SONG MOUNTAIN Henan Province, China I could entitle this: 'My Love Affair with a Mountain'. never in my life have I felt such a deep affinity with a part of this earth as do for this beautiful Songmountain
This photo most captures the magic of the mountain
Walking up this path I felt I could go deeper and deeper until I disappeared.
SAN HUANG ZHAI MONASTERY
Panky taking a photo of me taking a photo of her
So steep, so awesome
GATEWAY TO THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE
THE WALK! This begins the 7kl walk along the path cut into the mountain. We are waiting for the cable car service to open to take us to the top of the first mountain. This is all within the Shaolin Temple complex.
One of my most favourite photos! Tommi, Rende and Ibo in the grounds of the Shaolin Temple eating breakfast while we waited for the cable car to open so we could do that 7 kilometer walk along a path cut into the side of the mountain
Tommy and Ibo in the cable car.
This cable car apparently has one of the longest spans in the world. Built by an Austrian company which made me feel a little more secure!
Now we are up at the top and walking!
Walking the 7 kilometers! So beautiful I hardly noticed the climb
Me Naomi and Yibo taking it easy on one of the flat parts. It went up pretty steeply from there on
Look closely to see the people on the path cut into the mountain. And yes, this time I did walk the whole rollercoaster 7 kilometers. Cant believe I did it!
Yep, that's where we came from! And this was not the steepest part by any means
The next few photos show the path we came on. Can you find it?!
Naomi on the sudpension bridge. My old camera really started to let me down and the photos of me in the same position that I commissioned Yibo to take didnt come out.
San Huang Zhai from the suspension bridge. We are approaching from the back this time
Stunning! What a construction feat!
This time I met the famed Master Shi Deijian. So much more of the monastery had been built since we were there 6 months before
Work in progress.
We were given lunch! Remember, EVERYTHING has to be carried up here from the bottom of the mountain
Ibo and Tommi with the totally beautiful old nun who has been here for 50 years in a tiny old temple. This construction only started 5 years ago. She said that maybe she wouldnt live for long but she will wait for me to come back one more time. I am planning to go back as soon as I can manage
Another of my favourite photos. Master Wu Nanfang and the old nun at the monastery
going down
the end is in sight!
BODHIDARMA'S CAVE The beginning of the walk up Wuru Peak in the Shaolin Temple complex to visit Bodhidharma's cave. It is just below the statue you can dimly see at the top
the climb up
The statue
Rende taking a photo of the view
The view that the statue stares at eternally
The first glimpse of Bodhidharma's cave
the rather strange statue inside. I was so lucky that it was open-- ususally it is closed
Bodhidharma's cave at the top of Wuru Peak inside the Shaolin Temple complex
back down at the bottom. Just loved this path!
PAGODA FOREST One of my artistic shots -- a commemorative plaque on one of the pagodas in the Pagoda Forest inside the Shaolin Temple complex
PERFORMANCE Absolutely the most stunning show I have ever seen in my life. Open air theatre in the foothills of the mountain (see next photo). The stage is is 1/2 a kilometer wide. The temple in the background is a real one not part of the stage set
The backdrop for the performance. Photo taken from the verhandah of the kungfu school. My favourite walk can be seen just below the tree line
MAGIC MEDITATION SPOT But this is the most important place -- my magic meditation spot. I came here every morning to meditate at sunrise (about 5.30 am) It is possible that this was the site of a temple that was washed awsy in a flash flood about a 1000 years ago. Could explain the energy I felt
This building, about 300 metres from my magic spot, is over a thousand years old and was the gateway to the missing temple. China is keen now to preserve its old buildings so this is now being lovingly restored and taken care of
Jack in front of the old gateway
Each day after the meditation I would walk up the foothills through the village farming area
The view on the left side as I am walking towards the mountain
ABANDONED VILLAGE And often visited the old deserted village at the foot of the mountain
Saw the old wheelbarrow and saw Naomi and the colours she was wearing -- and put them together to make one of my favourite photos
Naomi in modelling mode
Most of the villagers have been rehoused except for this ancient couple. It was so strange being inside their little complex. This is how people lived many years ago. history!
Rabbits!!
Visiting the old village with Master Wu Nanfang, Rende and Naomi
such a beautiful ruin. Evoked so much.
The old lady
The old man showed us his worktable
PEONY FETIVAL IN LOUYANG The Peony and the Fly! Zhao and rende took Panky and me to the famed Peony Festival in Louyang. Breathtakingly beautiful
Rende and Zhao sitting by the lake in the enormous peony park in Louyang
Panky and Zhao resting for a while. We walked for miles! The park is huge!
This rock needed Rende (See him on a short documentary made by Panky on www.vimeo.com/4900697)
AT THE KUNGFU SCHOOL Ibo and Rouyi at the school. The colours were set on fire by the rays of setting sun
Both just so cute!
Master Wu Nanfang with Bodhidharma on his shrine in the background
a close up
Namitsu in a harmony of blues and reds in front of the school
Namitsu and Rouyi at a kongfu tournament
Yaofeng! What can I say! Love the guy! He is so full of fun as well as being a top kungfu student. (See him on Panky's short documentary www.vimeo.com/4900697)
he had been helping the villagers in the fields on his day off
Again the setting sun makes this a special photo. Two of the younger kungfu students in front of the school
Hufei on the verandah of the school. Also one of the top students (See him on Panky's short documentary www.vimeo.com/4900697)
The Kungfu Boys resting in the shade at their training ground
Jack took me up another cable car in the Shaolin Temple compound. Incredible views.
OTHER SCENES The brick and tile making place next to the school. The composition of the scene caught my eye
Another of my favourite photos. Master Wu Nanfang near the Songyue Pagoda built in about 600 AD -- the oldest brick pagoda in China. Master Wu Nanfang was about to do some XinYiBa forms for Panky to film ( see the film on vimeo: www.vimeo.com/4900697)
The FaWeng temple where Indian Buddhism first came to China in about 74AD
AT HOME IN A CONCRETE VILLAGE A view of the concrete village where I lived. The kungfu school is in the foreground and I lived in a concrete house behind the big white buildings on the right. The wheat is ripening into a gold colour
My room was right under the small mobile phone transmitter! great for health!
But the setting is beautiful!!
Concrete covering China!
The street at the back of our house
Maiyen, the grand-daughter of our landlord. I photographed that smile a million times!
My landlord and wife and their eldest son with Maiyen in the scruffy courtyard of the house
Maiyen and her dad. She wanted to help him fix his motorbike!
Maiyen and her mum
At home socialising
My room. Note the blind!!
Naomi's little shrine. Beautiful!
LOCAL SCENES This is very interesting. Reycling at grass roots level. The locals save their cans and this guy comes round periodically and the local ladies bring their bags of cans to him and he melts them down and uses molds to make different kinds of utensils for them.
I passed this old lady and her little Peke dog whenever I walked to the Kungfu school
Heard interesting music one night and found a local celebration going on in the street. It was great fun and htese young musicians had so much energy!
Me watching the show
HUASHAN We spent 3 days visiting Huashan -- another of the five sacred mountains in China. This one is associated with Taoism and Lao Tzu. We went up in the cable car. Can you see it? But it was pouring with rain so once at the top I didnt climb very high nor take many photos
Walking towards the cable car
The start of the cable car ride. Excuse the dots of rain. Amazing I could even get this shot it was raining so hard
hundreds of waterfalls
Hard to take a good photo with so much cloud
I did NOTgo this far!! Tommi, Violet and Naomi are all young and athletic and made it round the peaks. These are naomi's and Tommi's photos
Violet going up
My all time favourite photo of Naomi (taken by Tommi). And yes, she does have a safety belt on for this part of the climb
the cable car is somewhere there
Taken from the bus window on the way home
XI'AN One of three buildings where the exhibitions of the terracotta army in Xi'an are housed. At least we could get out of the rain.
Another building
One of the soldiers. The details are astounding
it is dark inside so difficult to take comprehensive photos with small cameras
Eery.
These stautes are life size
one word: mindblowing!
Coming back home in the bus still in our rain gear
HUASHAN AGAIN the morning we were due to leave the sun came out! Naomi having some breakfast (it looked horrible) in a street market
A tofu merchant
These little Peke-like dogs are everywhere
A grain merchant
BEIJING Rende, Zhao and me in Tiananmon(sp?) Square in Beijing
One of those 'I-was-here' photos -- the first view inside the Forbidden City complex
The small hill on the otherside -- made from the soil excavated from the moat around the Forbidden City
Beijing is flat. The only time you can get up high is on this hill.
You can see the layout of the Forbidden City. The shing light is the new very modern National Theatre and Opera House
The previous photos were taken from here
the Temple of Heaven. Amazing place
OLYMPIC STADIUM I really wanted to see the Olympic stadium. Spectacular. Went inside too.
Inside
The buidling where the swimming and diving events were held. Loved the colours!
Diving.
These 'balls' reflect the colours and 'honey-comb' type roof of the aqua sports building. Sooo beautiful
STREET SCENES In one of the preserved and renovated old shopping streets in Beijing. A silk shop!
Statues of women working on various processes involved in making the silk cloth
the silk cloth wasnt that expensive. I longed to buymost of the shop!
The old uildings were all destroyed during the 'Cultural revolution'. Now they are being restored according to old photographs
They also show the photographs so you can see what has been recreated
A very happy Veena
