Wudan Day 2
Day 11 12/31 I forgot to mention earlier that SS was kept in the hospital in Wuhan. He is too sick to go to Wudan. It is unfortunate because he is the senior Tai Chi person. The second day in Wudan I manage to be sick again. The night before I danced too much or something at Sifu’s party (not really) but anyway I am sick and get sicker. In the morning we are still unable to get to the summit of Wudan mountain because of ice but this is OK because of the amazing day yesterday. Instead we go to a temple near the bottom of the mountain. It has a reading god or priest statue at the top who I think is doing the I Ching. It is very pleasant as we have time to look around. There are gardens which are growing lettuce even in winter and old wooden architecture. And of course there’s the scenery. A small cat began yowling at us from the bushes. It seemed to want our company but wouldn’t come to us. N thought maybe it was in labor. There is a sacrificial altar with a giant bell that people kept ringing even though they had nothing to offer!
Lower Wudan temple
Later we went to a huge burned down palace or temple which only has some small buildings remaining but is still impressive for its size and age. Well it was 1500 years old I believe so maybe not so old by Chinese standards but very worn. I like the mystery and character of the destroyed buildings. Basically it is a giant park or square. At the back is a small Taoist temple built into the back wall. In these temples people are going about there business as usual- doing repairs and laundry, etc... I think this is a large part of the charm. In the afternoon we have free time to wander around the town but I am too sick so I stay on the bus. Turns out I have allergies. We were basically homeless as we had checked out of the hotel so they stuck us in the restaurant. Everyone was tired of the awful cold hotel with no heat and terrible bathrooms. It is a tax training center and I guess is used usually in the summer. Aside from this Wudan is very interesting and the mountain was the best part of the trip. We go to the train station and have another sleeper train ride. It is New Year’s so some people are partying. I just wanted to sleep. After midnight I yelled at some drunk people and they laughed at me.
Burned down palace or
temple in Wudan City and apartments behind hotel