This August we welcomed members from the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism, who visited the Pear Orchard Temple. The group had just attended a conference in Lijiang and were eager to see the new developments in Shaxi, especially to understand how the Pear Orchard’s role in sustainable travel promotion would affect local tourism. They were … [Read more…]
The Pear Orchard Temple in Shaxi pays homage to a range of dieties from China’s religious traditions. There is a shrine to the Taoist Jade Emperor, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin, the Sakyamuni Buddha in meditation and Cai Shen (财神), the folk god of wealth. These icons are represented in a mix of forms … [Read more…]
After almost a year of construction work, the lower courtyards of the temple have re-opened to local people, who immediately resumed their games of Mahjong. The upper shrine will resume renovations in April, when Mr. Yang returns to work after a bad fall while working on a new house nearby. The work to be done … [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…]
We are in the final stages of restoration, refinishing wood and replacing mud wall rendering with our special sauce that replicates the original plasters. We have also taken out ad-hoc concrete and begun finishing work on doors, beams and windows.
Mr. Yang’s team is now working amazingly quickly to finish major restoration work by June 1. We then begin interior details to get ready for guests by the end of June. The interesting thing about this team is how they work with an intuitive understanding of the temple’s buildings, because they are built on the … [Read more…]
During my last visit in April to the work site, Mr. Yang, Mr. Wu and I decided to take the walls and floors of secondary buildings in the temple complex down to their original earth layer, removing all concrete and plaster. After we level and tamp the floors, we will be adding brick and stone. … [Read more…]
Reconstructing a centuries old folk temple requires a local expertise that few in China have. We are lucky to have a great team of local Bai builders who have years of experience building local rammed earth houses and gabled roofs, which serve as the fundamental vernacular styles of the Pear Orchard Temple. The team began … [Read more…]
In late March we received a delegation of Provincial and Country Tourism leaders to review our progress and learn about our upcoming projects in Shaxi Valley.