for the upcoming Lunar New Year* break. So I would like to use this post as an opportunity to bring to light some of the things we've been doing close to home here in Guangzhou 广州 since Amber returned to the U.S. soon after New Year's Day. 

Just before she departed my daughter picked up a Monday Bruce in a blind-box purchase from one of the nearby shopping malls. He now sits on my desk at work. His computer having crashed and all his work gone, Bruce's soul is leaving his body:

On the first Sunday of the new year, two days after Amber left to go back to college, Shu-E suggested visiting a temple. On the way there from the subway station she bought some flowers as an offering. As we approached the temple we passed by many beggars, putting the lie to claims by some wàiguórén 外国人 useful idiots that there are no homeless in China - there are, and they're often harassed by authorities in scenes not usually seen by visitors: 

Guangxiao Temple ("Bright Filial Piety Temple") 光孝寺 is the oldest temple site in Guangzhou, with its origins reaching back to the 4th century, though most of the current buildings date from the 19th century or later :

Notice the people on the left below wearing parkas. They weren't the only ones. For context the high this day was at least 19°C/66°F. Similar to Taiwan, whenever the weather cools the locals breakout the winter wear more suitable to Hokkaidō 北海道 than the subtropical climate of southern China: 

The main hall. My wife had previously visited with a Taiwanese-American friend (Shu-E has better 关系); when they showed up in the morning, they had encountered a long line of worshipers waiting to place their floral offerings on a table in front of the main hall. The latter was open, with admission being charged to see the three large Buddha statues inside. But in the afternoon when we visited everything was free, though the hall was closed, with only brief glimpses of the statues provided:

A reclining Buddha, a relatively uncommon sight at Buddhist temples in northeast Asia:  

According to the wife this small stupa is 960 years old:

Bodhidarma 菩提达摩, the semi-legendary founder of Chan Buddhism 中國禪宗 ("Zen" in Japanese 禅宗), supposedly taught at this temple during the Tang dynasty 唐朝; a hair or some of his hairs are said to have been placed in this small pagoda:

Adherents (including my wife?) walked three times around the structure while praying:

A large Bodhi tree 菩提树. Legend has it the sapling was planted in 502 CE. Behind the tree and close to the pagoda stood a large Buddha statue, but photographing it wasn't permitted: 

This wooden fish and cloud board are Buddhist ritual implements: 

One of a pair of cats seen going in and out of this building: 

On the way back to the metro station we stopped to eat a bowl of wontons 鲜肉小馄饨:

This creepy-looking fruit is called "Buddha's hand". It was expensive at RMB15 ($2.15) for one, or RMB20 ($2.90) for two. My wife thinks these were intended for temple offerings, but this website gives other usages for the fruit: 

The view from the second floor of Guangxiao Church 光孝堂 (note it has the same name as the temple). The 1924 exterior was far more interesting than the interior:

Picking up some scallion pancakes 葱油饼 for the trip home: 

The weekend before the Macau trip was wiped out by a runny nose and sore throat, which was a pity as the weather seemed comfortably warm, though I did venture out once for a short walk. Even though it was 21°C/70°F most people were either wearing heavy jackets or thick sweaters, or carrying a heavy jacket or thick sweater. In contrast I was wearing a short-sleeved soccer jersey, shorts and sandals - the only other person I saw in short sleeves was another waiguoren. See above - was I in Sapporo 札幌 or  Guangzhou? 

A pair of gym shorts Shu-E ordered for me from Taobao 淘宝. I have doubts these are authentic NBA merchandise, but I can't tell for sure:

Sampling a local IPA microbrew...:

...and a chocolate stout:

A woman in Vancouver, British Columbia on Facebook claimed many Westerners edit photos of China's blue skies to make them look grey in order "to jump on the anti-China bandwagon". Perhaps, but if so then why, as Photoshop isn't necessary much of the time. This was the view from my living room at 0700 one morning when the air quality index was 157 (a value over 50 represents poor air quality) - if anything, it's the other way round, when skies are often edited to make look them look bluer. BTW the "official" AQI that same morning was an unbelievable 75:

We recently sent Amber some presents for her birthday. Timi seemingly enjoyed the box they came in:

With the Lunar New Year fast approaching (with the first day of the Year of the Horse this year falling on February 17) we came across a lion dance being performed to promote an LNY market underground:

Shu-E couldn't decipher the auspicious banner on the left as it was in Cantonese. The one on the right reads bāfáng láicái 八方来财, meaning "wealth from all directions". Yes, please:

My wife joins others in the crowd to touch the lion's head for good luck:

This most recent weekend we went out to visit the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees 六榕寺. The approach to the Buddhist site from the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall subway station 纪念堂站: 

An alley far removed from the area of Guangzhou where we live. For a view of another part of the city that few of my colleagues will ever see I've linked a YouTube video at the end of this post:

The temple complex was first built in 537 CE to enshrine some Buddhist relics that had been brought to China from India:

Those relics were placed in the Decorated Pagoda 花塔, which dominates the temple grounds:

Photography wasn't allowed in the surrounding halls, like this one which housed a trio of large Buddha statues:

But the doors were open, so...:

The original trees (which gave their name to the temple in 1099) are long gone, but the current banyans are over 170 years old:

Candle-like offerings purchased at the temple as an offering. Actual open flames aren't permitted, for understandable reasons:

After visting Liurong Si, Shu-E and I took a walk around the neighborhood. My eyes were drawn to this large building, namely because the banners at the top looked like giant laundry drying in the sun:

Making friends with a local. Notice how I'm dressed, reflecting the 23°C/73°F temperatures on this afternoon:

And yet this feline was dressed for colder climes. In fairness Guangzhou has had a spate of chilly days recently, with temperatures falling as low as 7°C/45°F:

Unlike in Taiwan, Japanese language signage isn't often seen away from tourist sites (for obvious historical reasons). So I immediately noticed this sign for a vintage clothing store:

The view this morning while having breakfast. The AQI was a seemingly standard-for-Guangzhou 156. I, repeat, did not alter this image in any way, shape or form for the purposes of leaping on any imaginary anti-China platforms: 

Over the weekend a new year's market sprouted in Huacheng Square 花城广场. This evening my wife and I went there to have a look at the different stalls selling foods, clothing, jewelry and various other merchandise in preparation for welcoming the Year of the Horse. The market is likely to attract an increasing number of shoppers as the holiday period nears: 

For dinner we headed to the underground mall to have some spicy beef at a restaurant called Xiāng Lálá 湘辣辣, meaning "Hunan Spicy". Once home I immediately ordered a milk tea to help put out the fire that emanated from the "lightly spicy" beef dish we ordered:

The next blog post set in this city foremerly known in the West as Canton will find us welcoming in the Horse 马 (though none of our ages, Amber's included, correspond with that animal). By that point I will have been here more than 5½ months, and still trying to recover from last October's nervous breakdown. Resolutions are also a custom at this time of year, so I hope you can check back at that time to see if I ended up making (and breaking) any, and whether or not things have gotten better. 回头见...: 

*I don't like to use the expression "Chinese New Year" out of respect for other cultures that celebrate the annual occasion. Besides, calling it the "Lunar New Year" gets the knickers of Chinese patriots in a twist, so I'm proud to be woke