Luodai and the Fake Great Wall

Kirk stayed home to play tennis, but I went with Don and Crystal (from Church) and a bunch of her co-workers to the nearby town of Luodai.  And, yes, I had to sing the CCR song "Stuck in Lodi Again".  It's a real tourist trap of a town, and it was the weekend so there were so many people, but we had some fun.  The ancient town streets are filled with interesting shops and unusual sights.

There was a noodle restaurant which had a huge coiled noodle in one pan and boiling water in the other.  I love the entertaining show!


Noodles

Every town has its poor.

 

 These little plastic containers each had a goldfish or a turtle inside!  Notice how they are hung at eye level for the little folks.

 There are many Chinese of the Hakka minority in Luodai.  There is a museum in town preserving some of their history.  We went inside to have a look.

I always take photos of guns for my sons to see!  How could you control that length?

 This is quite the bridal suite!

The entrepreneurs have come up with a transportation like none other!  Sit on the front and they'll give you a ride around town.  Check out the rugs, flowers, parasols, and even the chicken hood ornament!  Not exactly like the former rickshaws.

These bamboo sections are filled with a sticky rice filling on a stick.  After cooking, they remove it from the bamboo, roll it in something sweet(ish) and you eat it as you walk along.  It tasted pretty good.

 This crazy outfit is made from the fronds of some tree.  There is always some interesting thing to draw your attention to a shop.

I'm pretty sure these are Hakka women.  They have a unique look about them.  I love the different attitudes and expressions.



Creepy Toys






The Fake Wall is some distance away from the old town, so we hired a van.  There were 10 of us.  One van was plenty of space!


Chinese Car Pool

Anyone want to try to translate this?  Hmmm......

 Apparently, this "Fake Great Wall of China" was built for those who want the Great Wall experience, but not the expense of going to Beijing.  In my opinion, steps are steps, and it doesn't matter where they are--they're challenging!!  And it was hot today, so I was really wilting.  But my fun honeycomb hat helped keep the sun off, and it was cool because of all the holes.  Plus, the wind couldn't blow it away, and it collapses into a small, vase shape.  Cute!!

 The views were quite stunning, and it was a gorgeous, sunny day.  What did we find at the top of the mountain?  A temple, of course!

This fountain was so grimy.  I'm always surprised that in China, they have people who clean the guardrails on the freeway (seriously!), but their art work is covered with greasy dirt.  There was lots of money thrown onto the statue and into the water around it.

 The grounds in front of the temple were littered with trash, the "peelings" from the incense and candles.  The incense smoke was thick and irritating, as so many people were here.  The cluttered look did not bring a very reverent atmosphere to the temple.


A wooden many-armed Buddha.

Ribbons for Good Luck wishes.

Off in the mist (pollution) is Chengdu.  It was nice to spend the day up here where the air is clear!