Day eight

Today was very cloudy and dreary. The tourism board provided rain ponchos for us which we needed. The parade performance was held in a large outdoor arena. At the beginning of the show , different colored smoke was shot up and promptly drifted over the dignitaries!
The skies grew darker and darker. Our dancers were number 17 and as they took the stage, the rains began in earnest. Shortly after their performance we moved to a hotel and waited on the bus for the performers to meet us.
We had our buffet lunch at the hotel. Our girls are relaxed as the performing is over and all that remains is some sightseeing which begins after lunch with a trip to the Guan Lin temple.
This temple is one of few that serves as a tomb and a temple. The General that it is in honor of has his head buried there and has been elevated to a god.


Upon leaving the temple, we travel to the Longmen Grottoes which are a complex of grottoes boasting 1352 caves filled with Buddhist's carvings. The grottoes face the Yi river which was very beautiful. The cities tourism board gave us all umbrellas which we needed as the rain continued.

The evening was low key. Yeah! My husband and I watched a little Chinese television. After the buffet dinner pizza was brought in again. My girls and husband went down and indulged and I got an early start on bedtime.