Guess who's off to the World Series..

That's right. The San Francisco Giants. Last night (this morning for me), the Giants beat the Phillies 3-2 to win the National League Pennant and a trip to the World Series.

Too bad I'm not home to feed off of all the excitement that I'm sure is buzzing around the Bay Area right now. Regardless...

Go Giants!

Great Buddha at Lingshan

During our time in Wuxi, we also visited the Great Buddha at Lingshan. Built only several years ago, the Great Buddha stands at 88 meters (96.24 yards) tall, excluding the lotus stand on the bottom. If you include the lotus stand, then the Great Buddha measures to over a 100 meters high.
 
While the Great Buddha itself was very impressively large, personally I felt that it was built using Buddhism as an excuse to build a large tourist attraction to increase tourism revenue in the area. But at least now I can say I've been there.

Fountain during "Birth of Buddha" show

Wuxi

Located 128 km (79.5 miles) northeast of Shanghai, Wuxi was established 3,500 years ago as the capital of the Wu Kingdom. Originally, the area was named Youxi, meaning "having tin," in reference to the vast tin deposits that used to be found in the area. However, when the tin deposits dried up, the name was changed to Wuxi, which means "no tin."

Despite the lack of tin nowadays, Wuxi has remained a commercial center for thousands of years. During the Qing and Ming dynasties, it served as the main agricultural center for rice production. Nowadays, Wuxi is the commercial center for textile production.

 

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NLCS Bound!

Yay! After winning today's (well, technically yesterday's) game 4 versus the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta the Giants are off to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday at the National League Championship Series.

I unfortunately had class this morning so I couldn't listen to the game today. I'm not sure if that was a blessing or a curse. I guess at least I didn't spend the morning biting my nails to the quick. Regardless, onward Giants to the next game!

(Okay, okay, I realize most, if not all, of you don't care about how the Giants do in the MLB playoffs. But since I have no one to share this joy with here in China, I share with it with you guys via the Internet. Sorry you're just going to have to deal with it.)

Ah, much better

Late last night it began pouring, which, luckily for me meant all that pollution haze was washed away. Here are some pictures of what my street looks like on a gorgeous, clear day. It's much better than the gross air quality yesterday.

Facing south

Facing north

Note: Aside from re-sizing these images, I did not Photoshop these photos either.

Nanjing

Recognized as one of China's four great ancient capitals, Nanjing's historical importance is undeniable. In the past, it served as the capital of several dynasties including the Song, Qi, (a portion of the) Ming, among others. More recently, it served as the capital of both the Taiping Rebellion in 1853 as well as the capital for the first republic of China that was founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1921. Unfortunately, in the United States and elsewhere abroad, it's probably most infamously known as the site of the Nanjing (then known as Nanking) Massacre in 1937.

Nowadays, Nanjing's location on the lower banks of the Yangtze River still makes it a very important commercial and industrial city. The majority of the city still lies within the old city walls that date back to Ming dynasty. Today, portions of the walls are open now for tourists to ponder.

 Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

 Old city wall brick with brick-maker's stamp

 Old city wall cannon

Nanjing Lu at night

Nanjing Lu at Night

More pictures at Angela Photo Musings.

Wuzhen

Located along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Wuzhen is located north of the city of Tongxiang in the Zhejiang province. In the past the canal served as the main artery between the south and Beijing and as a result, Wuzhen became a center of great commercial activity . Nowadays, it's mainly a tourist attraction, often invoking comparisons to Venice. Wuzhen is also known for its indigo and white printed fabrics.

At every doorway, there were small garlic-like bulbs hung. I don't know why. Maybe they're trying to keep the vampires away.

More photos on Angela Photo Musings