Michael Jackson and Scenic Temples

Hi Everyone!!

Again, we are so sorry it has taken us so long to update… but we've got some awesome information for you as well as some pretty amazing pictures. Our vacation time as been relaxing and productive to say the least. Let's start from the beginning...

One of the first nights of our vacation we actually had the opportunity to go to a bar and watch a Michael Jackson band stand off. There were four bands, two were Chinese and two were German bands, and they all played famous Michael Jackson songs all night long. I had two requirements for this evening. The first being that I wasn't going to leave until I saw someone dressed up like Michael Jackson. Check! Some guy was wearing an MJ mask from when he was super white with that tiny little noise… it was sooo creepy! It looked more like a Michael Myers mask than a Michael Jackson mask, haha! My other requirement was that they play a Jackson Five song called "One More Chance." I checked that requirement off the list twice because two bands played it. Needless to say I was a dancing fool… I showed everyone my "mom dance" in honor of my mom. It was a hit!!

The next day we actually decided to brave the purple mountain again. Guess who didn't get lost this time! We took the bus almost directly to the front gate of biggest attraction on the mountain: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum. It was pretty cool. We were there on China's national day when the Chinese celebrate the rise of communism so it was pretty busy but it was also kind of neat to be there on such an important day to the Chinese people. It was extremely rewarding to finally get to see this place and it was really beautiful. But there is still more to see on the purple mountain AND we bought 12 month passes so we will be back! Over by the Ming Tombs there is a place called Plum Blossom Tree Hill that is supposed to be beautiful, so that is next on the list.

We also ventured to another park called Jiuhua Hill Park. It has a small temple in it but it is mostly known for it's breathtaking views of the city. It is a five minute walk from the main campus where we live so I have a feeling we will be frequent visitors. At the top of the park they actually have a huge stone turtle and then statues for all of the zodiac signs. It was really beautiful.

We've had perfect weather for all of our sight-seeing and venturing out into the city. We are pretty lucky this time around. Okay that's all for now! I will add some pictures after this post from Shutterfly so you can check out these places. Hope everyone is doing well! We love and miss you all!