Living my very own Amazing Race and Lost in Translation: Discovering Hénán province of China!

I am happy & proud to announce that I have successfully completed my first solo trip in China!

As my work is mostly on weekends and I have 5 weekdays relatively free, the decision was taken to send me on my first solo-trip in China :) My choice was the neighbouring Hénán province - 8 h by bus to the capital of Hénán - Zhengzhou from where it`s possible to get anywhere else in the province!

- Why Hénán?
- Lonely Planet suggested:
1) not to miss Peony festival in Luoyang (I love peonies!)
2) to seek enlightenment in Longmen caves (why not!)
3) fathom the martial art mysteries at the Shaolin temple (mysteries are definitely my thing)
4) rediscover communism in Nanjiecun (sounds too good to miss ;)

So my plan (5 days, 7 bus rides (total of 26 h), 0 reservations) went like that:
Rizhao - Zhengzhou - Luoyang - Shaolin temple - Zhengzhou - Nanjiecun socialist village - Zhengzhou - Rizhao

DAY 1: 8 h + 2,5 h = Rizhao -> Zhengzhou -> Luoyang
8 h bus trip fro Rizhao to Zhengzhou was quite ok!
I had chosen the book "Peony in Love" for my trip (going to Peony festival in Luoyang it seemed like a perfect choice :)
Of course.. occasionally I heard the sound of spitting & tried not to think where that spit went as there was no option of opening the window... some guys thought they`d "secretly" smoke on the bus...somebody else was getting sick... but I was enjoying my book & beautiful spring landscape!

DAY 2: Luoyang, Longmen caves & Peony festival
Luoyang has been the capital of 13 Chinese dynasties, but not much of that has been preserved till nowadays... Now it`s a modern & green city...felt cosy!

In hunt for breakfast I discovered the Old Town of Luoyang...

..peonies everywhere...

Enjoying morning sun :)

Lijing gate

Old street

And then it was time to get my portion of enlightenment, so I hopped on the public bus for Longmen caves! 1st impression - extremely crowded (and I seemed to be the only foreigner there!)!

The Longmen Caves (or Longmen Grottoes) stretch for 1km along the west bank of the Yi River near Luoyang. The site includes some 1,350 caves and 40 pagodas, which are filled with thousands of Buddhist statues carved out of the hard limestone cliffs.
The carving work began in 492 AD and continued for 500 years. The Longmen Caves were designated a World Heritage Site in 2000 for their spectacular works of Chinese art, especially of the Tang Dynasty.

Quite a breathtaking place!

Don`t know if I got enlightened, but I definitely got suntanned as it was one hot & sunny day ;)

Next it was flower-power time - Peony festival!!!

"The peony of Luoyang is the most beautiful under heaven"... the Chinese saying goes... The peony is the emblem flower of Luoyang and "since the Tang Dynasty no Chinese city has been able to rival Luoyang in growing peonies", so growing peonies and admiring them seems to be a local obsession :) The first Luoyang Peony Festival took place in April of 1983.

I decided to admire peonies in Wangcheng Park that served as the venue for the first Luoyang Peony Festival and is the main venue for the Peony Festivals every year :)

Dream photo of every Chinese :)

...endless shopping possibilities... a must have of every Chinese tourist seemed to be a huge fake peony bouquet!!! :))

Peonies & art...

Time to admire... :)

After admiring for a couple of hours I sat down to to read my book "Peony in Love" and wait for the dark...and as it was getting darker a new side of the park was coming to life... dancing...lighted floats....music....

And when I was overwhelmed by peonies & admiring ;) I headed back to Old town for a quiet stroll and for making new friends - this girl was so keen to be photographed... after I took a photo she was requesting to get her photo right away :)) Sweet :)