Thanks to a colleague, a group of us rented a bus to Foshan. It is not too far away from Guangzhou. There is an antique dragon kiln, pottery museum, and pottery stores.
Nicole and I started the day buying a ticket to see the kiln. Outside the gate has pottery accents.
In this area there were 100 dragon kilns which are long mounds of earth. The area used to look like this model. The long cylindrical pieces are the dragon kilns that point down the hill. The tiny pieces are homes.
Inside you can climb the stairs to see the view of Shiwan town as it was known. This ancient town has many dragon kilns and made it the pottery center in south china. The stairs are flanked on each side by dragon kilns. They are under cover here on the right.
A picture in front of the God of fire.
At the top of the hill looking down at the artisans shops. We never made it out of here to the rest of the town as there was so much to see. The details on the roof lines are gorgeous.
This is the dragon kiln. This ancient Nanfeng kiln was built during the Ming Dynasty in the early 1500’s. The fire inside has continually burned since then and is the oldest surviving and used kiln. The kilns mouth faces South and gets the south wind (nanfeng in Chinese). It is 34.4 meters long and has 29 lines of fire holes.
As we wandered through the old town every corridor and turn had beautiful elements.
There is a tree that is growing on cement. This is soil-less rhizome growth.
At one spot we took a selfie. What is really funny is a group of Chinese women who wanted their pictures taken with us too. This actually happens every once in awhile as we are the token foreigners in most places.
There were many water features throughout.
This is a waterfall flowing over a wall of pottery pieces.
It was a great day looking at the pottery work of so many artisans.
The details through the area was fascinating.
I loved this row of bamboo trees growing against the house.
This is called the Manger waterfall.
Throughout were interesting feature walls.
We found a great restaurant that is some of the best food I’ve had yet. There is no English menu but with the help of a translation app we managed. Waiters are always nervous with foreigners as ordering can be contentious but we are easy going. We ordered potatoes on a clothesline. It is potato noodles served cold with a spicy tasty tomato sauce poured over top. There were cherry tomatoes in an orange infused sauce.
We also ordered cauliflower in the lightest tastiest sauce. Lastly, was the shrimp in a sweet yet spicy sauce that was delicious. Even the rice was flavorful.
We were happy to find this restaurant. It was the statues out front that caught our attention!
More pictures from wandering around. On this site there is also a temple.
We had tea with the gentleman who owns this shop after making a purchase. He did not know any English and we communicated with our broken Chinese.
This sign was funny. There are many weird signs throughout China. This would actually be truth in advertising!
In the end, I bought a few pottery pieces including a Buddha head.
The small pieces are water whistles. When filled to the correct amount with water they actually make bird calls.
This tour was on Saturday which is my son Ryan’s birthday. The fun part is I talked to him on the phone while I was writing this post on Sunday morning. Not only was it still his birthday in the states but was now mother’s day here in China!
I found a great bakery for lunch. I did try to find better food, but I was very hungry. This is different than Guangzhou. Very few English menus and not many speak English. I know enough Chinese phrases but then do not know what they say back to me. However, I can get my point across and with the help of a translator app, it is okay.
The museum honors the master teacher who had apprenticed several dozen craftsmen over the years as well as pottery through Chinese history.Beautiful pieces are found throughout the area.
The dragon is not painted, it is embossed clay.
Much of the old pottery was found where dragon kilns were excavated. Shards and complete pieces of pottery would be found near them. This is a mock up of what one looks like.
Pottery was also buried with people in grave pits. This was found from the Zhou tomb of the Jing Dynasty. It was used to celebrate bumper harvests of fruit and grain. It is called a soul bottle when used as a funeral object.
Each Dynasty had access to different clays, tools, and established new techniques.Ming Dynasty.
Qing Dynasty oil pot and mould for making impression designs.
Suri and Tang Dynasty
Han Dynasty
Late Neolithic age.
Warring States period.
They have a beautiful rose garden near the front but it is too early for that. There are more cherry blossoms here. It is a huge park and many people come here to eat lunch from work. Lots of kids playing, etc.
What will look like a rise garden soon.
There are even magicians to capture kids attention.
Cherry blossoms. Last one!
My last idea was to go to Shinjuku Station and search fur Golden Gai. It is an old neighborhood but many places were not open. It has a thriving night scene (bars and restaurants). I was a bit early so not much was open.
Instead I went to an Onsen. It really is great for the joints. I think my skin and hair has never been better. I am sure it is the water and will miss this part of Japan among others. I loved seeing all the dogd so well cared for, out for walks, in strollers, wearing outfits… They love their dogs here.
