Just about every city in China has an “old town” with ancient buildings and historical artifacts. While a few of the old things may be genuine, many are actually “new/old” — new things built to look old. Our city has the “Guandu Old Town”:
One of the old things in Guandu is this stupa, originally built 50 years before Columbus discovered America:
There are multiple Buddhist temples – this one is almost 200 years old:
Like all “old towns,” this one has it’s share of souvenir shops and jade dealers,
a random Santa Claus,
and as usual, there is always a game of checkers to stand around and watch:
In the corner of one temple square, there were two crowds of people in close proximity trying to listen to separate singers:
Click here to watch the Competing Singers, or here to listen to Singers.
Unlike some of the old towns in America, the horses here pull utility carts, not tourists:
Although it is hard to separate the old from the new/old, Guandu old town is worth the visit for the price (free).
I like it! Travel-logue style here. It is interesting to think about the mix of old and new (and the challenge deciphering between the two). I suspect that the nature of many of the old templates – wood and bamboo — means they’ve been rebuilt many times over the centuries. Either from fires or from natural decay. But I guess it’s like a person, if you rebuild it cell by cell over many years, is it still the same person?