A market just outside the monastery sports dry fruits like dates, raisins, walnuts and longan.

There is a popular teahouse inside the monastery, which serves varieties of green tea and a few snacks. Appeared to be quite a favorite among visitors.

I had just quit my job to come to China and learn Chinese. My mind was an amalgam of worry at the prospect of not having a steady salary for the next few months and happiness as well at being free from the shackles of a job for the time being. Seeing these prayer tags...

There was this special display of Buddha statues with offerings, set out in one of the courtyards.

These huge iron caskets contain a mound of ash. People light a bunch of incense sticks, pray and stick them inside.

Wenshu Yuan is a temple complex, with multiple courtyards and prayer houses. This is one of them. Feel the incense?

The very Indian sounding Manjushri Monastery (named after one of the Boddhisattvas) was my first site of visit here in Chengdu. Locally known as Wenshu Yuan, this is a pretty place, if you ignore the high commercialization outside. Once inside the temple premises, it’s calm and peaceful.

Chengdu right now is freezing. The temperature is hovering around 6 to 7 degrees Celsius. The skies speak for it. Slate grey is the only color I have seen so far in the three days that I have been here. This is the centre of the city, near Tianfu Square where I went exploring today....