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Published: September 22nd 2006
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Palace entry
The antique market is outside the palace--in the first courtyard Antique Market and Dinner with Friends
Last weekend I met my friends at McDonalds (they eat breakfast there regularly) and we went to the Chinese Antique Market, held on some palace grounds. I was told repeatedly which palace, and I saw it in Chinese on a large stone marker and on a billboard, but it didn’t stick.) Since it was before payday, I decided to browse only. Also, what should I be buying? Whatever I get I need to ship home. In the end, the only thing I bought was three old coins so I can throw the I Ching. (The book of destinies.)
The goods were fascinating. Lots of jade in all shapes, colors and sizes. Lots of ceramics. Lots of Buddhas. Lots of coins. Lots of other stuff, too. I was most interested in the coins because the metals are different. You’ll see pictures here of the ‘landscape rocks’. We saw rice bowls with water and rocks. Nanjing is famous for these rocks. They were interesting. There are stores along the edges of the open area. There we saw bigger items. Besides the statues, the pipes were interesting. As we looked, Wu would give us interesting facts.
Having followed Mao Tse Tung’s story, I was interested to see his statue displayed among the Buddhas. Just another one! He’ll probably slide into China’s past, like Stalin in the Soviet Union. There was at least one booth with books, posters, comic books, buttons, etc. from the 1960’s and 70’s. Those were the ones I remembered from my last trip here in 1978.
The market is held in the first open courtyard of the Palace. Some other day I’ll go back and explore the palace.
Later in the weekend, Linell was invited to have dinner with a graduate student and his family. They invited me to come along. The grandmother and wife made a lot of dumplings/pot stickers. They boiled them for us, but they can be fried as well. We had pork, pork and chives, vegetable, and pork and vegetables. They were fantastic. Absolutely delicious.
While we waited to eat, the little girl entertained us with some of the thing she learned at school. She’s delightful. The family reflects a cultural change from rural to urban academic. The grandmother is very rural (her husband still lives in the village) the father is an intellectual (as you
can see from all the journals and books) the daughter is growing up in the city. The wife still works in the village and commutes twice a month. When they move to their own apartment, she will move here and get a job here.
Last Sunday I attended St. Paul’s Church. I think it’s basically Anglican. From 10:30 there is practice for the service in English. At 11:00 the English service is held. We were not in the original old building, but a new building and a new, modern room with open windows and fans. The congregation is primarily Chinese. The first service of the day is in Chinese, then this one in English. It was a familiar service, familiar hymns and a good sermon by the woman I had met in Atlanta at the touring Chinese Bible Exhibit. Afterwards I met some people at the coffee hour and went to lunch with them. I am glad to make more friends.
Below are some pictures of my neighborhood--Ninhao Road.
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Go Braves!
non-member comment
Sounds great
Friends, food, and fun. Sounds like things are going great. Glad you're getting time to enjoy yourself! Praise Buddha!