Another day, another temple

I'm not sure if the title of this entry displays honesty or pure philistinism, but I am sure you know what I mean. This one was the Qingyang Gong Temple which, to be fair, was different insofar as it's not up a mountain but within the sprawl of urban Chengdu on the first ringroad. (Ringroads to Chengdu are like the holes on the belt of a middle aged man.)

As you can imagine, Chengdu First Ringroad is a pretty busy street full of cars and car horns, scooters and suicidal pedestrians slipping between, shouting a lot. All the more weird then, to step through the gate of the Qingyang Gong temple and find that you leave all that behind; not spiritually (you know me better than that) but literally!

Oh, perhaps it is getting to me a little bit because I really enjoyed this visit. Originating from the Ming Dynasty and added to in the Qing, there are are a series of pavilions or halls dedicated to Taoist deities including the Three Purities Hall which houses huge golden figures. At its entrance are two bronze goats, worn smooth by visitors hoping for a bit of good luck to rub off on them.

Each of the other shrines, in clouds of sweet incense, harbours more gargantuan deities, gold and colourful with eye popping expressions. And all around are trees as golden, at this time of year, as the gods themselves.

I find myself warming to the Chinese approach to restoration now too. Thinking about it, you keep your home in good nick by constant repair and replacement; and that, really, is what's happening not only here but in Beijing too, where the Forbidden City is undergoing a fifteen or twenty year overhaul project. Where the village of Huanaglong Xi just felt wrong a few weeks ago, contrived and downright plasticky, this one felt right - possibly because the entire ambience of the place has been preserved along with the wood and the paint and the tiles.

Next week I'll be off to a wholly different kind of temple. A huge structure with bright colours - mostly blue and yellow - it's a brand new one dedicated to sheer consumerism. And its name is Ikea China.