Local time: Mon Feb 12, 19:49

Today was a warm and sunny day! I started off with some dumplings (牛肉水饺) and Chinese hamburgers (肉夹馍) because why not!

I went back to Gongbei for some candied fruit (冰糖葫芦) before catching the K5 city bus line for 1 Yuan/person to Doumen (斗门区) in northwest Zhuhai ~ per Lan’s advice. It was about an hour long bus ride and very easy. I then rode in my first DiDi (Chinese Uber) to get the rest of the distance between the bus stop and Jintai Temple.

The DiDi dropped me off way down at the bottom of the mountain where it turned into a pedestrian only road. I followed a very large and packed crowd of people through a beautiful gate, decorated tunnel, across a dam bridge (?), through the trees, and up the mountain until we finally reached the beautiful Jintai Temple. It was crowded with people there to visit, pray, and burn incense as traditional activities during the Chinese new year. There was nothing like the intricate architecture, vibrant colors, and amazing view of the hills and water! I am so glad that Lan and her sister A recommended we visit Jintai Temple. Being able to walk through the decorated trees and be at the temple’s doors was something out of a movie!

Out of the multiple thousands of people that were there.

While at Jintai Temple, I also saw a couple of monks and many, many rooms with offering alters. It was a very serene and immersive cultural experience to be there and even send our own prayers.

I then took a DiDi back to Doumen city center. One observation I have made about drivers here in Zhuhai is that there is a LOT of honking and lane changing. It’s like “if YOU inconvenience MY driving, I will honk at you.” My DiDi driver had one hand on the horn at all times, ready to honk at any inconvenience or possible inconvenience (anyone in our proximity basically). Nothing like driving in the US! To get back to the hotel, I got back on to the K5 line which dropped me off a couple of blocks down the road and walked the rest of the way. The city buses also run on an efficient and cool system. The buses are electric and there are maybe 5 buses per line that are staggered. When they reach their end/start points, they sit and charge for a while and swap with the incoming bus to take passengers back the other way.

Anyways, the day was very fun and full, and I learned a lot of about public transportation and its convenience. It was just an amazing and unique experience to go to Jintai Temple like locals!