I arrived in China on January 27th and immediately headed from Hong Kong to the Mainland staying in Shenzhen for a week before flying north to Tianjin..

Three days later I arrived in Shandong Province, Weihai Prefect, Wendeng City.  Having nearly caught pneumonia, so I traveled back south to another friends house in Guangdong Province, Zhaoqing City.

Situated at the mouth of the Pearl River, this city was once called Canton.

Living as the common Chinese do, I have the opportunity to see things most tourist, especially foreigners never do. I climbed a mountain, at the top is a Buddhist Temple. Here you can see both the White and the Black Dragons. The White Dragon is embedded between the stairs ways, and the Black Dragon is at the head.

Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy!

I snapped this shot of the White Dragon at the top of the stairs. The faithful followers leave money at the mouth of the white dragon which symbolizes good.

Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy!

In the balance of all things, light verses dark, good verses evil; we have the Black Dragon at the head of the stairs. It is carved from black "Ink Stone."

In ancient times, this rock was crushed to make ink.

Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy!

Thank you for sharing these photos and also for the accompanying descriptions.

Thank you for your kind words. It has been a long time since I have posted here. I recall five years ago most of the members were from North America and Europe, so we had little if any views of Asia, much less Mainland China.

I have been very fortunate on my trip. I am not in a tour group. I am "Couch Surfing," that is; staying with friends I have met through China's version of MSN and Yahoo Messenger. The treatment by the Chinese is unbelievably kind and generous. I have been taken to places and seen things as if I were a traveling dignitary; car and driver provided by the cities I have stayed in, free entrance into exclusive areas of the parks, and so forth.

Once Chinese friend who is fluent in English told me that most Chinese children must take 12 years of English, and very few actually ever meet a Westerner in their lifetimes. So, I have been very fortunate and especially blessed by remaining isolated from other "Westerners," living as a typical Chinese in the poorer quarters, eating their traditional foods cooked in homes.

The main difference between Chinese and Americans, as near as I can tell, is the lack of lawyers. That could be a good thing.

Thank you again for taking the time to view and to read.

Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy!

I am overwhelmed by the lack of interest in your post. which I found to be of such interest. I wish I could gave been so privileged as to experience what you have shared with us.

Cool stuff Joe !!

www.bclaytonphoto.com

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Keep it coming Joe sir....
always nice to see you back...

enjoy your trip and show us your pictures

The only mark I've made in life,

is in my underwear;

Sounds like an extraordinary time for you, looking forward to seeing more of your trip.  : ) 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

So where do they go when a photograph leaves you speechless? 

 Wow Joe wonderful I hope to hear and see more of this lifetime trip! I have only ever got to Kam Tin in the borderlands of Hong Kong and looked over into China

Danny O'Byrne  http://www.digitalartzone.co.uk/

"All the technique in the world doesn't compensate for the inability to notice" Eliott Erwitt

nice photos, thanks for sharing them here!

I look forward to more of your adventure...fascinating.

Thanx all.

I found a job the other day as an English Teacher. `They teach me Chinese, give me a place to live, and pay me to talk for a few hours five days each week.

Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy!