Yueyang Tower

Yueyang Tower, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

One of the pre-conference trips for the International Wood Culture Society Symposium on Taxodiaceae was a tour of Yueyang Tower. This is an ancient structure that has been rebuilt over the course of several dynasties. It's made entirely of wood, most likely from genera in Cuppressaceae (to which Taxodiaceae has been subsumed), and the site is very interesting from a cultural and architectural viewpoint.

While we were there a group of school kids was on a field trip. The place was overrun, in fact, with children in identical uniforms. Many of them wanted to practice their English skills on me. I was an easy target, being such a tall Caucasian woman. I enjoyed these brief interactions, and I'm sure I gave the kids something to talk about amongst themselves....