Day 7-Confucius Temple….so Much More Than Expected

May 21, 2017

It was 6:30am.  Nanjing was bustling and Russell was stirring.  The wake-up call came in and as I was awakened, I began to realize the extent of our KTV trip from the night before.  But to be a trooper you can’t give up; so I got out of bed and started to pack my things.  A shower is almost always the best medicine so I hopped in and let the water wash away the laziness and drowsiness.  Breakfast was soon to follow and the fruit and yogurt were a bite of heaven. 8:00 rolled around and we climbed onto the bus for a day of tourism in China.  After a 45-minute ride filled with stories of the night before, we made it to the train station.

McDonald’s and Starbucks….

A statue of a Chinese Lion and a beautiful view of the city were waiting for us as we exited the bus and said goodbye to our awesome bus driver of the past few days.  We got plenty of looks from the natives as usual, but let’s be honest, our group of 40+ Americans stuck out like a sore thumb.  Our train didn’t leave until 10:15am so we had time to relax.  The hour or so was far from boring between food from McDonald’s and Starbucks, listening to Jacob try to get Chinese locals to understand his hilarious English questions, learning how to pick up girls from Steve (our tour guide), and taking pictures with a cute little Chinese baby, the hour flew by.

Around 10:00, we started making our way through the ticket checker at the train station. I was in the back of our tour group and there were strangers in front of me, so I watched the majority of the group head towards our meeting point.  As soon as I made it through the turnstile, I started walking fast to try and catch up but I heard something that made me stop  “CHASE!”  I turned around to see Jensen in a panic, still on the other side of the turnstile.  He couldn’t find his ticket and our train was going to leave in 10 minutes!  After a minor heart attack and Jackson running to find Steve, our tour guide for help, Jensen re-checked his wallet…..and found his ticket…..and we were off!

First View of Confucius Temple….Breathtaking

Around 10:17am, we boarded the high-speed train from Nanjing South Station to Qufu.  A two-hour train ride provided time for naps and Chinese country-side-gazing, until finally we arrived at our destination.  We left the train station and headed to board our new bus that was waiting to take us to lunch.  Our lunch was different from previous meals; it was not as fancy but somehow seemed more authentic.  We walked into the restaurant and crossed a small wooden bridge over an indoor stream to get to our tables.  As I sat down, I looked around the restaurant and noticed that the ceiling was just like the top of a giant tent.  No A/C and flies exploring our sweaty faces were not enough to ruin the cultural experience.  When we finished eating, we walked outside, past the women trying to sell us trinkets, and boarded the bus.  A short 15-minute ride was all it took to get to the Confucius Temple and even from the road, it looked magnificent.

We had a local tour guide for this tour, not Steve, and he took us through all the segments of the temple explaining what everything was, and its significance.  The entire facility was awe-inspiring.  The intricacy of the architecture was unlike anything I had ever seen in America.  The structures, and even the trees, were older than America itself, and it is amazing to think how long the Temple has been in existence.  To think we all walked on the same paths that ancient Chinese men and women did over a thousand years ago is overwhelming.  After hundreds of pictures and a quick bathroom break, we all made our way back to the bus and settled in for the long bus ride to Rizhao.

The three-hour ride to the hotel seemed extremely quiet compared to our usual rides, but I guess everyone was exhausted from sightseeing and traveling.  After solving my Rubik’s cube a couple dozen times, and listening to the only album on my phone four times, we finally pulled into our 5-star home for the night. One look around the high-class Landbridge Jinjiang Hotel lobby, we could tell we were in for a great experience.

Western Food  Served for Dinner

The dinner was buffet style.  Half the food was traditional Chinese food, and much to our delight western food filled the other half.  Countless plates were piled high with pizza, waffles, crab legs, sushi, and much more.  Everyone has enjoyed the traditional Chinese food but I think some food from home was greatly appreciated.  We explored our hotel for to see just what this 5-star hospitality looked like and discovered it meant floor to ceiling windows looking from the bedroom directly into the bathroom.  Thankfully, every room had a pull down blind to protect us from scarring our roommates for life.  The beach was less than a five-minute walk from the hotel, so a lot of us went to check out the Pacific Ocean/Yellow Sea for the first time (and potentially the only time) in our life. Our beds were a huge upgrade from the previous hotel so we ended our amazing day in bliss.

by guest blogger Chase Hayhurst & Madeleine Foster