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Lhasa, Tibet - 5th October 2015
By: goomymia
The bus in Lhasa looks exactly the same as in Beijing, except they use both Chinese and Tibatan to give the information of next stop.
We were just going to explore a little bit of the old town, surprisely found that the Exquisite Exhibition of the Second China Thangka was hold in a historic yard!!! 
Fancy the lovely tea house which is located in an old temple, have a cup of sweet buttered tea and enjoy your fresh day. 
| Quote: | A thangka, variously spelt as tangka, thanka or tanka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thankas are relatively small, comparable in size to a Western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. Most thankas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. They often have elaborate compositions including many very small figures. A central "deity" is often surrounded by other identified figures in a symmetrical composition. Narrative scenes are less common, but do appear.
Thangka serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is The Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra), which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment). The term may sometimes be used of works in other media than painting, including reliefs in metal and woodblock prints. Today printed reproductions at poster size of painted thangka are commonly used for devotional as well as decorative purposes. Many thangka were produced in sets, though they have often subsequently become separated.
Thangka perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing "themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities" Thangkas hang on or beside altars, and may be hung in the bedrooms or offices of monks and other devotees. |
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 Posted Oct 27, 2015, 7:56 am
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Olympic Park, Beijing, China - 24th October 2015
By: goomymia
We went to the Olympic Park today! I didn't feel very good at the beginning because the weather was gloomy 
BUT WE HAD A TOPNOTCH DINNER!!! I become a big fan of Hong Kong food immediately..
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Posted Oct 25, 2015, 3:07 am Last edited Oct 25, 2015, 3:44 am by goomymia
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Yuyuan Pond, Beijing, China - 29th October 2015
By: goomymia
We found that the moon was really bright and clear last night, so we planned a tiny small walking trip along the river in this afternoon, ummm actually during the lunch break.
Look how blue the sky was!!! 
Passing through the gate of Mia's work place, we saw the Military Museum, went on to the cross roads on the west, the not that tall architecture is the old CCTV building, most people might know the new one which is located in CBD, also well-known for its pants-shape appearence. Followed by the Chinese Century Altar, a photo exhibition was held inside. Oh that was Vivisn Maier...
We finally arrived to the river bank, the river itself looks bluer because of the sky. Mia said the metal bridge reminded her of Tyne Bridge, do you think they look similar?
The under the bridge picture was under the 3rd ring road of Beijing
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Posted Oct 29, 2015, 7:18 am
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Wanshou lu, Beijing, China - 22nd November 2015
By: goomymia
It's snowing!!!
Yesterday was just raining, and this is not technically the first snow, last snow was in the morning a couple of days ago.
I wound say it was a pretty heavy snow but they melted away in a second when touched the ground... 
The point is Mia ordered PIZZA!
Because our host is trying to be a vegetarian again, yes she failed for a few times before and now she is trying to do it again, to be a semi-vegetarian.
We can't wait to see what pizza is it!!!
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Ummmm, Garden Special with Big Catch!!! Yum!!!
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Posted Nov 22, 2015, 3:39 am Last edited Nov 22, 2015, 3:40 am by goomymia
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Bada Chu, Beijing, China - 10th March 2016
By: goomymia
Today I visited Badachu Park. I saw a fab statue when I was walking through the red wooden gate. He is the god of longevity.
You see the tower in the photo? That is a Relic Stupa, which holds Buddha's relic. I guess it must be a very holy building, although I don't know much about Buddha. Ummmm..it seems that the photo I took is not clear. Don't worry I will definitely come closer to have a look at the tower. Oh yes when we passed through the long bridge, I noticed there were so many brown spots up there on the trees, then I relized they were all monkeys! You know this year is the Monkey Year...a very popular Chinese Zodiac between all 12 animals.
Here we got many ice-sugar gourds, a kind of snack made of fruits like hawthorns, sometimes even strawberries.
Bada Chu it's a buddhist site so we can find many beautiful sculptures about Buddha here. More than that, there is a wall with full of exquisite relief on it, it's a kind of sculpture. The relief is actually much more beautiful than they look in the photo we took, and they tell Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety which is a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan dynasty. Did you see the buffalos behind us? I seems to have seen them wagging their tails!
Finally It's hiking time!!! 
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Posted Mar 10, 2016, 3:11 am
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