For our Saturday adventure today, Kelli, Kaylee, Maren and I decided to check out a gigantic pagoda in downtown Weihai. A pagoda is a tall, multi-sided traditional Chinese building, usually a shrine or temple. We hadn’t known Weihai even had one until a few weeks ago, when we happened to walk past it on our way to the bus stop. Weihai just keeps on getting more and more interesting as the weeks go on.
There were countless stairs leading to the pagoda, which were lined with bright flowers and pathways that led to hidden gardens. We veered off to a few of these gardens; some had colorfully-painted mini-pagodas and gazebos (breathtaking); one had an old garden building with vines crawling all over (perfect photo op). In one garden, two Chinese young men came up to us and chatted for a bit. They asked us if we spoke Chinese, and we responded with “very little,” which is true.
(I feel bad when people ask me this or expect me to speak Chinese, or when we’re trying to find our way around but can’t communicate with the locals. We are so relieved when we find someone who speaks even broken English—I feel bad because, obviously, I’m the foreigner in their country: I should try to speak Chinese, not them trying to speak English. I should have learned more Mandarin before coming to China; it’s the logical solution, plus the people would respect me so much more.)
They asked us for a picture, and we happily agreed; we took our own pictures with them. I love taking pictures with random Chinese people.
The pagoda itself was under construction and was closed to the public, so we traversed the pathway that led around the pagoda. There were crumbly stairs through a spindly forest that led to another gazebo—this one sat on an overlook of the city. Besides the distant sounds of city life, the world was quiet and serene; we felt as if we had stepped out of the city and into a Chinese wilderness, and it was beautiful. The hustle and bustle and noise of city life for so long having worn us out, we rested within the gazebo and simply enjoyed the solitude.
Since the pathway continued, we decided to follow it. It led to a TV tower or something of that sort, which sat at the peak of the “mountain” we were on. There was a view of the city from all sides through the spindly pine-tree like trees. We separated and found out own places sat on the steps of the TV tower or by the trees; for about a half hour we were allotted some much needed/rarely acquired “alone” time outside the school. I adore my friends here and my students, but it’s definitely nice to have some “me time” now and again.
We needed to get back to the city to do some shopping and get dinner, so we headed back down. The pagoda, even though we couldn’t enter it, was still stunningly gorgeous. I absolutely love traditional Chinese architecture/culture: I had no idea Weihai had such amazing traditional Chinese architecture and stuff to do! I’m so glad we decided to check it out. It was an awesome experience.
At Big World, I bought a Louis Vuitton duffle bag/backpack/roller bag for a carry-on bag, since my other suitcase broke in LAX. (Remember that fiasco? It was awful.) It’s awesome; LV is growing on me. When we first got here, I had never even heard of him and when I found out about him, I didn’t really like the style; now, I find it adorable. I have a “real” Louis Vuitton bag! Haha. Wo ai Zhongguo.
I also bought a chicken stick from my favorite Big World street vendor, who knows what I want before I ask. Her chicken sticks are the best I’ve tasted in China—they’re juicier and fresher, and slightly spicier. Yum, yum, yummest!
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