Spring in Nanjing

Dense blossom making a colourful splash.

The last weekend in March 2013 saw spring temperatures finally arrive. A great opportunity to get out and about in Nanjing to catch the last of the spring colours whilst still at or near their best. More photos can be found here.

I spent some time around our apartment complex, over near our local supermarket and then down at the Martyrs Park. Hope you enjoy the walk around with me.

Landsea apartment complex makes display after winter.

I am not sure what this tree is but it is covered with blossom. A closeup below.

A vivid splash of colour.

Pink magnolia opening out.

From our apartment complex we cross the road past the fruit truck and one block away is the Carrefour supermarket.

Our fruit truck.

A common site around Nanjing are the fruit trucks. The arrival of new seasons pineapples costing around 5RMB (around $NZ5) are most welcome. They are "skinned and cored" for you.

The supermarket is underground and at ground level is a park, lake and plaza.

Huge splash of colour in Newtown Plaza.

Multi coloured blossom.

 The white magnolias were at their best the morning I took these photos.

White magnolia

White magnolia

A short metro ride away from our apartment finds us on the way to the Martyrs Memorial Garden at Yuhuatai. Outside all stations in China one finds markets selling all sorts of things. A typical fruit truck is never far away.

The skinned pineapples are wrapped in plastic bags!

Old friends tip their hats in greeting

On entering the Martyrs Memorial Gardens, one is met by these imposing 30 metre high Soviet styled statues.

Massive granite statues.

Legend has it that here at Yuhuatai, near the south gate of Zhonghua, a 5th-century monk gave a sermon that was so powerful that flowers rained down from the sky. As a result, Chinese visitors still collect coloured pebbles found here. The souvenir shops do a brisk trade selling these too. The gardens are also called the Rain Hail Gardens.

The grounds where the park is became an execution ground during the Chinese Revolution (1927- 1949). The statues above and the column on top of the hill are a grim reminder of this  part of Chinese history.

The column here can be seen from afar, when not obscured by high-rise buildings.



Nice doorway with guardians



There are notices explaining what the various parts of the gardens are but my Chinese isn't up to it and there are no translations available.

Shrine to those who lost their lives. Looks like names on the panels behind.

The pagoda gives good views over the city.

The lack of clear blue skies in these photos is typical here. Consequently all the photos have blown out skies due to the pollution and low cloud? We do get the odd day when the sky and sun appears out of the gloom; these days are little more frequent now.

A finally a shot of some lovely spring blossom.

That's all for now. Who knows what is next?

Luang Prabang village

Where the Nam Khan and Mekong meet in Luang Prabang there is a bamboo bridge that leads over to some villages. Here we were able to see the complete production cycle from silk moth to finished woven articles.

Bridge across the Nam Khan.

The bridge from the other side

In the village over the river we found a complete silk operation. The owner has a thriving business employing 24 people in the gardens and in the silk factory. He grows is own mulberry plants to feed the worms and also the plants which are used for the natural dyes that are used.

What we really appreciated was the fact the owner was very happy to show us his operation but that there was no pressure to buy anything in his shop.

Silk moths and eggs

After the eggs hatch, the worms are feed on mulberry leaves for 23-25 days.

Several baskets containing worms at various stages were stacked on shelves and covered.

After feeding exclusively on mulberry leaves, the worms start their metamorphosis by spinning their cocoons. The larvae remain in their cocoons for 7 days before the moths emerge to mate and lay eggs before they die after 2-3 days. 

Cocoons ready for the recovery of the silk.

Each cocoon yields 100-150 m of silk. Many threads are wound together before the silk is then dyed using natural products. We did not see this part of the operation.

Some of the natural dyes grown by the owner on his farm.

Dyeing the silk

Spinning the silk onto small bobbins

Weaving is still done manually

Before we came across the silk factory we meet the lady below who ran her own shop and very obligingly showed us how she used her loom. The loom is made from wood, bamboo and string.

Several silk scarves were purchased but judging by the amount of time taken to weave one, the hourly return would be quite low. She was very happy with our purchases though.

We were pleased to get back to our hotel, via the other bamboo bridge, as it was well over 30C.

To go to the start of our adventures in Vientiane click on the link.

This complete my blogs of our Laos trip.

Today I have been out enjoying the Nanjing blossom.

Laos - Luang Prabang

Another long slow mini van trip via Muang Phu Khun saw us reach our final destination on the banks of the mighty Mekong River in Luang Prabang. Most of the tourist part of LP is on a peninsula between the Nam Khan River and the Mekong.

The confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers

Being the dry season when we were here, the rivers were quite low. The locals make use of the fertile banks of both rivers and hope that the next monsoon brings a fresh supply of silt to re nourish their gardens. Flood lines can be seen on some of the exposed rocks lining parts of the Nam Khan - at least 5m higher than at present.

Many riverside cafes line the banks of both rivers.

There are around 60 Buddhist wats in Luang Prabang. I have a few shots here of one of the larger ones in the centre of town by the river to give you and idea.

Wat Xieng Thong



Restoration in progress

Gilding (thin gold foil) being applied

Even though lots of gilding is being applied, the gold is very thing - an once goes a long way. Intricate designs are cut from paper and used as stencils.

Rear of the main temple with the Tree of  Life

The mosaic is made up of glass

Gilded door next to the Tree of Life

Inside the main temple at Wat Xieng Thong

Inside the main temple at Wat Xieng Thong

Gong used for the call to prayer

Royal Funerary Carriage House.

In the Royal Funerary Carriage house is the 39 foot long gilded chariot that transported the remains of King Sisavang Vong to his cremation.  Quite an impressive vehicle.

4 passenger tuk tuk

The Jumbo tuk tuk seats 6

The taxi tuk tuk

There are plenty of tuk tuks in both Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Price is by negotiation and is usually around half the asking price. It's a game play the drivers play with visitors but once a price is agreed, the open air ride is most enjoyable if hard. The taxi tuk tuks are the only ones allowed to the waterfalls and airport.

A good day trip was arranged by hiring a tuk-tuk to go out to some nearby waterfalls. The first set of falls called Tat Sae had no water as it was the dry season. We knew this but thought we could go elephant riding. However the queue had a 3 hour wait.

The Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls are very popular and they provide many different pools, ideal to cool off in the heat of the summer.

Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls

Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls

Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls



Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls

On the way to the falls one passes a refuge for the Asiatic Black bear. Unfortunately these animals have been hunted almost to extinction for their bile. Some have been rescued but there is little hope of release back to the wild due to poaching and shrinking habitat.

Asiatic Black bear

We were almost "wat'ed out" but the National Museum complex containing the former royal palace constructed by the French for King Sisavang Vong (1904-59) is worth a visit. The actual former royal residence is nothing spectacular but the wat inside the main gate is rather striking. The monarchy was overthrown by the communists in 1975 and the complex converted into a museum.

Wat Ho Pha Bang

Wat Ho Pha Bang dragons line steps to the side

Another day we explored the villages over the river. I have no idea of their names but there is a separate blog for this.

After a week in Luang Prabang it was time to leave and head off back to the winter in Nanjing via another stop in Vientiane.