Monk's Spade

There was a small open market area near the temple and we stopped to take a look. I spotted a Chinese man who was about my size but much heavier trying to lift the Monk's Spade and he was only able to lift it up a few inches - at least that was the impression I got from watching him. Liking martial arts and having seen Monk Spades in the movies and books I just had to try lifting it. I thought I might embarrass myself and only get it up an inch or two like the other man but to my surprise I lifted it right up. It was much lighter than I anticipated but it was still pretty heavy. My estimate was that the thick back end weighed about 40 pounds and the half-moon front about 20 pounds. I'll have to do some weight lifting in preparation for the next time I see one of these things!

Top Right: Michel Czehatowski preparing to lift the Monk's spade.

Top Left: Lunging forward with the spade.

Wu Tai Shan (Mt. Wutai)

Wu Tai Shan, in Shanxi Province, is known as the place of enlightenment of the Bodhisattva Manjusri

The next morning after a hearty breakfast we were off and running to visit temples. We visited Dailuo Summit, the temple of Revelation, Pu Hua Temple, Buddha Summit, 10,000 Buddha Pavilion, Tayuan Temple, Bishan Temple, and Jifu Temple. We to a chair lift up to Dailuo Summit but instead of riding down again we chose to walk the 1080 stairs down. When we got near the bottom all of us had tired legs. Walking the stairs is gives you a new perspective on things. Lots of people walk up, which in the heat is very difficult. Also, there are lots of beggars to be found along the stairs. China does not have a welfare system for handicapped and employers do not want to hire handicapped people. We saw people who were blind, badly burned, missing both hands, missing both arms at the armpits, missing legs, and outside a temple in another city saw a man with no arms or legs begging. I was told that handicapped people often go to religious sites because people have more pity for them and donate more money.

Top Right: A monk followed by his disciple.

Top Left: A temple bell.

Middle Right: Detail of the temple architecture.

Middle Left: 99 stairs. If you descend without looking back you will leave your troubles behind. (Note the white Stupa in the distance that is shown in more detail in the next blog entry).

Bottom: Another view of temple rooftops.

Entering Wu Tai Shan

We continued to drive until we reached the summit. We had to get out of the car while our guide bought tickets for us to enter and then walk across the crossing to get back to the car. From there we descended into the village of Wu Tai Shan.

Top Right: A small village before reaching the pass.

Top Left: Michel and Hannah Czehatowski at the border crossing. Vehicles pass by the yellow and black striped barriers. We walked through the gate behind us. The temperature had cooled a lot. We estimate we were up around 6 or 7,000 feet at the pass.

For more information on Wu Tai Shan see this wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wutai_Shan

On the Road to Wu Tai Shan

After we left the Hanging Monastery at Mt. Heng we headed south by car to Wu Tai Shan (Five-Terraced Mountain) - the first of the four Buddhist mountains of China. The drive took us through mountains and valleys. We passed small villages, crops grown in terraced fields, and villages working their fields.

Photos:

Top right: Terraced fields.

Top left: Three wheeled vehicles.

Center: Another view of terraced fields.

Bottom Right: A small village.

Bottome Left: View of the mountain valley passed through.

Hanging Monastery at Mt. Heng

After Yungang Grottoes we went off to lunch at a nice new restaurant and had an excellent meal. Then we were off to the Hanging Monastery at Mt. Heng (Heng Shan) which is one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism. The Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Heng. The view from below is extraordinary and awe inspiring and on it is breathtaking and wonderful. My picture on the blog shows me clinging to the building for the photo. The walkways are narrow and we all had the impression that the railings came up to our knees though the photo's tell a different story.

Pictures:

Top right: Mt. Heng from the valley floor.

Top left: a view of the posts supporting the outer building.

Middle right: Mark Van Loan on the stairway with a good grip on the rail. It's a long way down!

Middle left: Hannah Czehatowski with guide Guo Bao carefully watching their steps!

Bottom photo: Posts supporting the structure along the walkway.

For more information on the Hanging Monastery see this Wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Heng_%28Shanxi%29

Yungang Grottoes

Yungang grottoes (Cloud Ridge Caves) is one of the four major treasure troves of Buddhist art. There are 53 caves containing over 50,000 statues. The caves stretch for about one Kilometer from east to west.

The statues range in size from huge (7 meters) to only a few centimers in height and are over 1,000 years old.

Pictures:

Top right: Buddha in a cave.

Top Middle: Buddha seen through a hole in the cave wall.

Top Left: Detail of Buddha carvings.

Bottom Right: Hannah Czehatowski, Mark Van Loan, and me in front of one of the statues which gives perspective on the size of these fantastic sculptures.

Sleeper Train

We left Beijing late on a sleeper train at 11:30pm on May 26. The crowd at the Beijing Train Station was huge and the Chinese don't form a line when they get on the train. When the doors opened everyone surged forward in a crushing wave. My suitcase was wedged between two people in front of me and I could not remove it - I just hung on. When I got close to the door my suitcase momentarily got wedged into a dividing column and for a split second I was caught between my suitcase and the column. Then the crowd surged to the side a little as people tried to avoid the column. I yanked my suitcase free and a second later I was forced through the open door to safety. Luckily my daughter, Hannah, and friend Mark Van Loan made it through but we all decided afterwards that we'd be the last on the train rather than risk being trampled.
We arrived in Datong early in the morning. Datong was originally founded around 200 BC during the Han Dynasty. The original name was Pingcheng and it was renamed Datong around 1048 AD. It is the stop off point for seeing the Yungang Grottoes (Cloud Ridge Caves) which are close by.