Foshan Ancestral Temple, China

2011 8 17

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It’s been many years since Flying last visited Foshan, an ancient town less than 30 km west from downtown Guangzhou. Despite being shadowed by the nearby Guangzhou, Foshan has always been famous for its porcelain industry and Chinese martial arts (especially the famous Wong Fei-hung, as well as the recent fever on Wing Chun).

It used to be rather troublesome to travel from Guangzhou to Foshan—a few bus rides from Flying’s home, which could take up to 2 hours in total. With progress being made in the proposed Guangzhou and Foshan metropolitan region, transportation is now much less a problem. From the Metro station near home, it took only an hour transiting via FMetro to get to Zumiao station!

虽然广佛市区之间只有不到30公里的路程，但是Flying上一次到佛山市区也已经是好多年以前的事了。尽管她或许没有广州的规模，作为传统的陶艺重镇，又是著名的武术（特别是宝芝林黄飞鸿，以及最近很火的咏春拳）之乡，佛山其实一直都有着她独特的诱人之处。

过去，广佛之间的交通不算便捷——从Flying家里出发，就要转上几趟车，花上起码两个小时才能到达佛山城区。随着广佛同城的推进，交通问题总算得到了缓解。现在从家里出发，手持羊城通，经广佛地铁，才区区一个小时就可以到达位于佛山市中心禅城区的祖庙站了。

Foshan Zumiao (or Foshan Ancestral Temple) is a Taoist temple right in downtown Foshan that is over 900 years old.
Foshan Wong Fei-hung Memorial Museum

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Acrobatic lion dance shows and technical demonstration outside of the Foshan Wong Fei-hung Memorial Museum
A restoration of “Baozhilin,” the famous Chinese medicine clinic founded by Wong Fei-hung in the Thirteen Factories area of Guangzhou from 1886 and 1924
A 250-year-old “Chastity and Filialness” archway
A 490-year-old “Honour and Favour” stone-carving archway bestowed by a Ming emperor
A Shiwan ceramic masterpiece—Glazed “Two Dragons Vying for a Pearl” Screen Wall, with an auspicious cast iron Qilin statue nearby
Yip Man Memorial Hall
Radiant lotus flowers outside Yip Man Memorial Hall
All-time kungfu superstar Bruce Lee used to be a disciple of Master Yip Man, too
The elegantly decorated Zixiao Palace (or Purple Mist Palace), the main hall

(Left: giant gilded wooden guardian statues; Middle: the frontal of Zixiao Palace; Right: the delicate hollowed-out wood carving divine table and the traditional Chinese dougong supporting structure)
Exquisite Shiwan ceremic roof and roof ridge decorations in Lingying Temple
Jinxiang Pond is crowded with hundreds of tortoises
The 350-year-old Wanfu Terrace is the largest, the most exquisite, and the best preserved ancient Cantonese opera stage in Lingnan region

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Śākyamuni Pagoda
A replica of the pair of bronze tri-head crane incense burners in the Hall of Mental Cultivation of the Forbidden City in Beijing
Confucious Temple
The popular wishing tree among locals and visitors alike