Gifts were distributed and we headed for
the
sacred mountain Wutaishan. Located in Shanxi Province, it is believed to be the
earthly abode of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, and for a thousand years
it has been a focus of transnational pilgrimage for the Chinese, Tibetans,
Mongols, and Manchus alike. This multi-culturalism, endemic of Himalayan art, is
reflected in temple designs coming from Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. This
includes paintings, sculptures. We will spend two days here exploring the
mountain.
We
arrived just after noon and were processed through a gauntlet of ticket offices.
The whole town and surrounding mountains and temples are a National Park! The
town is unashamedly a tourist mecca. One ticket for the entrance fee, one for
the local bus ticket, one for the toliet access (just kidding...or am I), and
then we boarded a transfer bus into town with Sura traveling behind. Talk about
Brave New World! Halfway there some fellow in a grey uniform and a name tag
with just a number jumped onboard fit one more ticket check LOL! And here's the
kicker, those over sixty were free! Yippee, a senior
discount!
Our
hotel host joined us to help with the silliness of getting into the town. Once
all checked in we had lunch and laid out plans for the next two days. Just
gotta love the way the Chinese do certain things. Haha!
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