Jiu Ni Shan and Ningyuan

A week after returning from Zhangjiajie, some of our teachers took us on a trip to see some local sights. We took the school's car with Mr Li the Driver, his young bratish son, Mr Li the Principal, Mr Lei an English teacher with aspirations and Susan, our foreign affairs officer.

First stop was a temple complex at Jiu Ni Shan. It was quite an impressive complex really, full of some great old buildings and monuments.

There were dragons everywhere, and I made sure I took plenty of photos.

Besides having a tour round the complex we were able to go up some of the towers and for a small fee, ring a huge bell and beat a massive drum, all a specific number of times, as each number has a specific meaning. As a reward for beating the drum and donating a few yuan, we were taken up another tower to drink some tea.

There is apparently a complete and strict etiquette for drinking tea - always discard the first brew, never drink a cup in less than three mouthfuls or something like that... I dunno. It's good stuff though. I've never been a fan of English tea, but the Chinese stuff is pretty good.

The best one was a tea that was extremely bitter. The best thing was, that after a cup of this tea, if you drink a cup of hot water it tastes amazingly sweet. It was a funny effect but we couldn't get enough.

It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.


























Nearby was a large cave. The place has a similar geology to Yangshuo and Zhangjiajie but less spectacular. Still, there are some shared features. The cave was pretty cool. The main opening was impressive, and while the inside could not compare with Yellow Dragon Cave, it was in some way better because it is completely un-touristy and under-exploited. As our guide took us through she switched on strings of lights to light our way ahead and turned off the lights behind as she went, so there was only illumination in our immediate section. It was as if we were among the first people ever to explore this site.

That was kinda nice.




















After the cave came lunch and then another trip out to a different town, Ningyuan. I had no idea where we were going and had fallen asleep in the car (thanks to lunchtime beer) so when I woke up I thought I was in Lanshan again. The streets of Ningyuan are exactly the same. This place is bigger though. The ulterior motive for our trip was exposed here. Principal Li was attending a meeting at a middle school in the town and while he met with the other principals, we went to see another famous temple in the town.

I'm not so sure of the name, but this place is the second largest Confucian temple in China.
Considering that the largest is in Confucius' birthplace, that's quite good going. It's very old and incredible ornate. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, we couldn't find out too much about it as there was no English information and no guide. All I know is that it was important and has some amazing architecture and decoration.

That was impressive enough.