Alvinology goes to Shantou – Day 2 of 5 - Alvinology

Alvinology goes to Shantou – Day 2 of 5

On the second day, we had breakfast at Meritus Club in our hotel and then headed to Chaozhou City (潮州). We visited two attractions in the morning – Xiangziqiao (湘子桥) and Kaiyuanshi (开元寺).

Our breakfast area
Our breakfast area
Great city view from the Meritus club room
Great city view from the Meritus club room
Grabbing our breakfast
Grabbing our breakfast
My breakfast
My breakfast
Fish ball soup noodle
Fish ball soup noodle
Char Siew Pau
Char Siew Pau
A luxurious condominium beside our hotel
A luxurious condominium beside our hotel
The other more regular housing
The other more regular housing

Xiangziqiao is one of the four oldest bridge in China. Many Teochew businessmen contributed funds to its restoration and preservation, including Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka-Shing (李嘉诚). There were originally two iconic bull statues on the bridge. After one sunk into the sea, the other was replaced with the replica seen at the bridge today.

Bridge entrance
Bridge entrance
Rachel with her mom and sis
Rachel with her mom and sis
Eunice trying to turn the spoke
Eunice trying to turn the spoke
Nice symmetry
Nice symmetry
Symmetry again
Symmetry again
The omy.sg team
The omy.sg team
Rachel and I with the replica bull
Rachel and I with the replica bull
Boats for hire to reach the other pavilion
Boats for hire to reach the other pavilion
Rachel on the bridge
Rachel on the bridge
Rachel and I on the bridge
Rachel and I on the bridge
A wider view of the bridge
A wider view of the bridge
Rachel with her mom and sis again
Rachel with her mom and sis again
Teochew businessmen who have donated to the bridge preservation
Teochew businessmen who have donated to the bridge preservation
The old city opposite the bridge which we did not have time to explore
The old city opposite the bridge which we did not have time to explore
Three signboards
Three signboards
Entrance to the old city for some shopping
Entrance to the old city for some shopping
Buying fruits to snack on the bus
Buying fruits to snack on the bus
Olive seller
Olive seller

Kaiyuanshi refers to a series of ancient temples constructed during the Tangs Dynasty (618-907), commissioned by the superstitious sixth Tang Emperor, 唐玄宗 (712-756). The one we visited is one of the few surviving temples. The area near the temple sells a lot of traditional snacks like preserved plums and “Buddha’s Hand (佛手)” aka fingered citron (a kind of fruit shaped like a giant human hand).

Kaiyuenshi
Kaiyuanshi
Temple entrance
Temple entrance
One of the two "door god" (门神)
One of the two “door god” (门神)
Our guide, Weijian, briefing us on the temple history
Our guide, Weijian, briefing us on the temple history
A smaller shrine inside the temple
A smaller shrine inside the temple
Giant incense urn
Giant incense urn
Some guy making an offering
Some guy making an offering
Han Joo found her long lost sister in the temple
Han Joo found her long lost sister in the temple
Group shot with the VIPs in our tour group
Group shot with the VIPs in our tour group
An alter in the temple
An altar in the temple
Laughing budhas
Laughing buddha
Another alter
Another altar
Street outside the temple
Street outside the temple
Stall selling preserved tidbits like the Buddha's Hand
Stall selling preserved tidbits like the Buddha’s Hand
A fat cat in one of the stalls
A fat cat in one of the stalls
One of the many little stalls outside the temple selling prayer stuff
One of the many little stalls outside the temple selling prayer stuff

After seeing the attractions, we headed to a bridal gown factory which the local government was very proud of. Apparently, the gowns are exported for sale in Europe and America for more than ten times the production and raw material cost. We saw a lot of XXXXXXL gowns being tailored there. Obviously, there’s a lucrative market for producing non-regular sized gowns.

Factory entrance
Factory entrance
Gowns on display
Gowns on display
The catalogue
The catalogue
The president of the Teochew association, posing for the cameras
The president of the Teochew association, posing for the cameras
Super size gown
Super size gown
Most of the tailored gowns are jumbo sized
Most of the tailored gowns are jumbo sized
Our moms scrutinising a gown together
Our moms scrutinising a gown together
Ready gowns
Ready gowns
The designers
The designers
Labouriously working on the trimmings
Labouriously working on the trimmings
Hard at work
Hard at work
It's a large factory
It’s a large factory
Sharing with our, the labour process
Sharing with our, the labour process
Getting interviewd by the local television station
Getting interviewd by the local television station

We then headed for a heavy lunch hosted by the local government. Eating takes up five hours of our time daily – two hours each for lunch and dinner, one hour for breakfast. Scary isn’t it?

Our lunch destination
Our lunch destination
Our host giving a speech
Our host giving a speech
Whole pieces of abalone
Whole pieces of abalone
Unagi and duck
Unagi and duck
Black fungus with meat and veggies
Black fungus with meat and veggies
Ugly looking fish that taste surprisingly good
Ugly looking fish that taste surprisingly good
Stir-fried pork with cashew
Stir-fried pork with cashew
Pork rib soup
Pork rib soup
Fried breaded prawn sandwich
Fried breaded prawn sandwich
Kway Tiao
Kway Tiao
Jade green veggies
Jade green veggies
Zhui Kway and some green bean pastry
Zhui Kway and some green bean pastry

After lunch, we visited Cidu (瓷都), located in Chao’an County (潮安县). We didn’t have much time to shop there, but our parents managed to buy two tea sets for use during our traditional wedding tea ceremony in June. The tea sets have carps painted on them. Rachel and I like them very much.

Cidu exhibition hall
Cidu exhibition hall
Giant porcelain plate
Giant ceramic plate
Colourful porcelain flower
Colourful ceramic flower
The workmanship is so fine the flower looks real
The workmanship is so fine the flower looks real
Giant porcelain vase
Giant porcelain vase
The 108 heroes in the Chinese classic, Water Margin (水滸傳)
The 108 heroes in the Chinese classic, Water Margin (水滸傳)
Close-up of some of the heroes
Close-up of some of the heroes
World's longest ceramic mural
World’s longest ceramic mural
Ceramic painting
Ceramic painting
Another big ceramic vase
Another big ceramic vase
Rows after rows of award-winning ceramic pieces
Rows after rows of award-winning ceramic pieces
Women musicians
Women musicians
The Eight Immortals (八仙)
The Eight Immortals (八仙)
World class ceramic potties
World class ceramic potties
Eunice fooling around
Eunice fooling around
Potty for toddlers
Potty for toddlers
The tea set our parents bought
The tea set our parents bought
off to Raoping
off to Raoping

After Cidu, we headed to Raoping County (饶平县) to visit an old Hakka (客家) commune where over 600 people used to reside in. There are only about 30 people still staying there now. Stepping into the commune was like stepping through time. We took lots of pictures. The children in the commune were very lively and enjoyed having their pictures taken. Unlike in India, they did not ask us for tips or money after that. That felt really nice.

Posing with the Rolls Royce for the VIPs in our tour group
Posing with the Rolls Royce for the VIPs in our tour group
At the village
At the village
Little girls
Little girls
Public toilet... the stench was...
Public toilet… the stench was…
Community message education the villagers not to discriminate girls
Community message education the villagers not to discriminate girls
Entrance to the Hakka commune
Entrance to the Hakka commune
Cheery kids greeted us in the commune
Cheery kids greeted us in the commune
Conference under the tree
Conference under the tree
Two kids hiding on the trees
Two kids hiding on the trees
"Nail flower" (铁钉花) that grows on the roof
“Nail flower” (铁钉花) that grows on the roof
 More of this strange flower
More of this strange flower
Rachel in the commune
Rachel in the commune
Me in the commune
Me in the commune
Another picture of me
Another picture of me
Kids wondering who are these strangers taking pictures of their house
Kids wondering who are these strangers taking pictures of their house
Rachel with the village chicken
Rachel with the village chicken
Rachel and I
Rachel and I
Old wooden doors
Old wooden doors
A peek inside one of the houses
A peek inside one of the houses
Heading upstairs
Heading upstairs
View from atop
View from atop
Close-up of the roof
Close-up of the roof
Me on the second floor
Me on the second floor
Rachel on the second floor
Rachel on the second floor
The village kids posing for our cameras
The village kids posing for our cameras
Dashing to be in the group photo
Dashing to be in the group photo

We proceeded for dinner after that at Raoping Hotel, hosted by the Raoping government. After dinner, we did a little shopping at a shop that specialises in Raoping’s famous produces such as their frozen chicken and duck. This ended our official itinerary for the day. We then headed back to our hotel.

Our dinner venue
Our dinner venue
The usual official speeches before meals
The usual official speeches before meals
The SPH team
The SPH team
Duck meat
Duck meat
Lobster noodle
Lobster noodle
Pea pods with meat
Pea pods with meat
Some prawn snacks
Some prawn snacks
Authentic "Niang Dou Fu" with meat inside
Authentic “Niang Dou Fu” with meat inside
Clear soup with fish and turnip
Clear soup with fish and turnip
Can you guess what's in this tea pot?
Can you guess what’s in this tea pot?
Real Bak Kut Teh!
Real Bak Kut Teh!
Sweet pork
Sweet pork
Black fungus
Black fungus
Steamed fish
Steamed fish
Eel meat
Eel meat
Giant chunks of carbo-laden food items to fill you up
Giant chunks of carbo-laden food items to fill you up
Some light shopping after dinner
Some light shopping after dinner
Vacuum packed chicken feet
Vacuum packed chicken feet

However, as Han Joo, Nicholas, Rachel and I were still bursting with energy, we decided to explore the night market near our hotel to check out the local hawker fares and do some light shopping on our own. Nicholas found some dog and cat meat street vendors and wanted to try them out. He was stopped vehemently by the ladies. We settled for the much tamer Beef Ball (牛肉丸) Kway Tiao instead. This was delightful – a marked difference from the lavish spreads we were fed with the past few meals. Sometime, simplicity is the best.

Night shopping with Nic and Han Joo
Night shopping with Nic and Han Joo
Fruits stall
Fruits stall
Buying some strawberries
Buying some strawberries
Nic wanted to eat here
Nic wanted to eat here
Dog meat stall
Dog meat stall
Enjoying a bowl of steaming hot beef kway tiao
Enjoying a bowl of steaming hot beef kway tiao
Close-up of the beef balls
Close-up of the beef balls
Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find this in our hotel room at night
Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find this in our hotel room at night
A special set of toiletries for the newly wed :)
A special set of toiletries for the newly wed 🙂

We went back to our hotel to tuck in for the night, bloated and tired. That concluded our second day. Stay tuned for my next update. 🙂

Previous Entries:

Home and away in Shantou (Rachel’s my paper article)

Plane Solemnisation

Day 1 – Arrival, Teochew Opera

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