Lord Bao's Park in Hefei

May 4, 2007 Friday

In the morning we just did some chores around the apartment. I was being overconfident and putting the duvet cover out to dry on the bamboo pole. I pulled the pole over toward me, so that I could push the cover further out on it. I inadvertently pulled it out of the ring and down it went. I did manage to grab the cover before it went too. My pole is now resting on the rack of the 3^rd floor apartment. I got Chuck to come and hold the end of the pole and tried again. Success. My duvet cover is now hanging neatly outside the window.

After lunch we went to Lord Bao’s Monument and the park.

The park is really large and an oasis of green and quiet in a noisy city.

Inside the building was an incense burning place

Note the smoke. It was so thick, I was choking.

This sign was right next to it.

There was another wax museum telling the story of Lord Bao’s accomplishments and pretty paths and places to sit and watch the water and relax.

We moved on to explore the rest of the park. There was a temporary fun fair. The best “ride” was the water balloons.

You crawl inside a large deflated balloon.

Then they inflate the balloon.

You stand up inside:

Step off the edge and promptly fall down:

Everyone rolls around trying to get to their feet. When your turn is up, they reel you in. The guy running the ride offered me a turn for only 5¥, but I told him I was too old.

The other activities included a large bouncy castle thing, shooting a target with a crossbow, throwing darts at balloons – the normal kinds of things.

We moved on to the pagoda temple.

When we paid our admission, we didn’t realize that there was going to be a performance. There were lion dancers:

A fashion show:

The girls came back several times. They started out wearing ancient costumes, and then there were modern designer takes on the theme.

There was a fire eater, and this guy who is shoving a nail up his nose. As an encore he sucked up a glass of milk through his nose.

Then there was a sword swallower and someone who walked on hot metal plates. The guy who changes masks in an instant was not as good as the one that we saw previously in Hefei. A fashion show happened between each act.

We found seats on the steps and I shared with an older couple. When we moved up to see better, suddenly little stools appeared and they shoved me on one and insisted that I stay. I had a really good view. We supposed that the show would take about ½ hour, but 1 ½ hours later, they were still going strong. Chuck and I finally left, but we had had a really good time. (2 flights at the temple)

(4 flights)We ate dinner at home. I added bok choy to the ribs with mushrooms, and combined 2 shrimp dishes

Only 6 flights total today.