Facts and Figures.

That’s what I had thought this weekend would be all about, facts and figures, instead we were honored to be treated like family; maybe even royalty.  We spent this past weekend in Guangzhou visiting our good friends Kan and Joanne Lam.  Many of you have had the pleasure of meeting them and most of you will never forget them. We were introduced to her brother and his family as well and there is no doubt that they came from the same mold.  He works for the government where he is responsible for the city planning and he showed us some of the upcoming projects, they are doing a lot of restoration of the old town and making it into a great “new town”. 

After a wonderful “Dim Sum” breakfast (A Chinese tradition), we headed downtown to see the Foshan Zumiao temple.  It was built during the Northern Song Dynasty (1078-1085) and later rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1372).  It was built to honor the great “North God”.

 It is best known as the “Palace of the oriental Folk Art” and Palace of Lingnan Architecture.  To us “normal folk” it was wonderfully adorned with porcelain characters depicting important stories of life during the Ming Dynasty.  The area is known for it’s porcelain figures, its silk weaving and it’s food.  We can attest to the beautiful porcelain and the fantastic food.  The temple also houses the largest “original style” stage which is still active today.  It is beautifully decorated in gold leaf and carved wooden figures.  It also houses a museum in honor of “Wing Chun” the original and “Real” Kung Fu master.  He is the world’s most famous martial arts expert, and is known throughout the country.  And then there is one last temple, the Confucius temple.  It was built in the Qing Dynasty (1901) to honor the famous educator.

After another great meal, we walked along what looked like a reincarnation of the canals of Venice.  This area of town was restored in time for the 2010 Asian Games which were held at the Riverfront stadium in which China took home the top honors.

As evening fell we boarded a tour boat to cruise the riverfront of the downtown district.  The evening was perfect, a temperature in the mid 80s and a nice evening breeze.  The riverfront is adorned with magnificent new high rise buildings each with an evening personality of their own.  Each building has a unique active lightshow which makes the city come alive each evening.   After another excellent meal, it was time for a trip to the top of the TV tower, a mere 433meters about the river.  It afforded excellent views of the city and we enjoyed the aerial light show. 

As is typical for working here, I spent the next morning (Sunday) on a conference call making a presentation.  As one of my colleagues reminded me, you are always to be available for work even when on vacation.  It is not unusual to have to work on the weekend and well into the evening at least one day during the week.  This I must say is very difficult for someone who has already retired!!  Fortunately the presentation went well and by lunch time we were ready for another great meal.  After all, the place is know for its food and we had to try as much as possible. 

After lunch we went to the “botanical gardens”  It was the most amazing collection of bonsai trees of all shapes and sizes.  Most of the trees were over a hundred years old, and beautiful miniature examples of many varieties of trees.  We even came to discover that different regions have different styles of bonsai trees.  We seemed to prefer the “Canton style” but all are beautiful in their own right.  We really enjoyed our time in Guangzhou especially our friends, after all, isn’t that what really make great memories? 

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