Yaoli was wonderful and house after house could have told some amazing stories. The trip here was timeless.

Another example.

The buildings were beautiful. This is the inside of a typical home. There are big courtyards with no rooves inside the homes and water would be collected and used.

There was a real laid back feeling from everyone and everything.

People were just going about their daily lives and it was a wonderful window into the past.

Friendly people were everywhere and they didn't seem to mind us visiting their town.

There were bridges here too that would enable you to cross the river. I don't know what they do when the water raises, but there are boats on hand.

Here is a woman who is washing the evening's vegtables for dinner.

We left the mine and got on the bus that took us to Yaoli. This was another Ming Dynasty village. You can see some women doing some laundry in the sacred river. The water was extremely clear. There were big fish that inhabited that water that looked like orange carp.

This is the entrance to the mine. This is where porcelain was discovered and mined for years. This was an interesting place. Finding the source of the material ceramic artists use is truly only done by a few artists. You cannot order this experience from a clay supplier. You have to go to China with WVU.

We found the mine. We entered history. The past was everywhere, but now we were going into the belly of the earth. It was cold narrow at times, and the sound of water was quietly echoing within the grotto. I could not help but to think of one of my favorite books by Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth,. This was a great part of the trip.

This is Kei taking a better look at the waterfall.

Sounds of nature were all around and it felt a lot like West 'Virginia. I was very at home in this place. The path to the mine was magical.

We walked on brigdges that were constructed when the path became a bit risky for the pedestrian. These were beautiful.

There were many opportunities for great shots, and you can see Scott here setting up to capture the moment.

The water was cascading down over boulders refreshing our senses as we got closer to the mine.

We started our jouney by heading down a path next to this wonderful creek. It was breathtaking.

We walked back out of the town to search for the ancient mine. All the inhabitants of the town were interested in us. There were wonderful pictures everywhere. It was hard to take a bad shot.

Carvings on some of the buildings were equally amazing. The craftsmanship was incredible. This is a Ming Dynasty scene depicting the life of the times.

The village had amazing architecture in original Ming Dy style. It was beautiful. The sweeping curves of rooves were wonderful and all I could think of was Kung Fu.

We made our way through the village looking at that old buildings, and the people who lived and worked here.

We took a moment to pose for a picture by a very old tree that was well over a thousand years old. The tree was enormous.

We made our way by bus to this small community, and found many wonderful people living virtually the same as in the Ming Dynasty.

In these mountains porcelain was discovered. I am going to take you on the same journey we took while searching for the mine. It was incredible.

Before I about our trip to Xian I would like to tell you about the a special place we visited called Gaolin. This is where Porcelain was discovered in the Ming Dynasty 1368-1644. This town was a major shipping port for the precious porcelain. It was here that porcelain was put onto boats to be distributed to all corners of the Empire.

Hello again. I would just like to appologize once again for any improper spelling or sentece fragments. Keeping up this journal with images has been a huge undertaking. There is so much to write. I have to keep going forward. With this in mind, I have made some mistakes. I hope you enjoy what I am doing and don't scrutinze too much. Enjoy the rest of the updates. Steve...