Ciqikou

 Here Pat and Steve are posing for a picture down in front of the river.  Below are some sayings writing on a door to a bar.

Ciqikou (Chinese: 磁器口; pinyin: Cíqìkǒu; literally "Porcelain Port") is an ancient town in the Shapingba District of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China, originally called Longyinzhen (simplified Chinese: 龙隐镇; traditional Chinese: 龍隱鎮; pinyin: Lóngyǐnzhèn) was also known as Little Chongqing. According to an old Chinese proverb: "One flagstone road, and one thousand years' Ciqikou". The name of the town can be traced back to porcelain production during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing Dynasties. Formerly a busy port located at the lower reaches of the Jialing River, a thousand years after its foundation the town remains a symbol and microcosm of old Chongqing (Jiang Zhou).

Jinyun Mountian

 We spent an entire Saturday visiting this mountain.  Unfortunately it was very foggy and we did not have the best views, nor did we go into the Hot springs.

Jinyun Mountain is located along the bank of Wenling Gorge, Jialing River. It is about 60 kilometers away from urban Chongqing. Jinyun Mountain, mini Three Gorges of Jialing River and Fishing Castle in Hechuan are all listed as national natural scenic area.
 
Jinyun Mountain scenic area covers several scenic spots such as the mountain itself, Northern Hot Spring, Fishing Castle in Hechuan and natural Jialing River Scenery along Beibei and Fishing castle. It is known as mini Mount Emei for Clouds Sea, dense forest, agreeable weather and quiet environment. It is a ideal place to watch the sunrise and cloudy sky. You could enjoy the shade in summer and have a spectacular view of changing fog. Evergreen broadleaved trees meet your eyes almost in every corner of the mountain.

Jinyun Mountain is one of national nature reserves. The weather is agreeable with abundant rainfall. The forest covers an area of more than 1,300 hectares. Jinyun Mountain boasts for it high percentage of vegetation. More than 1,900 subtropical plants could be found here, 24 of which belong to rare plant protected by the nation. Metasequoia glyptostroboides,larix mas tersiana and sinensis are even more rare in the world. The mountain is hence called a "world's botanical garden.” There are high ancient trees and green bamboo in the mountain. Temples, towers, pavilions and historic sites in different dynasties are scattered around, adding more time-honored flavor to the environment.

From north to south are the Zhaori Peak, the Censer Peak, the Lion Peak, the Juyun Peak, and the Yuanxiao Peak, the Lotus Peak, the Pagoda Peak, the Yujian Peak and the Xizhao Peak. Among them, Yujian Peak claims the highest altitude, 1,050 meters above sea level. The Lion Peak is most steep and imposing. The splendid view of sunrise and Cloud Sea at Lion Peak is almost as magnificent as that inMt.Tai. Rest of peaks has its own features.

Jinyun Mountain is also famous as Buddhist sacred land in Northern Sichuan area with a history of more than 1,500 years. Jinyun Temple was originally built in 423, and renamed as Xiangsi Temple, Chongsheng Temple and Chongjiao Temple afterwards. Emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to its existence. There is private school (Jinyun School) run by the Temple.24 scrolls of Buddhism doctrines cited by Emperor Taizong of Song have been left in the Temple. The relief sculpture” Pig turning into dragon" on the Stone screen wall outside the temple was made in the Six Dynasty. Stone sculpture of Heavenly King unearthed is said to be made in Liang or Beizhou Dynasty.

Time to call the repair man or not!

I really didn't want to call the repair man, but for several days I could here water running in the pipes.  I could hear and so could everyone else that it was coming from the vent that is above the chandelier in the cut out in the ceiling.  So, here are the repair men trying to fix my problem.  Obviously, I can not communicate it to them that it is not coming from the vent they are looking at, but I would have also thought they could have heard it themselves.  Thanks to google translator, they translated to me "that I have a rolling stone stuck in the air conditioner".  I really wanted to laugh but just said okay.  They were going to need to come back and would need three hours to fix it.  So, we agreed to a day and time.  In the meantime, Patty and I started on a repair mission of our own.  We went back into the laundry room to check the air conditioner.  When we opened the door to the room where it is stored, we discovered about 6 inches of water!  Did they not check and see this?  Anyways, we noticed a drain in the back corner.  So, I put on some of Casey's old shoes and took a look for myself.  I could see the hole and told Casey's mom to pass me a broom. I took the broom, turned it over and stuck the handle down the hole.  Obviously, there was something stuck!  After a few pokes, I felt whatever it was move and away went the water and the sound of a "rolling stone" stuck in my air conditioner.  When they arrived to fix it again, we so kindly told them the problem went away and we were all set.  

Security at its finest!

I wanted to take Casey's parent to see where Casey worked.  So one morning we had Jacky take us over for a visit.  The factory is the white building in the background.  This is the temporary security gate they have in place while they are still building the new one.  Please take note that those are bricks attached to the end of the pole and what they use to open and close the gate.   Talk about manual labor!

When in China, you must try the food and beer!

Here we are at Hotpot!  Patty is trying to master those chopsticks!  At this restaurant we are drinking "1958" which is a locally brewed beer here in China.  

Here we are at Harbin's, enjoying some Harbin's (A different chinese beer) before we indulge in some dumplings!

American food!

Pat and Steve not only brought themselves, but they came fully loaded with treats for me, I mean all of us.  Fruit snacks, jelly bellies and toys for Ellen.   Granola bars, rice-a-roni, black beans and oatmeal for me.  Oh I think Casey got some beef jerky.  Ellen and I also enjoyed that too!  

Welcome to China Pat and Steve!

We were all pretty excited to see grandma and grandpa, but there was one little girl that was beyond excited!  Grandma and grandpa arrived on Monday January 28th.  They had already been to California and Florida before they arrived to see us.  So needless to say we spent the first day relaxing and letting them get adjusted to the time change!