Qing Tombs

This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to join a trip to the Qing Tombs near Baoding. Kim made friends last year with four young children and their two mothers. This year, Kim, the children, their mothers, Emily, and I were driven by a man in a little van to the Qing Tombs. While there, we made several stops. Maybe about six stops in total.

The buildings were ancient and alluring. We saw replicas of the ancient garments worn by the emperors during the Qing Dynasty. Underground, we were able to see the tombs of one of the emperors and his wife. The wife's tomb had more damage. We learned that a long time ago tomb raiders broke her coffin and stole the treasure inside. The emperor's tomb was left untouched because there was no treasure inside. Instead, there is a secret well under his coffin that holds the treasure and it is still there to this day.

My favorite stop during this trip was the last one: a visit to the Buddhist temples. The statues of Buddha are gargantuas and perfectly painted. We knelt down in front of the first one while a monk watched. Two Chinese Buddhist monks then came over to talk to us. They were interested in where we were from and why we were living in China. As someone who is not slightly religous, this was a moving day for even me. The monks welcomed us to the China and said we would always be welcomed to return to visit or find a job. They gave each of us an apple that had been sitting in front the Buddha statue and told us they were blessed with good luck. I held onto mine for the rest of the day and ate it for breakfast on Monday. China Surprises keep occuring when I do not expect them!