Not Much Time for Goodbyes

(October 2nd) I had come to the end of my trip to Phoenix City. I spent a total of two days and two half days here and had a great time. I was to have a long bus ride ahead of me, complete with a breakdown in rural China. But first I had one last morning in town. Most of it was occupied with buying souvenirs for family and friends and as usual bargaining for our transportation back - it didn't leave much time for taking pictures. I pressed the shutter about 25 times total. Considering I take at least two shots of everything and I have an itchy trigger finger, it wasn't much at all. We had some delicious noodles for breakfast and I started out with my favoirte food composition from the trip.

We did make a stop at one last museum. It was quite crowded in the museums today. Many Chinese touriests travel in big groups. They have a guide with a big flag and megaphone and the whole group wears the same hat or shirt. When a group or two come into one of these small buildings, it is immediately full. This building was filled with some amazing artwork on its inner walls. The kids didn't seem to notice though.

Inside the rooms, there were large collections of artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and calligraphy. I got a kick out of some of the stone figures.

In a brief moment between tour groups I was able to fire off a shot in the courtyards. Here there was a cart that is used by couples when they marry. I guess it is the ancient China equivalent of the wedding limousine. It was a sad farewell to my short stay in Phoenix City, but Fenghuang will always stand out in my mind as a beautiful mix of old and new China.