A Mosque and Islamic Arts in Kuala Lumpur

Today was a longer than expected travel day. Such is life when a bus breaks down and you have to wait for another to show up. Fortune also has it that the hotel in my new location has chosen this week to upgrade their Internet. But at least there are some nearby cafes with wifi.

So, another light post...

This past weekend I stopped by the National Mosque of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

However, I could  not visit inside due to restrictions.

Fortunately, the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia was nearby. The fusion of artistic styles seen in the section of Islamic art from China particularly caught my attention.

More later on Malaysia's rich mixture of cultures. For now, I will return to my Internet-less room. It will be like the old days.

A Quanzhou Church and Police on Christmas Eve

On the evening of December 24, I was walking down a street in Quanzhou, Fujian province, and noticed a church. Given the Christmas Eve celebrations, it was rather active, and like many other passersby I decided to take a closer look.

A view from the upper balcony

Although the evening service wouldn't start for another 90 minutes, people were already taking seats. Several people told me it was safe to say the church would soon fill to capacity. Fortunately, plenty of staff was around to assist everyone.

Back of the shirt worn by some of the church staff

I observed some preparations for the service and saw several people dressed up for the occasion.

One of the rooms underneath the main prayer area

I didn't attend the service, so I have nothing to say about it. But at least I can share a photo of the church's exterior.

A benefit of a wide-angle lens

Some readers might now be wondering about the police who just happen to be captured in the photo. I counted more than 30, and I suspect there were others. I first observed them when three entered the church to take photographs. When I caught one of them trying to photograph me from the side (ah, peripheral vision) I decided it was a sign to leave even though I did not expect there would be any problems.

The large number of people attending this open church service and the large police presence reminds me of a statement I made last year in a post about Easter in China:

The issue of religion is an example of how China can be open and free in some ways and yet so controlled and censored in other ways.

I will leave it at that since I'd only be rehashing the earlier post.

Anyways, it was a striking scene to me. People attending church, people stopping by just to look and have a photograph of themselves taken, and police keeping an eye on all of it. Just another Christmas Eve in China...

Chinese Temples on the Macau Peninsula

Although the Portuguese influence is unmistakable, much traditional Chinese culture can still be found in Macau. To capture just a sliver of it, I will share some photos from three of the more well-known temples on the Macau Peninsula. Unlike many temples in mainland China, none of them charge an entrance fee (a topic for another day). The first four photos are from Kun Iam Temple, the next four are from A-Ma Temple, and the final two are from Lin Fung Temple. They include a variety of scenes, including monks offering their prayers as a woman (not visible) burns paper replicas of various items, such as a car, so they can be sent to her parents in the afterlife.

Kumbum Monastery in Qinghai, China

Despite Tibet now being closed to foreigners, there remain other Tibetan regions in China that remain open such as Amdo -- now assimilated into the Chinese province of Qinghai. One clear sign of Tibetan culture can be found not far from Xining, the capital of Qinghai. In the town of Huangzhong, the Kumbum Monastery (Tǎ'ěr Sì) serves as a major religious site for the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is an immense complex and somewhat reminded me of the famous Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (Sōngzànlín Sì), also belonging to the Gelugpa sect, in Zhongdian, Yunnan province.

Although rich with Tibetan culture and worth a visit if one is the area, the touristy nature of the monastery can provide a somewhat surreal feeling as local Tibetans are prostrating in prayer while affluent-looking Chinese tourists mill about with cameras. During my vist this past weekend, I was sometimes able to capture scenes like this:

But more often it was like this:

Of course, I was also one of those tourists. In some respects the mix of tourists and a holy site was reminiscent of many churches I have visited in Europe. And at times there seemed to be a certain charm in the mixture. For example, here is a Tibetan monk and several tourists spinning the prayer wheels:

However, it was not too difficult to get away from the many tour groups. During my wanderings higher up along a hill I found this path lined with prayer flags:

and prayer wheels:

I also came across some "off-limit" areas due to construction:

But in most cases they did not seem to care if I looked about and in one case a worker gave me a brief personal tour (not the first time I was provided a tour in construction area at a religious site).

Out of respect to limits on photography, it is not possible to share some of the more religious and beautiful scenes, particularly those inside the halls and temples. So I will share some some other scenes that help capture a small part of the spirit one can find at Kumbum Monastery.

Bailian Dong Park in Zhuhai, Guangdong

Today, I visited Bailian Dong Park in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. It can also go by the names Bailian Cave Park or White Lotus Cave Park. I see them all being used on English web sites. But in Chinese there is no confusion. It is simply 白莲洞公园 (in pinyin with tones: báilián dòng gōngyuán).

The park and the several temples on its grounds provided me a much needed change of pace. For the same purpose I will share a few photos here.

Park lake

Photo opportunity

Man displaying his nunchaku skills to the rest of his group

Roller skating

Stairway to the temples: the character 福 (fu) can be translated as "blessing"

Placing incense sticks

Looking at lotus flower shaped candles

Incense sticks burning

Guangzhou's Renwei Temple and Nearby Neighborhood

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to stop by Guangzhou's Renwei Temple (仁威祖庙). The Taoist temple has a history of over 900 years, but like many temples in China it has been rebuilt on several occasions. I also walked through the nearby neighborhood. While the homes there would be considered "old" by many in China they certainly don't have the same depth of history as the temple. Like many similar neighborhoods in Guangzhou a number of its buildings are marked for demolition, and it may not exist in its current form for much longer.

Below are some photos of what I saw. To capture a feeling of both the neighborhood's and the temple's history I thought it would be interesting to try something new and alternate the photos being presented in sepia tones and in full color.