110610 - Day 4

Today, we checked out of Hua Qiao Da Sha and left for Chao Zhou. As many of us slept rather late the previous night, we spend our time resting and recuperating during our bus ride to Chao Zhou. Upon arriving at the Chao Zhou Dan Fu Yuan, we were warmly received by Mdm Chen Yao Jun, Director of Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of Chao Zhou Municipality. With her wide knowledge about the history of Chao Zhou, she was able to simplify seemingly profound information about the local history for our easy understanding. Her friendly personality also made us feel welcomed.

# Chao Zhou Dan Fu Yuan

She explained to us that this temple was built in 1994, which coincidentally was the year when NAS was built. It was unlike any typical temple as it was surrounded by mountains and a river. It was a stunning view which left us frantically rushing to take photographs of the surroundings. We were still able to look around the temple which had numerous displays of calligraphies by famous people on the walls. After this tour around the temple, we headed for our bus which was ready to ferry us to the next destination.

# Group photo in Chao Zhou Shi Ji Gong School

The Chao Zhou Shi Ji Gong School was our next stop. We knew that we would be learning about the making of Teo Chew cuisine at the school but we never did expect such a high reception upon our arrival at the school. We were actually greeted with applause by a reception led by the principal, teachers and students. We then proceeded to a room where we saw the students designing their dishes into shapes using nothing but vegetables. Their creatively crafted final products were also on display and we also had the rare opportunity to sample some Teo Chew dishes. Some of us were patiently taught the way to craft the vegetables by the helpful students.

# Our first and only vegetarian lunch!

Next, we had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. It was an eye opener for most of us as the dishes served to us were totally different from the ones that we usually eat. There was a dish which resembled a neat dish. However, we discovered that the “meat” was actually made up of salt. The food was generally quite delicious and we finished most of it. We were also given a chance to practice our tea brewing skills which had been introduced to us the previous day. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste good. This was probably due to our lack of experience and practice in brewing Chinese tea.

# Entrance of Kai Yuan Shi

After lunch, we visited the Kai Yuan Temple. The temple was built over 1000 years ago by the emperor. Even though it was an old temple, there was no sign of damaged pillars or cracked walls. Instead, the pillars were extremely sturdy and stable, certainly looking capable of standing strong for another 1000 years. However, there were still some damaged pillars and structures. The guide later explained to us that the Japanese soldiers had taken cover in the temple during the World War II. In the turmoil of war, pillars and structures getting damaged were unavoidable.

# Pillar that was damaged by the Japanese Soilders

There were also four heavenly gods in the temple which were built by the first Ming Dynasty emperor. The guide then told us that his name was Zhu Yuan Zhang and also known as the “Qi Gai Huang Di”. It was said that he was once a beggar, a monk and the emperor. Through this meaningful temple visit, we have also learned that respecting the rules and regulations when visiting religious places is crucial.

# Guang Ji Bridge (:

We left the temple and walked to the Guang Ji Bridge where we had a whale of a time taking photographs of the scenic view. We then headed for the Hui Qiao Hotel where we would be spending our next two nights. Before we wrapped up the day, we stopped by the Craft Boutique Museum to take a look at the display of several intricately crafted art pieces. It was evident that the owners of those art pieces had spent a great deal of effort and time to produce such stunning pieces of work. It had indeed been a fruitful day.

# Mdm Ng and Mrs Lee posing near the bridge

今天，我们从华侨宾馆出发到潮州去。当我们抵达潮州淡浮院时，在那里举办了开营仪式。潮州市外事侨务局局长，陈瑶君女士到现场接待我们。她带领我们参观了淡浮院，并详细地告诉我们淡浮院的历史，陈女士的热情实在令我们感动。

潮州淡浮院建于1994年，这和义安中学建校是同一年。潮州淡浮院的位置非常独特，因为它被幽美翠绿的环境包围着，看到这样的美景，我们迫不及待的用相机拍下了美丽的景色。过后，我们上了巴士，前往潮州技工学院。

到了目的地之后，那里的校长，老师和同学们都热烈欢迎我们。他们带我们参观了他们的学校，也看到了他们的学生如何用菜和水果当材料，用它来雕刻出独一无二的形状，摆设在盘子上。有些学生还教我们怎样用雕刻刀雕菜的技巧呢！

下午我们在一间素菜餐馆用餐，潮州的素菜跟新加坡相比，真的不一样！有一道菜看似用“肉” 做成的，起初我们也本以为那“肉”是用面粉做的，但是我们后来才发现那道菜原来是用盐做的！午餐过后，我们也有机会展示我们昨天学到的泡功夫茶的技术。

过后，我们到了开元寺。 开元寺是在1000多年前建的。开元寺位于广东省潮州甘露坊，建于唐玄宗开元十六年（公元738年），占地面积约78000平方米。前身为荔峰寺，唐代开元二十六年(738年)敕建开元寺，元代改为“开元万寿禅寺”，明代称:“开元镇国禅寺”，又称“镇国开元禅寺”，加额“万寿宫”，俗称开元寺一直沿用至今。我觉得参观寺庙是非常有意义的，因为我们在那里学到了很多有关潮州文化的知识。这令我们更了解潮州的文化和历史，也让我们达成了这次到潮州寻根的目的。

我们带着依依不舍的心情离开了开元寺，前往广济桥。广济桥以其“十八梭船二十四洲”的独特风格与赵州桥、洛阳桥、卢沟桥并称中国四大古桥，曾被著名桥梁专家茅以升誉为“世界上最早的启闭式桥梁”，我们也在那里拍了不少的照片，就把那一刻化为永恒。

过后，我们到了滨江文化长廊，参观了木雕。回到了酒店，也就结束了今天的旅程。