The Imperial Vault of Heaven at Temple of Heaven Park 4/1/2010
Qingming
is today. In China this is the day
when the living pay respects to their ancestors by cleaning their grave stones
and burning paper representation of gifts to the spirits. According to the local news the holiday
is losing resonance with the young and is becoming little more than a three day
weekend devoted to relaxation and short holiday trips. It seems to following the pattern of
our Memorial Day.
I woke up this morning to news of an earthquake in NW Mexico that rattled a few windows and nerves in California. The first word I heard was from an Aussie who said the earthquake was centered on LA but fortunately he had misheard the reports and was a little confused about the geography of the US southwest.
After breakfast I headed up to my room and flicked on the TV just to make sure the game between the Red Sox and Yankees was not being broadcast here. Surprise, surprise! It was. So I kicked back and watched the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 deficit to win 9-7. That was a nice way to start the 2010 baseball season.
Calabash player enjoying the morning sun at the Long Corridor At Temple of Heaven Park 4/1/2010
After the game I switched over to CNN and there was a breaking report on the rescue of over 110 of the 150 or so coal miners trapped below ground in Shanxi Province by flooding last week. There are still nearly 40 miners trapped but it is absolutely amazing and encouraging that so many have already been brought back to the surface. Let’s hope the news is as good for those still in the mine. China’s mines are a dangerous place to work (over 2,500 fatalities last year) and clearly that is not a good thing. But one has to be proud for the Chinese mine workers who pulled off this amazing rescue and impressed by their sticking to what must have seemed a hopeless task for so long.
One other interesting bit from CNN is the latest shuttle shot into orbit this morning. Only three more to go. Adding the passengers on the shuttle to those already on the International Space Station we now have four women in orbit for the first time in history, the most ever. That's worth noting.
Today was my day to get myself organized before the group I’ll be spending the next two weeks with arrives tomorrow. I suspect my colleagues are getting their selves together right about now and heading to the airport for the long flight to Beijing. It will be good to see so many of my old friends from America here in China. It should be a good time traveling about China with them to see the timber architecture we share such an interest in.
I did some shopping today. The girls now have new qi poas for next Chinese New Year and I’ve got a few new books. I’m not yet done but this is a good start. I still need to find a fan and some calligraphy stuff but I do have time.
Well
that’s enough small talk for now.
I just don’t have anything more exciting to talk about today.
Worker applying final layer of finish to timbers at a small temple reconstruction in a Beijing Houtong. Several layers of paint and tung oil will be applied later to give that distinctive smooth and glossy finish so common on Chinese timber buildings. Beijing April 1, 2010
PS. In case you're confused, the photos have nothing to do with the text. I was just throwing up some pictures I liked for the fun of it.
Comments