A Busker and His Friend

 Shenzhen, 2010

This busker is playing an old Chinese instrument dating back at least to the Qin Dynasty (200 BC) called the ruan. This old form of pipa with straight-neck and round body was named ruan after a master player of this instrument, Ruan Xian, one of great scholars among "The Seven Gentlemen" in the 3rd Century. 

The Ruan is used in Peking opera, as well as in modern Chinese orchestras. There is a family of ruan of various size with zhong (middle) ruan and da (big) ruan used similarly as the viola and cello in western orchestras. 

If you'd like to hear the sound of the ruan, here is a lovely melody.

Posted for Mary's Sepia Scenes.

L is for Lamps and Lanterns

Japan has an abundance of beautiful traditional lighting styles. These are just a few styles of lamps and lanterns I captured in Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera, more simply known as Kiyomizu Temple.

 Kyoto, 2009

 

Kiyomizu Temple is a World Heritage Site in Kyoto. Dating back to 786, not a single nail was used to build the temple, the brown building you see on the right. The orange buildings on the left were added in 1633. 

ABC Wednesday is up to L and there you'll find more links to people's creative posts using the letter.

Red Chinese Excalibur

For decades after the great red revolution of 1949, weddings in China were no grand affair. In fact, for many decades the state selected your spouse-to-be.

But when the doors opened to the world and Deng Xiaoping proclaimed to his people that "to be rich is glorious," that soon all changed. Today's weddings in China are as complicated and ostentatious as any in the West, no matter what the socio-economic class of the couple and their families.

Today I just want to share with you this red gem... a Chinese version of the neoclassic Excalibur dolled up to drive some new couple into their new-found marital bliss.

Guangdong, 2007

Posted for Mary's Ruby Tuesday where you'll find more links to people seeing RED.

Yellow Pulleys

This mix of bird breeds sitting cozily together on the dock railings and equipment among these big yellow pulleys caught my fancy. I took the photo from the ferry as we were landing at the Horseshoe Bay terminal. The day was ready to fade into darkness.

Vancouver, BC, 2010

More links to fun takes on YELLOW at Mellow Yellow.

Boardwalk through Mangrove Trees

This was a pretty rickety old boardwalk. She didn't seem none too steady. Yet we had no choice but to walk across it to get through the mangroves and on to the dock where we'd find our banca to go on our Honda Bay adventure cruise in Palawan.

Palawan, 2009

So my question now is, does a boardwalk qualify as a bridge? The definition of boardwalk is simple enough: A walkway made of wooden planks. Doesn't say anything about "bridging water". And a bridge is defined (for our purposes here): a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like.

Well, as a "...the like"... I am posting this to Louis' Sunday Bridges. Eh ben, Louis, qu'est-ce que t'en penses, toi? You'll certainly find many more links to traditional, and amazing, bridges around the globe there.

I thought this was an interesting scene for Scenic Sunday hosted by Aisha. too. Check out the links there so you can see how beautiful our world is.

Raining Inside

The windows of the ultra-modern Shenzhen Cultural Center have a bit of a leak problem.

Shenzhen, 2010

It made for a fun reflection shot for James' Weekend Reflections, didn't it?

[SkyWatch] Horses in Hovd

 

Mongolia, 2007

This photo is worth embiggening, if I say so myself.

More links to magnificent skies around the world are found at SkyWatch Friday and animals of all kind at Camera Critters.