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Arturo and Maria Lagos
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So before you're like "what the hell are you doing posting pictures of a cemetery?" lol, I'll explain how I (Maria) came to visit a Chinese cemetery and why I thought this was so interesting.
My driver's (Xiao Xiao) father had cancer and died a year ago. On his anniversary Xiao Xiao invited me to the cemetery so I can see how Chinese people do things when they visit an ancestor that passed away.
So this is the interesting part....... Chinese people believe that when you visit someone that passed on it has to be before Noon time, otherwise their spirit is no longer there and you can not speak to it.
On the above picture you can see that they placed all this food in front of the tomb...... they believe that if you place that food before Noon, that he/she receives it on the other side.
Xiao Xiao's mother made all of his favorite foods.
Xiao Xiao speaking to his father.
So because China is extremely over populated they cremate everyone and place their ashes in these tombs. The cemetery is designed to go up, like stairs, is not flat land like it is in America.
These are some type of "fireplace/ burners" I don't know the exact name for them, but they use them to burn the food and also things that represent "money". Not real money, you'll see on the pictures below what I mean.
They believe that if it's burned before Noon that somehow it gets received on the other side. So the point is to do everything before noon.... Xiao Xiao mentioned that usually there are no visitors at the cemetery after 12pm.
This is Xiao Xiao burning the "money" for this father.
These are things that represent "money" or "gold"...... when I asked Xiao Xiao what these were for? His answer was " People that pass away don't have the means to make money, because they don't work, so their families have to send them money." Then I was thinking to myself, " duh... of course that's why, dead people need some cash too!" lol
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One of the best things about living in China are the delicious dumplings. My driver (Xiao Xiao) invited me (Maria) to his mom's house for lunch and she made chicken dumplings. I had the privilege of making a few myself, with her help of course. :)
Of course I sucked at it! But they seemed delighted that I was at least tyring. :) They kept saying that is was a "Special Moment", having an American in their home making dumplings. I would just smile and nod, happy that they were feeding me. :)
I was very honored though to have been invited, when a Chinese person invites you to their home it's a HUGE deal, they go far and beyond to make you feel welcome. And they feed you like you will not eat again for days! haha
Lady in black is Xiao Xiao's mom and the lady in blue is his Aunt.
Oh yeah, and we made the dumplings in the living room on top of a coffee table. That was interesting.
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With so much to see in just this city alone we always try to venture out on the weekends so we can go sightseeing and take in as much as possible. This particular weekend we decided to go downtown and visit Xinghai Square because it offers so many amazing views of the city and downtown itself.
Some interesting facts about Xinghai Square: One of the largest square's in Asia, covering a total area of45,000 square meters. The name of the square means "the Sea of Stars" in Chinese, it was given this name because the center of the square resembles the shape and design of a star, with two white marble pillars and 9 big dings.
The square was built to honor Hong Kong's return to China in 1997 and represents the "New Spirit of Dalian". Xinghai Square also boasts of imprints of 1000 pairs of footprints of Dalian people.
Some interesting facts about Xinghai Square: One of the largest square's in Asia, covering a total area of45,000 square meters. The name of the square means "the Sea of Stars" in Chinese, it was given this name because the center of the square resembles the shape and design of a star, with two white marble pillars and 9 big dings.
The square was built to honor Hong Kong's return to China in 1997 and represents the "New Spirit of Dalian". Xinghai Square also boasts of imprints of 1000 pairs of footprints of Dalian people.
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This past weekend we decided to hang out downtown and do some sightseeing since there so much we haven't seen yet of the city. So we decided to travel down this street called Binhai Road because it follows much of the southern coastline of Dalian and it passes by several beach areas & scenic spots. We ended up stopping near Tiger Beach and saw that hey had Bungee Jumping / Rock Climbing.
Being the curious person that I (Arturo) am, I decided we should go check it out. Well somehow, after watching some of the locals' bungee jump off this 190 foot platform overlooking some pretty sharp looking rocks, I got the bright idea that I should try it too. Never in a million years I thought I would try bungee jumping, let alone bungee jumping in China.
Being the curious person that I (Arturo) am, I decided we should go check it out. Well somehow, after watching some of the locals' bungee jump off this 190 foot platform overlooking some pretty sharp looking rocks, I got the bright idea that I should try it too. Never in a million years I thought I would try bungee jumping, let alone bungee jumping in China.
I wish I had some pictures or video to share of when I was on the platform getting ready to jump because that was pretty hilarious so let me see if I can paint a picture. At that point I had lost my courage and was having some second thoughts so I had a death grip on the metal railing next to me and my feet refused to budge. I had two Chinese guys trying to pry my hands open and another Chinese guy trying to move my feet forward but in my mind I was thinking hell no.....So after this 5 minute comedy routine, I finally stepped forward, held my hands out, and was pushed the fuck out.....lol
If you turn the volume up a little you can hear me yell Oooooooh.........shit
At this point I'm thinking what the hell am I doing. 
No turning back now.
My reward for almost staining my shorts. $30 dollars well spent...
Pictures of the surrounding area.
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So I (Maria) was invited to tag along with other expats on a hiking trip. Before I tell you how sore I was after the hike, I'll give you a little history; the mountain is called "Big Black Mountain". It's known as the first mountain in southern Liaoning Province. It has been praised as "The Wonder on the Southeast corner of Liaoning" and it has over 500 plant species along with some awesome ancient architecture. (Below you will see some of the temples we saw) Unfortunately none of us knew the history behind the temples so I couldn't tell you much on that, but it was still freaken cool to see!
Okay this is the story, I've never really hiked so I was really proud of myself that I reached the very top. We walked up and down approx. 4000 steps, walked a few trails and climbed over a few rocks. It took a total of 4 1/2 hrs to complete the entire hike and I saw some of the most outstanding scenery yet in China. And OH YES, I was sore for over a week, it kicked my butt big time! I couldn't even walk upstairs in our house, that's how bad it was. lol
But overall, it was totally worth it!
Us at the beginning of our hike.
This is one of the many temples we saw during our hike. Someone did tell us that this temple was used by a king to oversee his army.
The surrounding area.
The entrance to one of the temples.
A glimps of the many stairs there were.
A Buddist Worship Temple/ Cave.
Okay this is the story, I've never really hiked so I was really proud of myself that I reached the very top. We walked up and down approx. 4000 steps, walked a few trails and climbed over a few rocks. It took a total of 4 1/2 hrs to complete the entire hike and I saw some of the most outstanding scenery yet in China. And OH YES, I was sore for over a week, it kicked my butt big time! I couldn't even walk upstairs in our house, that's how bad it was. lol
But overall, it was totally worth it!
Us at the beginning of our hike.
This is one of the many temples we saw during our hike. Someone did tell us that this temple was used by a king to oversee his army.
The surrounding area.
The entrance to one of the temples.
A glimps of the many stairs there were.
A Buddist Worship Temple/ Cave. 
This was at the end of our hike.
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I (Arturo) thought I would post these pictures so that my fellow Intel friends in Arizona, Oregon, & New Mexico could get a peek at how the new facility looks at F68...
Exterior view of the MSB building..
MSB, FAB, and support buildings. The clear buildings to the right & left of the FAB are future expansion. Assuming the F68 project goes well.
Plaque located in the main lobby. It reads: "Thank You For Letting Us Bootleg your computer chips"....Just joking, I have no clue what it says but I'll find out.
Exterior view of the MSB building..
MSB, FAB, and support buildings. The clear buildings to the right & left of the FAB are future expansion. Assuming the F68 project goes well.
Plaque located in the main lobby. It reads: "Thank You For Letting Us Bootleg your computer chips"....Just joking, I have no clue what it says but I'll find out.
Lounge/Coffee Bar area right near the Automation Department
Open roof garden area also near the Automation Department.
Nice bathroom huh? Not a bad place to run too in case you indulge in too much of that delicious Chinese food.. ;) ... I thought everyone would also be amused to know that each bathrooom is staffed with a full time bathroom attendant who's sole job is to clean the sink area right after anyone uses them and clean the toilets after people have desecrated them.... Hey with a population of 1.3 billion, the Chinese government has to keep everyone gainfully employed somehow right?
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Arturo and Maria Lagos
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WARNING!!!! THE VIDEO YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MIGHT CAUSE SOME AMUSEMENT AND SOME SLIGHT LAUGHTER. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED....
So here's the story behind this amusing video and the accompanying photo's below. There's this local magazine called Focus On Dalian which is pretty much a magazine created by expats for expats. It has articles on ever thing from upcomimg events, to community outreach programs, to reviews of local bars, clubs, & restaurants. Well, Sumi, who is the Chief-Editor for the magazine and who also happens to live in our community, wanted to do a photo shoot that had expats and locals together for one of her articles in the next issue of the magazine.
The location for the photo shoot was at a salon/spa that Sumi has visited frequently and happened to be friends with the owner. So to motivate her employees, foster teamwork, and of course generate business, the owner and her workers engage in a sort of choregraphed dance/excercise routine in front of the shop every single morning...Enjoy!!! :)
Sumi is the lady with the red hair...
So here's the story behind this amusing video and the accompanying photo's below. There's this local magazine called Focus On Dalian which is pretty much a magazine created by expats for expats. It has articles on ever thing from upcomimg events, to community outreach programs, to reviews of local bars, clubs, & restaurants. Well, Sumi, who is the Chief-Editor for the magazine and who also happens to live in our community, wanted to do a photo shoot that had expats and locals together for one of her articles in the next issue of the magazine.
The location for the photo shoot was at a salon/spa that Sumi has visited frequently and happened to be friends with the owner. So to motivate her employees, foster teamwork, and of course generate business, the owner and her workers engage in a sort of choregraphed dance/excercise routine in front of the shop every single morning...Enjoy!!! :)
Sumi is the lady with the red hair...
