[Photo: english.cri.cn]

Today was a real mixture of new and old culture. We visited what is considered by many as the birthplace of Buddhism in China, the White Horse Temple. Later we went to a pop concert.

The White Horse Temple is one of China’s most important temples. The temple, which dates back to almost 2,000 years ago, is where the first Buddhist scriptures from India were translated into Chinese. Legend has it that the Ming Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty dreamed about a golden figure flying above the place where the temple sits and sent envoys to India to bring back Buddhist scriptures and built the White Horse Temple.

The temple is an impressive place to visit with many halls, large replicas of Buddha and, of course, a few statues of white horses scattered throughout. We also found another interesting scene, a peaceful garden, just outside the temple ground. The garden is said to be the place where the two monks worked on translating the scriptures.

There is also the Qi Yun Tower, a tall redbrick structure dating back to the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234).Interestingly, if one claps their hands while facing the tower, the echoes sound like croaking frogs.

After the religious visit, we went to the sports stadium for a pop concert later that night. It was an exhilarating concert as the 40,000-seat arena rocked to the music. More than 15,000 people were present, some for the music, some for their beloved singers.

The visit encompassed the importance of religious history with that of pop culture. It was really wonderful!