Architecture

I tried to come to China without any expectations as to what it was going to be like. That’s really almost impossible. I just was trying to avoid being disappointed by my own pre-conceived notions as to what I might experience.
One thing that has surprised me is the architecture. If I took a picture of an average home, it’s likely that you would never guess that you were looking at a home in China. (I’ll post pics of a typical Chinese home tomorrow). Many of the homes you see are very….utilitarian. The bottom floor might have a shop or restaurant in it. This is also where they park their motorscooters at night. In fact, we were having dinner in a restaurant and the owners teenaged son, riding his motor scooter kept whizzing in and out of the restaurant right past our table as we were eating dinner. One morning we stopped for an early breakfast and the restaurant owners were still setting up. They hadn’t yet moved their motor scooters out and put the dining tables back in place.
Many families live in the space behind or above their business. We’ve been in many restaurants where patrons are served in the family’s living area. We see their child’s desk where they do their school work set up against the wall. We have seen children doing their homework at empty restaurant tables. They have brought their English homework over to show us. Sometimes their son’s or daughter’s toys are scattered about.

Many of these home/business buildings are 2-3 stories and very boxy. They are often brick, sometimes look like they are made of only cement or sometimes covered in white tiles. There is no hint of traditional Chinese architecture at all.
For this reason, when we see something like this little temple, it’s such a treat.