Deanna's Mom visited us in October. Although she got here after Mid-Autumn Day, we still had some mooncakes left, and we shared them with her. Mooncakes are meant to be eaten while you think of your loved ones far away, but this time we ate them with a loved one who had come from far away to be with us.

Persimmons are in season in the fall here in Luoyang. A neighbor came to meet Mom, and brought some as a gift. She picked these two especially for us - one shaped like a flower and one shaped like a bunny.

The first place we took Mom was the Luoyang Museum. They have an extensive collection of artifacts that were found here in Luoyang. There are many labels in English, so we knew what we were looking at, and what time period it came from. It was interesting to read labels that said things like "found at the #26 Middle School" or "found at the railway station". Here, Mom takes a rest while Deanna does alittle more reading.

This horse and camel are examples of the famous three color glazed pottery. This technique was developed in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), and many pieces of it have been found in and around Luoyang.

Mom's cousin, Ruth, traveled with her to China, and stayed with us for a few days before returning to the United States. We got the two cousins to pose together in front of the museum before we left. Although it is a modern building, it retains traditional Chinese architectural styling.

The next four pictures were taken at the White Horse Temple, on the east side of Luoyang. When the Buddhist scriptures were first brought to China in the first century AD, the emperor built this temple so the monks would have a place to live and translate the writings into Chinese. Therefore, White Horse Temple is heralded as the first Buddhist temple in China.

This is a statue of the white horse that carried the manuscripts back from India to China. He is the namesake of the White Horse Temple.

At the very back of the temple is the Cooling Rostrum. This was the summer resort and reading room of the emperor before the buildings were refitted and expanded for the use of the monks. Mom and Deanna are posing in front of an arch under stairs that lead up into this area.

Lee took this picture of Mom and Deanna from high atop one of the halls to the side of the Cooling Rostrum. As you can see, he had to climb alot of stairs to get there. Mom and Deanna opted to enjoy the sights from ground level.

We also took Mom and her cousin, Ruth, to Longmen Grotto. This time, we found out what Longmen means.The translation is "Dragon Gate" and refers to the entrance to the imperial city when Luoyang was capital of China.

A visit to Longmen Grotto involves going up and down alot of steps to see into all the caves and niches. Once we had seen the main cave, we opted for a boat ride back to the parking lot. An added advantage of the boat ride was getting to see the cliffs from a whole different perspective.

Copyright 2004, Dr. Lee Williams

Last Modified: 21 November 2004

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