1 May 99
Spent the night on the 520 train from Xiangfan to Louyang. The train wasn’t as empty as I was led to believe; perhaps the extra passengers were holiday makers taking advantage of the Labor Day holidays. Reluctantly, I had to upgrade from standing room to soft sleeper for RMB 80.
Arrived in Louyang by 05:30 and checked into a nearby hotel. Debated over whether I should crash out or join a day tour. Age caught up and did not relent. However, staff barged in twice while I was sleeping and eventually I got up at 11:00 and went to Wangcheng Park.
Getting to the park was cheap and easy on public transport; it only cost RMB 0.50 on route 103. My timing was slightly off though, as the Peony Festival had just ended a few days ago. Could have taken in Henan Museum on the way back, but I plain forgot about it.
Got up bright up and early at 07:15 the next day for Longmen Grottoes. Route 81public transport only took 45 minutes getting there. Ticketing staff will try to pull a small scam by charging an extra RMB 10 for a pathetic dragon exhibition. Best missed. Tickets for the grottoes now cost a big RMB 45.
The promotional material claims that Longmen Grottoes are one of China’s 3 great Buddhist grotto art treasures. By my reckoning there should be 4: Dunhuang Mogao; Datong Yungang and Maijishan. Anyway, it continues: Construction of the Longmen Grottoes commenced in the Northern Wei dynasty A.D. 493. The caves comprise more than 100,000 Atone Buddhist statues; 2,300 carved stone niches; 70 Buddhist pagodas and nearly 3,000 pieces of inscriptions engraved on stone walls or Atone tablets.
The much anticipated visit to Shaolin monastery was a disappointment. No meditating monks, no kung fu fighting; just tourists. On the way back we were given a cursory look at White Horse Temple. A quick “I was there” snapshot and we were back in town.
A 2 1/2 hour bus ride took me to Zhengzhou. Had lunch and then set out for Huanghe ( Yellow River ) Touring Area. Route 16 in front of the Datong Bin Guan cost RMB 4 and took approximately one hour getting there.
The Shang city ruins in downtown are exactly as the name implies: a ruin. Erqi Tower was closed for renovations while I was there and Asia Plaza had gone bankrupt. According to a newspaper article I had read, Zhengzhou used to have a thriving futures market and city officials were gung ho to build large projects to show off the city. Over-rapid expansion and mismanagement led to the projects’ eventual demise. Witness Asia Plaza.
One of the more memorable lodging experiences I had was in Kaifeng: the guesthouse was located above a VD clinic. The reason for staying there was that it was close to the train station, and cheap.
The first sight that I took in was Tieta ( Iron Tower ). The structure dates back to 1049 in the Sung dynasty; and derives its’ name from the patina of the brick. On the way back to the guesthouse, I stopped off at Longting Park. The park also harks back to the Sung dynasty and 2 pieces of rock unearthed recently are thought to be remains of the Sung palace.
Got muscle cramps from hauling myself up the Iron Tower the day before; so I had to hobble around Xianggousi. The temple was first built in the year 555, and had served as a royal temple for successive ruling dynasties. The existing building is actually a remake from the Qing period; as the temple had fallen into disrepair over the centuries.
Next stop was Baogung Temple. According to history, Baogung ( Justice Bao ) was born in the year 999; so it is exactly 1,000 years since his birth this year. Baogung is known for his uncompromising and fair delivery of justice, and is portrayed as having a black complexion in opera. The black complexion symbolizes his iron will and unyielding character.
He is also remembered as one of the few “clean“ officials in a period when corruption was rampant. While he was posted in Duanzhou, ( today’s Zhaoqing, Guangdong ) locals tried to curry his favor by making gifts of ink wells. Justice Bao was incensed by this blatant bribery, and publicly cast all the gifts into the local river.