Forty five minutes on the train and we were back in Jianshui… and just a little hungry.

Kenzo again excelled and found a place that served up a delicious meal… lotus root slices filled with a sticky rice mix and deep fried – delicious!

Bamboo shoots, capsicum and some meat… not sure what, but tasty anyway.

And for our veggies… fresh broccoli and carrots… cooked perfectly.

Fed and happy, we wandered further along the road. Crispy skin duck in one of the market shops looked good. Maybe we’d look for a duck dinner later on.

But for now, there was still more of the town to see so we walked to the Confucius Temple complex, the third largest in China.  It was built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

The entrance gate to the Confucian Temple was pretty impressive.  The entry fee was high, so I just took a peek through the entrance gate.

And what I saw was a large pond full of lotus plants.

Further along, we came upon another of the many ancient wells in Jianshui. The first of these wells, the Dongjing Well, was originally dug in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) making it around 700 years old.  The sweet, crystal-clear water from these wells is said to make the best tea. I just hope they don’t ever ‘sully the waters’ with mining or fracking or whatever in the area!

A decorative shrine filled a niche in a wall.

A neighbourly afternoon chat!

T’was time for us to take a break, too.  The heat and high humidity sent us back to our hotel where a shower was in order… and the first Nanna nap I’d had since arriving in China.  I think I’d earned it. But I couldn’t stay snoozing forever… it was time to eat again!  So off into the streets – again.

We were heading for a place well known for its duck dishes… and we salivated at the thought.  However, we were a little late – they had run out of duck.  So instead, Kenzo ordered BBQ pork which was absolutely delicious.  He also ordered an eggplant dish which he promptly sent back because he’d ordered it without chillies.  The chef was obviously not in the habit of omitting the usual handful of chillies when preparing this dish.  The replacement dish came… it still had fresh green and orange twisted capsicum in it, but thankfully, these didn’t impart such a hot taste.  It seemed strange to me that I was looking for the hot bits, while Kenzo, my Asian friend, was dodging them!  The whole meal, including a Harbin beer, was ¥39 (AUD9)… excellent value!

On leaving the restaurant we heard some music a little way up the street. We just had to follow that sound and found a covered stage set up in a bit of a square where dancers were performing in colourful costumes to very loud amplified traditional music.

We sat around for 20 or so minutes watching dancing and umbrella twirling before we agreed that it was time to call it a night.  We were back in our hotel by 21.00 and well and truly ready for bed.

David

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