CHINA 2010 WEDNESDAY 18th AUGUST

This afternoon we took Polly, or rather Polly took us to the ‘Huihe Cultural Stone Park’ which we found on Saturday. As Polly bought the tickets she told us the staff had remember us! Having got our ticket, which came in the form similar to an airline ticket folder, containing a bookmark and an information leaflet found it was too large for my camera bag so asked Polly if she would put them in her big bag for us.
We were accompanied by a young guide dressed in a ‘Minority dress’ but I forgot to ask which tribe she belonged to. The tour began with a wall of carved pictures protected by glass screens. I asked how they were made and discovered everyone was carved so my theory about being sculptured was wrong. Even though there were so many depths to the picture it was all made out of one large piece of concrete and would take the artist approximately 8 months to complete. Moving on we entered a building with a large display of Gods and our attention was drawn to the ‘middle age spread’ of some of the women goddess’ considered very beautiful at one time. Not all the statues were new as ancient ones had been brought here from other parts of China. As everything looked fairly new I asked how long the site had been open – only last year which explains why it is not on the maps or in our guide book. In one hall the room was lined with red and gold Chinese cabinets. Our guide explained that a cabinet similar to these on display was given to the daughter by the family on her wedding day. We could see from the standard of workmanship the level of wealth of the families. However these cabinets held a secret and on opening the top doors a stone picture was revealed hanging on the inside of the cabinet. Each cabinet held a pornographic view which we were forbidden to photograph. There was a lot of giggling going on in this room! I said to Keith that it was like a ‘Hamburg Peep Show!’ In other rooms we viewed natural pieces of rock – large ones depicting the mountains whilst smaller pieces were of animals such as a horse if you had a vivid imagination! A snake was easy to identify as was the turtle. Other stones had facial features which again were easy to see. Set on large wooden blocks were pieces of crystal rock, cream on the underside and orange/brown on top but curved so as to look like large ribbed pieces of meat ready to be butchered.
As with most tourist attractions one eventually ends up in the shop but this one was very nice and where we watched a young girl working on a grey glass picture of ‘Sunlight Rock’ with a full moon. Using a large heavy metal rod with a very fine point she tapped away at the surface creating a dark sky, the picture being formed of different shades of grey. This picture would take her about 20 days to complete. We looked at all the works of art on display but resisted the temptation to buy. I loved a portrait of an old man with a long beard and his hair blowing everywhere - he even had a mole on his wrinkled face. Keith on the other hand liked the coloured picture of a panda looking at a leaf with a cricket on it – the colour being added after the picture was created. With shelves of carved rock and marble and cases of jade jewellery it was so nice not to see cheap souvenirs. We had asked Polly which pieces she liked but said she could not afford to buy anything! Looking at the jade ornaments I learnt she was not a jewellery person either and was afraid to wear a jade bangle in case she broke it.
Outside the shop in the open air was a long stage area with a backdrop of a trickling waterfall. Small stools with coloured marble tops were arranged in lines beyond the jewellery stand and in the shade of the building. As a tour group began to occupy the seats our guide said we should sit and watch a show. Keith preferred to stand so he could film the event whilst Polly and I thought we had found good seats only to discover and large square column obscured our view so moved. All three of us eventually stood up at the back. The show was short and was a dance routine by several girls dressed in similar costumes to our guide but wearing large golden brown straw hats with a red and green design around the top. At times the dancers went into pairs and walked to the front of the stage leaning against each other from the shoulders as though they were drunk, but I am sure that is not what the interpretation was supposed to be. We didn’t find out what the story was and never thought to ask but enjoyed it all the same.
Outside we walked around the gardens still with our guide who was chatting to Polly whilst Keith and I were taking photos of some of the statues. Mickey Mouse featured quite a lot and another humorous piece was of a fat golfer on his hands and knees looking down a hole. The area had been nicely landscaped with large pieces of sculpture amongst the greenery along with a large pool behind the buildings and seating on decking. We wondered how we got to it as there was no walkway across the water and we couldn’t see an obvious door in the building leading out to this area, not that we wanted to sit down.
We left the Park entrance and took a path at the side that lead around the back revealing more lovely gardens and another pond where a man was fishing. Polly spoke to him to ask if we could go inside the buildings but he said no. He had not caught a fish yet as he was visiting this pond for the first time and had only just arrived. He said he would wait until the fish came! I said to Polly if there is no fish in the pond he will have a long wait.
We went for another stroll across the road, after we had walked through the petrol station and climbed through a gap in the railings. Polly asked some people sitting on seats what was the name of the park – ‘Zhonglun Park’. Our map is once again a work of fiction as it shows the park being connected to the Biology Gardens with no sign of a major road or junction we had to cross to reach it. We didn’t take long to walk through it passing a small lake, lots of trees and plenty of seating where the local people were already congregating with their young children.
Returning home on the BRT we had a comfortable ride for the time of day and invited Polly to our home for a cup of tea. On route I called in at Andersens to purchase more custard tarts! We had talked about drinking tea earlier and so I offered her my ginger and lemon which she enjoyed and in exchange she gave me some of her ‘red tea’ that is only available in Taiwan and if I like it she will get her father to bring some for me on his next visit. She also sampled a flat peach, again something new to her, not to mention the custard tart!
All in all we had a very successful afternoon and made so much better at having a translator with us!