Shaxi temple restoration project nears completion This month, I’m so pleased to write that after nearly two and a half years, all structural work on the Sheltered Mercy Nunnery (Pear Orchard Temple) is complete. All that remains are the details of decorative painting. Some big improvements that we made in the past month were a functioning water … [Read more…]
In October, we stopped work due to heavy rains, as we still needed to replace the top most roof for the Jade Emperor shrine. In the meantime, we put in the new flooring and pavers in all other buildings and courtyards and replaced all broken window frames. We still have work to do on restoring … [Read more…]
The Pear Orchard Temple has undergone many repairs in its 300 year history, and most of them have been made by the people in Diantou Village, who look after the temple. Unfortunately, funding for repairs relies on small donations from the families of Diantou, so over the years there has been an emphasis on cost-saving … [Read more…]
Now that we have submitted out proposal to the Heritage Bureau, we needed to take the officials on a tour to explain where we want to make changes, and there are a lot. We’re upgrading electric, adding windows, skylights and removing cheaply constructed recent additions and adding a public toilet. The response from Jianchuan Heritage … [Read more…]
[wpvideo X6CbwIoy] In late November, I spent a day with Mr. Yang, a Shaxi architect and master woodworker to discuss how to best integrate existing structural elements of the Pear Orchard Temple into future usage. The goal is to allow increased visitor traffic with minimal impact to the environment. As we plan to have a … [Read more…]
In this photo is Mayor Zhang on the left facing me, with a village leader and other township officials in the doorway of the main hall. Note the notices posted everywhere and the skerret (a popular local tuber) drying on the terrace. When I first visited the temple, this area was occupied by old men … [Read more…]