Trip of a Lifetime - Day 14

Today may have been one of the longest ones in a few days but it has been extremely interesting. I'm glad that I have taken so many photographs because it would be very difficult to describe all the territory that we cover each day. Totaled, I shot over 6,000 images on this trip but not to worry ... you don't have to see them all. However, try to imagine me trying to sort through them as I write this to make sure I have the right image in the right spot. It's a bit of a chore but I consider it to be a labor of love.

Our local guide for our trip to Jingdezhens name was Jerry

and he was the silliest person I've been around in a long time... including our Grandboys! He talked constantly and thought he was Jerry Lewis with the corny jokes that he told. He was trying so hard, though, that you couldn't help but like him and appreciate his efforts. All of our guides have been very knowledgeable and want you to get all the information that they can give you.

The bus ride to the porcelain factory in Jingdezhen took a little over two hours. The scenery was beautiful, so that made the time pass more quickly. The roads, even though they were major roads, were very rough and our bus didn't have very good shocks. It was an older vehicle since this was a small city and they get the used buses as I stated in a previous blog.

The countryside was beautiful and we were able to watch local farmer at work picking cotton, harvesting rice and sesame seeds and making their fields ready for the next crop. There were many cows and water buffalo in the rice paddies and on the farms. The rural life is exactly as I expected it to be. What a treat to be able to witness it first hand!

At the factory we watched the porcelain being made, fired and painted. I got some wonderful shots of the people working and couldn't wait to be able to see them on my computer once I get back home. Here's a little sample of what they were doing.

Jingdezhen, as the world-famed ceramic capital, used to be called Chang Nan town. Legend has it that "Chang Nan" was actually mispronounced and that was where the word of "China" came from. This town has a long history of the making of ceramics and a rich cultural heritage. From the Yuan to the Ming and Qing Dynasties emperors sent their officials to Jingdezhen to supervise the manufacture of royal porcelain. They set up the Porcelain Office and built the royal kiln, which produced many wonderful ceramic articles. Among them were the four classic decorations: blue and white, family rose, rice- pattern and color glaze. The porcelain made there enjoys the praise of being as white as jade, as thin as paper, as sounding as a bell and as bright as a mirror.

I took a little break in a lovely grove of bamboo before we headed back to the bus. As I sat there I was able to look at this wonderful and cool looking scenery. They were a welcomed sight as it is very warm today. We went to a very nice hotel for another Chinese style lunch, then on to a marketplace in town. There were lots of street vendors as well as stores where you could buy porcelain and souvenirs. We finally got back on the bus for the long ride home. I had no idea that my bladder could last as long as it did on that bumpy road without a pit stop!

Later in the evening they showed us a preview of the trip video that the photographer has taken of our adventures thus far. It was wonderful and covers the trip very well. I'm so glad that I ordered one. We also had some music before the video was shown. Look at this little girl's shoes! They must have made her at least 6 inches taller.

Our dinner tonight was delicious and very special. It is lobster night and they did a super job preparing it. It was our reward for the long bus ride ;-)

After dinner I picked up the clothes that I had ordered and the little tailor and his workers were still working away to meet all of their deadlines. Here is one of the jackets that I had made. You'll be seeing a lot of it. It has been a long day (bus trip days always are) so we were in bed early. In the words of Karen Carpenter, "We've Only Just Begun", so keep tuned. Only a week or so to go!

Pcasso