written by Gabby Cooper.
This morning our wake up call came at 7:00, and we all headed downstairs for breakfast together. Afterwards, we loaded our bags on the bus and set out to visit the four famous temples in the Wutai mountain which was the highlight of the day.
The Wutai mountain is one of the four Great Buddhist Mountains and is considered the most holy land of Chinese Buddhism. What makes the temples so special is that in all of China this is the only place where you can find both Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism temples.
We started at the temple at the highest point and then worked our way down the mountain one by one. Unfortunately, the temperature was fairly low and it rained for most of the day, so we all bundled up in our rain gear before heading out. Some of the buildings had gold tiled ceilings which is rare and considered very special.
Along the way we saw many monks who live in the temples. Mr. Manakhov even made friends with some who gave him a melon as a gift. There were also many rooms with Buddha statues inside where visitors would burn incense and pray. After visiting the four temples, we had finally reached near the bottom of the mountain.
The group walked to lunch at a restaurant close by. The meal was all vegetarian which is popular in the mountain town we were in. Not only were there lots of vegetables but also many different kinds of tofu.
Afterwards, we all climbed back on the bus and set out for Taiyuan. It was a long bus ride, almost four hours, but luckily we were all tired and ready to get out of the rain. Most of us took a nice long nap on the bus before reaching Taiyuan.
As soon as we arrived in the city we drove to the hotel and and all settled in our rooms. The hotel was the same one we had stayed in two nights earlier which had great wifi and normal showers, so I think we were all very happy to come back.
We were given some free time before we all walked to dinner together. During our free time before and after dinner, many of us walked the streets near the hotel and visited some local stores. This is our last night staying in the Shanxi Province, so I think we are all excited to finally reach Beijing, the home stretch of our trip.
Gabby Cooper
P.S. Mr. Manakhov with his batch of pictures. Day 14 (June 6th) and Day 15 (June 7th).
Also check the previous days galleries. Small video clips will appear there as they sync. Most are lousy but they should give you a glimpse of what our students experience in China.
Previous days Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 11, Day 12 (June 4th) , Day 13 (June 5th)