Monday I headed back down to Fuzimiao to finish looking at some of the sights.....completely forgetting it was a public holiday and of course everyone was out and about!! Never mind I got my fill of more Chinese history and culture which I will share with you.
First stop was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum. Don't know about you but I definitely didn't learn about this one at school.....A little-known historical event in the West (1843-68), the Taiping "Rebellion" was the most extensive of a series of internal conflicts which devastated China in the second half of the 19th century.


Its instigator, Hóng Xiùquán (1814-1864), a religious visionary, believed that he was sent by God to found the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace on earth. His regime was theocratic, but introduced a programme of radical economic and social reforms. The Taiping areas were constantly attacked by Qing forces who eventually defended the Taiping movement aided by French and British forces including the "Ever Victorious Army" consisting of Chinese soldiers led by European officers such as Frederick Townsend Ward. With an estimated death toll of between 20 and 30 million due to warfare and resulting starvation, this civil war ranks among history's deadliest conflicts. So many dead yet I've never heard about it???


The museum contains four exhibition halls devoted to this intriguing time in history which seems to have slipped by the West!!! Many original documents are on display, an imperial jade seal, original uniforms and an imperial robe of the Heavenly King. I spent ages just walking around this museum especially as so many of the displays had English translations so I could actually learn something of this momentous time in history!


Regardless of the catastrophic failure of the uprising, the episode has been considered as a predecessor of Communism in China. Mao Zedong judged the Taipings as early valiant revolutionaries who tried to end the corrupt Chinese feudal system!! It seems that depending on your point of view the Taiping movement were either regarded as a bunch of social reformists or a bunch of rebels!!!

I then headed next door to the Zhan Yuan Gardens. Another little history lesson for you.....

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang built and bestowed the Zhanyuan garden to his brave and loyal general - General Xu Da. During the Taiping Era the garden was the residence of East King of the Kingdom. In 1864, the garden was demolished in warfare, and then rebuilt in 1865 and again in 1903.


Among the gardens of South China, the Zhan Yuan Garden is a little mini with nearly half of it rockery. As you walk through the carefully designed gardens there are 18 different scenes to delight in: long bamboo, green woods, garden hills, ponds and waterfalls, strange stones and so on. Meandering paths lead you to different parts of the garden and you never know what you will see around the next bend.

The gardens are both simple and complex at the same time!! The garden was a maze of small ponds, intricately carved caves and picturesque buildings littered with exotic plants and to get to each part you had to cross over traditional Chinese high stone bridges and strategically placed stepping stones.Exquisite scenes and beauty surround you and leave you unaware of the city outside the walls. As with most Chinese gardens this one also contains a number of pavilions and buildings , the most impressive probably being the Jing Miao Hall. In the hall, there are exquisite ancient chairs and desks, paintings and calligraphy on the wall. From the north of the hall, you can see the north views of the garden; from the south, you can see the south views of the garden.


In fact you feel like you are in a painting!! I left there feeling totally relaxed. Despite it being a public holiday there were not a lot of people in the Gardens so I was able to wander at leisure taking so many photos.....it seemed everywhere I looked was another "pretty" scene to take a photo of....I really could not capture the feeling but it is one of the best gardens I've been to.

This month I have extra teaching hours so wont have as much time to get out and about...I lose my Wednesdays off :( but never fear I will still get to see more of the sights on my rather long list.


Bye for now. xxx