Leaning Pagoda of Dali
May 18, 2009
There was a local festival today at 三月街 (San Yue Jie or March Street) so we went to take a look since it's on the way to the Three Pagodas. It's just 15 mins (200m) away from our hostel so we went there by foot.
Countless traditional small and large scale festivals have been held here over the last 1,000 years.
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It's a day where the Bai people put their goods and items on sale
Shortly after we left this street, we saw a procession moving towards the street with tall banners and firecrackers. We missed the highlight of the festival, shit!
Where did these rabbits come from?.jpg)
If u'r in Dali, be sure to visit this place bcos the view on top is totally breath-taking. Really awesome. If u'r a devout Buddhist, u definitely can't miss it bcos Chongsheng Temple is the Center of Buddhism (佛都) in China. We got in at student price 62 yuan. Even if it's the full price 121 yuan, it's still worth it! Serious!
We eavesdropped again and heard the tour groups were taking the yellow route on the buggy ride all the way to the Hall of Mahavira (大雄宝殿). 太好了!
This was our first glance of the three pagodas near the entrance. The goal was to take a group photo here without asking anyone for help. The challenge was to dash through rocks, boulders and at the same time avoid stepping into water to the designated spot in 10 seconds.
We're good!
Nice
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Look! Uh?
Leaning pagoda of Dali
There used to be a door here and a ladder inside allowing people to climb up the pagoda but it was broken so they sealed the door I guess.
Nice.jpg)
Look! Uh?
Leaning pagoda of Dali
There used to be a door here and a ladder inside allowing people to climb up the pagoda but it was broken so they sealed the door I guess..jpg)
The three pagodas stand in an isoceles triangle. The central pagoda (千寻塔) is square shaped, hollow and has 16 stories. The sibling pagodas are octagonal and solid with 10 stories. The left pagoda leans to one side due to inadequate foundation. There is a Buddha statue on every storey of all three pagodas.
聚影池 (Reflection Pond)
You have no idea how difficult it was to take a picture here. There were lots of tourists vying to take a photo at this spot.
People were laughing at us but we didn't care
We prayed hard at the Hall of Guanyin and I was really surprised when he dropped 2 yuan into the box.
Monk and nun, no flirting outside Hall of Guanyin oh...
The Hall of Mahavira was grand and huge.
Why should we be told how we should pray? As long one is sincere, I believe Buddha will know!
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九龙浴佛池 (Pond of Nine Dragons Bathing the Buddha)
The dragons were supposed to shoot water on the statue's head but there wasn't any water at all.
This is the last and highest point. Not many people came up here. We saw less than 10? Most people took the buggy ride and missed out on this. Some gave up climbing halfway.
Lunch was at Good Panda Restaurant. Good food, good service, price is reasonable too. The boss in pink long-sleeves and pants is very patient and kind to explain to us when we don't understand. I usually take a long time to choose cos I've no idea what's what based on the name of the dish. He would bring the live specimen to show us which greatly sped up our decision-making process!
You have no idea how difficult it was to take a picture here. There were lots of tourists vying to take a photo at this spot.
People were laughing at us but we didn't care
We prayed hard at the Hall of Guanyin and I was really surprised when he dropped 2 yuan into the box.
Monk and nun, no flirting outside Hall of Guanyin oh...
The Hall of Mahavira was grand and huge.
Why should we be told how we should pray? As long one is sincere, I believe Buddha will know!.jpg)
九龙浴佛池 (Pond of Nine Dragons Bathing the Buddha)The dragons were supposed to shoot water on the statue's head but there wasn't any water at all.
This is the last and highest point. Not many people came up here. We saw less than 10? Most people took the buggy ride and missed out on this. Some gave up climbing halfway.
See the central pagoda? It's glowing! I especially like the view of the mountains and Erhai Lake in the foreground. Simply pure untouched nature. Villages, farms, mountains, lakes and vast greenery all spread out before your eyes. This is the best view I saw throughout my whole trip. It's really beauuutiful and the feeling is so peaceful no words can fully describe how it feels like to be up here. You have to experience it for yourself!
AWESOME~
Two lions guarding
Prayer wheels
Magnificent
Two lions guarding
Prayer wheels
Magnificent
We just have to try another grilled cheese again! The auntie saw we were taking photos and she kindly offered to let me sit at her stall and take a photo! That's really smart of her bcos I help advertise her stall on the world wide web! I forgot where's the exact location of her stall though lol.
Bagus!
That's her!
We thought of buying some home but we have no idea how it's supposed to be prepared :(
This was recommended in a guide book. There are at least three outlets in town.
Cold noodles with shredded chicken and chilli
This is hilarious. Doesn't he look like some missionary spreading Catholism with the words (God is love) behind? He's hugging the bowl of cold noodles he just bought by the way. Damn funny.
That's her!
We thought of buying some home but we have no idea how it's supposed to be prepared :(
This was recommended in a guide book. There are at least three outlets in town.
Cold noodles with shredded chicken and chilli
This is a hidden treasure in Dali Old Town-a Catholic church in Bai architecture! It never crossed my mind Catholism actually exists here! This church was built in 1927 and it's by far the most exotic church I've ever seen. I didn't dare to take too many pics inside bcos I felt it was kinda rude and somehow I have the feeling I'm being watched inside *shivers.
This is the ceiling inside the church. I saw an old picture with the title "Heaven & Hell" (in Chinese of cos) pasted on the wall and it was rather intriguing how they depicted what Heaven and Hell looked like. I don't remember much about the picture anymore cos I didn't study it for very long. There were stacks of red colour books in a corner and I was thinking "What? Their bibles are in red? Is it bcos of Mao? Looks evil..." so I went over and flipped open a book. It wasn't their bible. It was their song book with musical notes and lyrics in Chinese. The next question that came to my mind was "Is this church still in use?"
This is the ceiling inside the church. I saw an old picture with the title "Heaven & Hell" (in Chinese of cos) pasted on the wall and it was rather intriguing how they depicted what Heaven and Hell looked like. I don't remember much about the picture anymore cos I didn't study it for very long. There were stacks of red colour books in a corner and I was thinking "What? Their bibles are in red? Is it bcos of Mao? Looks evil..." so I went over and flipped open a book. It wasn't their bible. It was their song book with musical notes and lyrics in Chinese. The next question that came to my mind was "Is this church still in use?"
This is hilarious. Doesn't he look like some missionary spreading Catholism with the words (God is love) behind? He's hugging the bowl of cold noodles he just bought by the way. Damn funny.
Lunch was at Good Panda Restaurant. Good food, good service, price is reasonable too. The boss in pink long-sleeves and pants is very patient and kind to explain to us when we don't understand. I usually take a long time to choose cos I've no idea what's what based on the name of the dish. He would bring the live specimen to show us which greatly sped up our decision-making process!
Dish at the bottom is Matsutake mushroom (松茸) a kind of wild fungi (野菌). Taste pretty good!
砂锅鱼 (Claypot fish)
Had such a difficult time eating this cos there were too many fine bones :S
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Dinner was at Cafe de Jack, also featured on the map provided by Jade Emu. Nice ambience, food was ok.
Candlelight dinner?
My black pepper beef with fries and salad
His sandwich with goat cheese
Apple pie was sickening cos the apple chunks were too big :S All his to finish again but heng he likes it!
Guess who won again? ;)
砂锅鱼 (Claypot fish)
Had such a difficult time eating this cos there were too many fine bones :S.jpg)
Dinner was at Cafe de Jack, also featured on the map provided by Jade Emu. Nice ambience, food was ok.
Candlelight dinner?
My black pepper beef with fries and salad
His sandwich with goat cheese
Apple pie was sickening cos the apple chunks were too big :S All his to finish again but heng he likes it! 
Guess who won again? ;)
2 comments
好慈祥的[天主是爱]！
ReplyDeletehahahaha. rs look like he going to 飘走 liao.
i dont understand the grilled cheese. cheese nia? no bread no nothing?
yep it's just cheese with a little bit of red bean filling inside
ReplyDelete