The Ghost Town
Chinese Date: Sunday, December 19, 2010 2:30 am
Ok, so we found a channel here that plays “So You Think You Can Dance.” I was watching it and fell asleep. My alarm (set for 10:15) woke me up (for some reason my phone stayed on LA time so now I have to calculate the time.) Well, I realized I didn’t update my blog, so I thought I’d do that since I can’t go back to sleep.
Yesterday, we went to Fengdu’s Ghost Town. This is the place the Chinese believe spirits go after they die. There are three different divisions in this “town.” There is the Palace of Gods and Ghosts on Mt. Shuanggui, the Jade Emperor’s Sanctuary on Five Fish Mountain (under construction), and the Gate of Judgment on Mt. Mingshan. We went to the Gate of Judgment. In this part of the town, the spirits come here for judgment. The good are rewarded and continue on into paradise; ghosts punish the bad. There are 15 different ghosts: drunk, greedy, naughty, and others but I don’t remember them all.
Many people go up to the Ghost Town to say goodbye to their deceased relatives and to get blessings. One of the buildings is the Temple of the 100 Children. Parents visit this temple to gain a blessing, only one, for their child. There are three different gods. One is for wisdom, one is for a good personality, and the other is for good health. There are 3 cushions in front of the gods. You crouch on whichever one matches the god you want a blessing from. You pay them, and then bow three times. You also have the King and Queen of the Hill who you can also go to for a blessing.
To get up to the Ghost Town was a really long climb up Mt. Mingshan. There were a ton of temples that we passed, but most of them were under construction so we couldn’t go in. I really wanted to go to the Palace of Gods and Ghosts and the Jade Emperor’s Sanctuary, but we didn’t have time and there are 300 steps up the mountain to the Sanctuary (that turned me off quickly.)
After we were done at the Ghost Town, we headed back to Chongqing. There, we had another hot pot lunch. Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that I am now, officially, a master at chopsticks. Anyway, after lunch, we went to a silk shop. We originally went there because Jai has a silk baby blanket that Mom and Dad bought her when they were here 6 years ago. Well, the silk insert got destroyed, so we needed a new one. The whole conversation with the ladies was very confusing J In the end, they showed us these silk pillows that unfold to become a blanket. They were about the same size as Jai’s blanket, so Mom had the idea to buy the pillow and use it as an insert. Well, XiXi wanted a silk blanket and Mom and Dad let her pick out one. She was going to get a single size blanket, but then decided on the pillow/blanket. Because this cost less than half of the single, Mom and Dad let Cait get a pillow to.
While we were there, we also got to learn how silk was made. The worms spin it like a cocoon. The silk makers soak the cocoons in water and then let them sit for 30 minutes. After they sit, the makers start pulling the silk apart into a square. In the end, the silk is extremely stretchable and can stretch to be the size of a king size bed. The silk inserts are made with thousands of these silk squares stacked on to of the other. Weaving hundreds of dyed silk strings together makes the silk covers.
After the silk shop, we took the metro to the home Joseph W. Stilwell. He was a famous American General who came over to China to help during WWII. During WWII, Japanese fighter pilots were bombing the Chinese. Stilwell came over and built a road to get supplies from Burma to Chongqing. He was in China for 2 years and helped a lot. The Chinese people consider him a hero. Stilwell, though, had many disagreements with the Chinese general, Chiang Kai-shek. Stilwell believed that Chiang Kai-shek was keeping supplies sent by the US in order to help the nationalists fight off the communists. He tried to convince Chiang that the enemy now was the Japanese and that they needed every Chinese citizen, whether nationalist or communist, to help fight them off. Chiang would not listen and this eventually led to Stilwell’s departure.
After seeing Stilwell’s home, we took the metro to People’s Square. Here, they have the People’s Hall and the Three Gorges Museum. We were unable to go into either building, but they were very pretty on the outside. The People’s Hall is where the people have meetings to discuss laws and other things. Supposedly, Hu Jintao, the current political leader of China, listens to what the people say and takes it into consideration. I don’t know if that’s true, but who knows.
We left the Square on a public bus and went back to our hotel. First, though, we went to the McDonald’s across the street. It was the same thing we have here, which was nice. It’s hard to eat exotic food you’re not used to for every meal. Then, we went to find Mom some Mt. Dew, which we did!
All in all, yesterday was amazing. It was the first day we saw stereotypical Chinese buildings. I have to say; Chongqing looks more like New York than what most people think. Jimmy, our guide, says that there is a building in the central part of town that they call New York, New York because the top looks like the Empire State Building.
Today, we are going to the zoo, then the park. At 3, we say goodbye to Chongqing and hello again to Beijing. When we get to Beijing, we will finally meet up with the two other families on the trip. We will stay in Beijing for a few days and then head to Xian.
Ok, I’m going back to bed. Have a good afternoon. I’ll talk to you all tomorrow.
God Bless,
~Kristen
