Cacoons in waiting

These cacoons will be threaded and spun. This great photo is by Alida

Miracle of the Silkworm

Four women each take a corner of the stretched cacoon and stretch it even more, making the silk duvets that are so popular for tourists to buy when they visit China and the silk factories 

Sam and the Silkworm

Sam tries to stretch the cacoon over the hoop, but finds it is not as easy as it looks. 

Removing the worm

The silkworm is removed from it's cacoon, and the cacoon will be stretched over the metal hoop that you see on the left. It is not an easy task as you will see in the next picture 

Silk Fabric

This picture shows the fabric being made. The pattern is computerized and is now automated.
At one time, this would have been done soley by hand. 

In the Silk Factory

This picture shows the small cacoons waiting to be threaded onto these spinning machines. This must be done by hand as the silk threads are so small, but strong. 

Silkworms cacooning

Tis the season for lords a leaping, swans a swimming....the silk worms are cacooning. 

Getting ready for the Olympics

All along the major highways, people are working, laying tiles
and planting trees and shrubs. And not just planting. They are decorative. It was hard to take photos from the bus as were were travelling from city to city. Photo by Alida 

Rural China

Either they were coming or going. Returning home with produce sold is my guess. What is yours. Photo by Alida 

Goddess of Mercy

This beautiful ancient relic is housed in the Shannxi Provincial Museum in Xi'an. One of my earlier photos talks about the Goddess of Mercy in detail 

Topiary gone mad

We saw this wonderful temple garden at the Great Wall and it's a great example of the magic the Chinese gardeners can create by sculpturing hedges and ornamental evergreens. This sort of display was evident along the highways and in the city gardens and boulevards we drove through on our tour. Posted and photo by Joan

DESSERT

At the end of nearly every meal we were presented with a large platter of watermelon.....and on the street in Beijing we passed this farmer delivering his load of fruit. Photo and post by Joan Stephens.

Fish in a Dish

The meals that we experienced were amazing.
Very healthy. Lots of veggies, steamed, and little or no pastries for dessert. Fruit was always offered at the end of the main meal. 

A Rotisserie of Roofs

Told you I was hooked on roofs. Seems like Alida was too. This is another of her excellent photos. 

This isn't just an ordinary roof

This building is in a garden that we visited. Isn't it amazing??
This delicious photo was taken by Alida. 

Fred and The Three Monkeys

Here we are waiting for our tea demo at the tea plantation while Janet hears no evil, Sam speaks no evil....hehe...and Ylda sees no evil. Another great picture by Alida 

Bridge over the canal

This beautiful picture was taken by Alida. It is of one of the
many bridges that connect the community in the "Water Village" 

Rock garden sculpture

This is an imported sandstone rock that is cemented together. pic by bob

Acrobats practicing

Who needs a bridge! These 3 were riding high above the Yangtze as we passed below. pic by bob

House on the rising river

This Yangtze River home will soon be

covered in water. pic by bob

West Lake

A relaxing place to contemplate.
pic by bob

Lovers paradise

Beautiful West Lake pic by bob

Yangtze Dam

Model of 3 Gorges Dam showing 5 stage 2-way freight lift on the right and 3000 ton future passenger lift station in the centre. Dam is shown on the right. pic by bob

Beats walking

This little piggy goes to market...alive and well!
pic by bob

Yu Yuan Garden

This garden is 400 years old and is situated in the Old Town of Shanghai. Of course what you're seeing is a doorway. This garden is huge and offers vistas from many angles. 

Yea.....a western toilet

I believe I mentioned earlier how impressed I was with the bilingual signage in China. Even if the translation is often wrong, it is the effort that they make in order for us to find our way to the things we need the most. This sign says, "Be seated deficate."