SOUTH NEWFANE — I want to sit down.
That one thought pulsed through my mind that morning. My entire body sagged with fatigue, and my left heel throbbed with every other step - a blood blister, compliments of last night's performance.
All I wanted in the world was to curl up and take a nap, not that the cobblestone street we were plodding down would offer much comfort.
When I heard that our group would be going to the Confucius Forest, I was excited to spend some time in the tranquility of the woods. Then I learned that the Confucian Forest was a cemetery.
Fantastic, I thought. We're going to spend hours gawking at gravestones.
Once we passed the endless stalls of vendors hawking tchotchkes, we passed through turnstiles and, after a bit of grumbling about the cost already being included, climbed into electric carts. I seated myself in the very best seat, which faced backwards.
The cart pulled out, and I found myself in the most beautiful cemetery I'd ever seen in my life.
It hardly looked like a cemetery at all. A stone path wound through lush grass, peppered with dainty purple flowers beneath a forest of towering cypress trees. Tall gravestones, the smallest easily 6 feet tall, poked up from the grass here and there.
More common were the mounds sprouting up everywhere, every one coated as evenly with grass and flowers as the surrounding earth. Underneath each mound and gravestone lay a descendant of Confucius himself.
The Confucius Forest is exclusively for the burial of the great philosopher's descendants and boy, are there a lot of them; more than 100,000. There are so many that they are needing to be cremated before burial. Confucius is laid to rest near the front of the cemetery in a temple-like area.
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Trundling along in the cart, I was in a much better mood. The air was fresher, white birds glided through the foliage above, and the expanse of flower-thick grass reminded me of springtime back home. It was a relief to sit back and watch the gorgeous landscape go by.
A ways in, another smaller cart caught up to ours and tailgated us the rest of the ride. I got a little cranky when the Chinese tourists started snapping pictures of us.
The Chinese have a fascination with Americans which I can never understand. They'll photograph us off the streets, often asking to have a picture taken with us, or just slow down and openly stare at us as if we all have multiple heads.
It was slightly flattering at first; then I didn't much care, and then I started getting a little irritated. I really like a lot of the Chinese people I have met, but the gawking on the streets bugs me. We're all people, aren't we?
I didn't let it ruin my time in the forest, though. There was a peaceful feel throughout the woods, and I drank it in.
There may be expanding cities and an abundance of pollution throughout China, but it is still full of beauty.