Mogan Mountain

This weekend we went to a summer resort area that is about 45 minutes south of us.  In the early 1900's many Europeans who were living in Hangzhou built summer houses in the Mogan Mountain area.  After the communists took over in the 1940's they had to leave the country and their homes were taken over by government officials and the communist party.  Today the area is still a popular place for tourists and some wealthy Chinese who go there during the hot summer months.  It has been listed as one of the 'Four Best Summer Resorts' in China. 

 Old homes from the early 1900's

 Candles burning outside the Buddhist Temple

 Inside the temple.  It was very small and I don't think that it was used much.

 The English on their signs is always hilarious

 Refrigeration in China

 The endearing legend of Mogan Mountain is another attraction. It is said that in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) a couple named Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, who were expert sword makers, were asked by the king to make their best sword in three months. For the work they chose a spiritual place in the mountain. But they had problems during the process, so Mo Ye, the wife, cut her hair and nails and threw them into the furnace. Finally, they cast two swords and named them Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. The husband dedicated Sword Mo Ye to the king. The king killed him to prevent another sword to be made that would beat Sword Mo Ye. After hearing the tragic news, the wife jumped with Sword Gan Jiang into the pond that had been used to temper the swords. To commemorate the couple, the mountain was named Mogan and the pond Sword Pond.

 Kenz and Sabrina

 Bamboo was everywhere!

 This guy is filling tins with tea

 Lunch

 Overlook of the mountains.  It had a glass floor.

These guys carry people up and down the mountain.

Wild raspberries growing along the paths.

It was a beautiful day and mountains were much cooler than in the city.  The mountains were incredibly steep but the kids did really well and we had a great time.

China mountains.  A little pollution?  haze?  fog?  who knows, the locals say it is pollution, I don't know but I always wish for a clear day, I can only imagine how beautiful it is when it is clear. 

 

Bikes and Tug of War

We have been traveling and traveling and traveling.  But we are back now and have settled back into normal life.  A few weeks after we returned to China we ate at Pizza Hut one Saturday afternoon.  A guy approached us and using the translator on his phone asked us if he could take pictures of the girls for his company who did modeling for kids clothing manufacturers.  We were a little leery, but pursued it to see if it was legitimate.  It was and so Kenz and Kaylie have done some modeling off and on for the last few months.  Huzhou is famous for making kids clothes.  Most of the countries children clothes are made here.  Anyway, finally a couple weeks ago the girls saved up enough money to buy themselves some new bikes.  The weather has been great for the last week so we have been doing a LOT of riding! 

The girls got to babysit one of the translators tiny dog's for the weekend, they LOVED it! I'm just glad the puppy survived their 'taking care of' it.

Some pictures of the girls modeling

Last night we went to Kyle's work to have supper with him, the company serves three meals a day in the cafeteria.  After super they were having a tug of war contest between some of the different divisions.  There were seven different teams.  Kyle's team came in second.  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, I just had his so the pictures aren't great, but it was a lot of fun!

 Madi making new friends

 The girls with Sabrina, who is one of the translators

 Sany.  The manufacturing building is a 1/2 mile long

 Cafeteria

 Dorms, there is another set of dorms a few miles away

Tug of war!  Unfortunately by the time Kyle's team was up it was dark and really hard to get any decent pictures.

Here is a short video of one of the teams. They are all chanting Jy-Yo! Jy-Yo! Jy-Yo! (this is spelled like it sounds) and it means come on! come on! come on!  It was SO loud!  :)  Shirley (a translator) told me that is what they all yell at all sporting events.