The Incense Brazier

At the entrance to a small temple near lake Taihu, throngs of people gather, many of whom purchased or brought ritual incense to burn in this incredible brazier. Hundreds of years old and still used frequently for it's original purpose.

Now that's craftsmanship that echoes down the ages. =)

Oh those Lions...

Sihing Mike spent some quality time riding many of these stone animals but here we just messed around. Here, Graeme gives the lion a little love n' attention.

(Below) Shawn feigns being eaten. I'm sure if that statue could speak, oh what tales of tasty arms and kung-fu kisses it would tell. Lol!!

Hotel Art Objects - Not for Export, lol.

Yep, those are carved ivory tusks, not quite sure if it's elephant or not, but from what I recall..it was. While I do not condone the purchase or sale of ivory (poachers should all die, really), the intricacy of this piece of artwork was unbelievable. The painstaking hours it would've taken to compose such a masterful work goes beyond description.

And then there was all this Jade.... all of this artwork and dozens (or hundreds) more like it were scattered throughout the halls and rooms of the Jinma Palace Hotel. Some of these ornate sculptures have been carved out of enormous single pieces of jade, how crazy is that!? Not to mention, very very expensive. By comparison the prices in Canadian would be astronomical, but considering the yuan price-tags, they seem somewhat affordable.

Looks like an oil-painting, right?

This artwork must have taken someone painstaking amounts of time to complete. Sure it looks like a painting (size was about 10-feet wide by 4-feet tall), at least that's what I thought at first when I spotted this piece in the lobby of a restaurant we stopped at for dinner. 

(Below) However, on closer inspection it is revealed not to be brush strokes, but stitches. Yep, the entire thing is embroidered! What a massive undertaking...and blades of grass and flowers....it's like doing a 100,000-piece jigsaw puzzle without the box-cover to look at. Awesome, just awesome.

(Below) Detail on another embroidery located in the same restaurant lobby. Magnificent work, exquisite craftsmanship. 

(Below) This picture was also of the 10x4-foot variety. Extraordinary stuff.