Fuzi Miao, Zhengshen Lake

Fuzi Miao is Nanjing's premier Confucian temple. Big, old, and stunning, its majesty is well complimented by the county fair that surrounds it (including a children's archery course right outside the entrance for 10 yuan). Of course, beyond this fair is a beautiful and pleasant pedestrian commercial area (in fact, the first pedestrian commercial area I've been to yet in China). It cost us a total of around two dollars for cab rides to and from the Fuzi Miao area on a Saturday night, so it is a great candidate for multiple returns.

One of the first things an American notices during an extended stay in China is that you will eventually encounter many Chinese people who want their picture taken with you (especially if you are tall and/or blond). Apparently the spectacle of a "Lao Wai," or "Old Foreginer," is just that entertaining. When I originally declined the first request I got for a photo (back at the Dai Temple), the man looked absolutely heartbroken, so I relented. This past weekend at Fuzi Miao, a friend of mine turned the tables and requested random Chinese people pose for a photo with him. Awkward hilarity ensued, as not a single person agreed unhesitantly. America: 1, China: 0.

Yesterday, all of us program participants and our roommates whent out to Zhengshen Lake ("Pearl Springs Lake") for barbecue and bamboo rafting. After learning we would only be supplied with wood and a firepit (no charcoal of any kind), we quickly discovered that the vast majority of Amerian and Chinese students had no idea how to construct a sustainable fire. Luckily, there are three Philmont alums in our program, and we successfully saved the day.

Pictured below: 1) Part of the Fuzi Miao commercial center 2) the Fuzi Miao temple illuminated at night 3) a mistranslated sign I prefer to read as "Take care--off the kids," and 4) me steering a bamboo raft at Zhengshen Lake.