CHINA

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Kunming

Kunming is a modern city

Bamboo Temple is a Buddhist temple near Kunming

The Bamboo Temple is famous for its collection of superb statues of 500 arhats ("the noble ones"), created at the end of the 19th century. They are made with very realistic, sometimes surrealistic expressions, which was highly unusual at that time.

A collection of Taoist shrines can be found in the hills west of Kunming. A Taoist monk has created this complex in the 18th century. Many shrines and corridors are dug out high up in a sheer cliff. 

Taoist gods, divinities and protectors are usually very colorful, nicely decorated and frequently look frightening

Xi'an

The Goose Pagoda in Xi'an is a place where old Buddhist scriptures were stored. A local monk went all the way to India to bring them to China in the 6the century. His difficult, but successful journey became a legend that is highly popular and well known throughout China until these days.

The Army of Terracotta Warriors (uncovered near Xi'an) is part of a huge underground mausoleum complex of the emperor Qin Shihuangdi - the first emperor who united China in 221 BC. Every soldier has an unique, very realistic expression. Originally, the statues were painted in color.

Excavations and restorations of the statues are progressing slowly and are planned to be completed in several phases. Three areas have been uncovered so far and this pictures shows the largest one. In the background, one can see how the statues look when they are found and before they are restored like the once in the front. The statues had been damaged both by people (during some uprisings weapons were taken from the soldiers and the underground chambers were set on fire) and natural causes (flooding, weathering).

The Great Mosque in Xi'an exhibits strong Chinese architectural influence and at the first look does not resemble an Islamic structure at all

Going to the market...

Pingyao

The old city of Pingyao keeps its look from the time of dynasties Ming and Qing. It has been added to the List of Cultural and Historical Heritage Sites of UNESCO in 1997.

6km long and massive city walls surround the entire city. The top of the wall is wide enough for two horse carriages to have enough space to pass each other. The wall has 72 watch towers and 3000 embrasures (these numbers correspond to 3000  followers of Confucius and his 72 best disciples).

Traditional houses from the times of Qing dynasty are built around several rectangular courtyards. The main building is always at the end of the courtyard and secondary buildings are on the sides. The building on the east side is considered more important than the building on the west side. Always, the more important building had to be built at least several inches higher than the les important building.

In the out-of-the-way streets of Pingyao people store and dry their harvest from fields surrounding the city

Playing cards is one of the most popular street pastimes in China

A visitor to the Taoist Temple of The City God will find a surprisingly cruel rendering of hell in one of its side buildings 

Datong

Yungan Grottoes were dug out in this sandstone cliff and decorated with thousands of Buddhist statues in the 5th century AD

THis is an example of the statue decorations inside the caves

A little town in the coal mining area north of Datong. People own small pieces of land in the surrounding hills. The farmers on this picture are using a traditional technique to separate the grain from chaff - with the help of wind.

Until the 1980s it was common in China to bury deceased anywhere in the countryside. The most auspicious place for a grave was on the ground located between a mountain and a river.

Little boys compete on simple wooden minicars

In a little town where no tourists go, we became an attraction even for the dog - everybody just stared at us

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