ShengJin Pagoda

Fu Pai wishing cards.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

We were really late getting up and leaving the apartment today. I don't know if it is the heat, or the very hard beds (which I'm sure have mattresses constructed of concrete blocks)......both of which are usual in China......but sleep is not very restful at the moment.

It's strange, you would think we would be used to heat and humidity by now - we were in both Hong Kong and Singapore, but somehow it just seems hotter and more humid here in Nanchang! I am sure we will soon adjust again!

Peanuts for lunch!

We headed to The Shengjin Pagoda, but before paying our 15 Yuan-a-head and entering its grounds, we stopped for lunch at the impressive Zaowangye Chinese restaurant located on the corner of the street behind the pagoda. There we ordered dishes of lotus root, Peking Duck, cucumber and peanuts, and mushroom and tofu.

Grandfather and grandchild.

The pedestrianised-street leading from the restaurant to the pagoda is delightful. Chinese-life unfolds before you under the sway of brilliant red-and-gold lanterns hung above. Grandfathers are out walking with their grandchild, old men drink tea, and street vendors sleep away the weariness of the noon-day heat at their stalls.

Exploring pretty Shengjinlu.

Resting in the noon-day heat.

The Shengjin Pagoda was erected between 904 and 907AD in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in 1713 in the Qing Dynasty. The pagoda is fifty-nine meters tall, and is a wooden-and-brick structure, the tallest among the ancient structures in Nanchang. Though it is more than 1000 years old, it has been perfectly reserved and has seven floors with eight angles. Each floor has sharp angle eaves and eight doors. Inside the pagoda, there is a rotary stair going to the top'.

Shengjin Pagoda.

Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province . It has 1,11 million citizens and an area of 70 square kilometers. One of the ancient cultural cities in China, Nanchang was built as early as 201 B.C, and became a famous metropolis in the Tang and Song (618-1279) dynasties. Its geographical location made Nanchang a strategic importance. It was the birthplace of the Chinese People's Liberation Army

Life in Shengjinlu.

Whiling-away the summer days with cards and mahjong.

Sleeping!