Wuhou Temple

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We went to Wuhou Temple today, and as it's spring festival, there was a temple fair on, which meant lots of stalls, lanterns, performers, etc. Being Saturday, it was crammed full of people, but we managed to find a few peaceful spots. And it was really lovely, because spring seems to be arriving (hence spring festival), and the flowers were blossoming (well, only slightly, as Mark negatively points out). We went to the Wuhou Shrine, the Tower of the Laurel and the Lotus, next to which we discovered a nice little Bonsai tree park (there was a lotta lotta bonsai!), which was very pretty.

The one thing that dampened the mood was that, as part of the temple fair, there was a cage with tigers and lions in, performing tricks, which made us both really angry. There isn't that much that I really dislike about China, but the way animals are treated here is really horrible. In Xi'an, everybody seemed to keep birds in these small cages, and we saw baby rabbits being sold in cages you wouldn't even put a hamster in back home! I don't care about 'different cultures therefore different morals', etc, cruel is just cruel, no matter what country you're in!

But other than that, it's been a good day, and the fog seems to have lifted a little. This evening, as we're sick of cheap hostel and Chinese food, we're off to find a Mexican restaurant! Hope they do good nachos!

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Comments

[Arran]

Beautiful Sights
I am glad to read that you are having good experiences. The spring festival sounds like a great tim, i am sad to read of the cruel animal conditions however it will do no good to proest and get yourself in trouble. Hope th goodtims continu.