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Our afternoon begins with a short drive into the countryside between Huangshan and Tunxi City.  We turn into a parking lot and wait while Mr. and Mrs. Wang talk to a few people.  Then we drive down into a ravine where it appears some type of vine like grapes has been grown.  Our car drives past some small booths where water and snack items are being sold. After some brief comments with the men at the entry gate, we are admitted to the site. We drive past an archery range, a horseback riding area, and approach a tall white structure supporting a suspension bridge across the river.  Mrs. Wang and Cristine escort me up the towering staircase and cross the suspension bridge that bounces slightly under our footsteps.  The bridge leads us to a pretty park area where soft music drifts from disguised speakers along the path.  Towering bushes with large gardenia like flowers emit a soft fragrance in the air.  We turn up a long staircase to approach Grotto 35, the largest of these mysterious manmade caves. Unlike caves that I have toured previously, these grottos were created by humans using crude hand tools.  Entering Grotto 35, it first appears similar to commercial cave tours with colored electric lights but visitors are allowed to wander freely among the grotto.  There are clear, cold pools of still water with heavy sediment on the bottom.  At first I ponder the merits of this tourist sight, but as I wander the vast winding rooms I being to understand the mystery.  The rooms hewn from the solid rock appear to be masterfully crafted with signs of the worker’s labor still apparent in the deep chisel marks.  Close inspection reveals holes carved in the ceiling where torches once lit the area for the workers.  Soot can be seen on several ceilings.  As I move deeper into this grotto I am amazed that they were not only able to carve out these large areas, but marvel at the very thought of dragging these stones out of the grotto.  No one can determine where these stones were taken and little is known how they were moved.  I am told that the grottos are close to the river and it is suspected that boats were used to ferry the stones to their final destination.  Over 200,000 cubic meters of rock were removed from these 36 grottos.  Suddenly my mind recalls the cave in the Swiss Family Robinson novel by Johann Wyss.  Were these caves once used by ancient people to store their food or shelter them during the heat of the summer? It does make one wonder how these grottos stood so long without discovery.  Couldn’t carbon dating be done to discover if any of the stone from here were used in the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace?

Dinner is being hosted by Mr. Wang’s sisters and brother-in-law.  It is an honor to be invited to a Chinese family home and so I am pleased with the opportunity.  I am terrible with people’s names when I do not write them down so forgive me for failing to recall everyone’s names.  We are welcomed into the home by his brother in-law’s mother.  She was a petite woman with a big smile and a kind manner. His brother-in-law prepared tea for us. Small oranges and nuts were set out before us as we relaxed in the living room on a traditional wooden chair similar to a sofa.  We could hear preparations beginning for the dinner.  Mr. Wang disappeared into the kitchen while Mrs. Wang and Cristine chatted about Chinese home life. Our dinner was relaxing around a traditional Chinese round table.  There were a wealth of dishes including several vegetable dishes, fish, rice, soup, freshwater shrimp, and the barbeque meat dish I had become so fond of in the recent days.  I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and soon was filled to satisfaction.  Just as we were leaving the kindly old woman appeared from the kitchen with yet one more dish to complete the feast.  I fulfilled her wish to try the soup and enjoyed the warmth as it filled my tummy with total satisfaction.  If I were to write down my satiety level at this time it would register gently full.  Not stuffed but probably more than I should have enjoyed at one meal. It was back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.   
 


Comments

ann

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:47:28

Linda - this is great. I really like your site.

 



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Dr. Linda S. Ralston's Blog (aka Utah Tour Doctor)