Trip to Wuhu

Over the past weekend, we took a trip to Andi's mother's hometown of Wuhu. We visited with Andi's uncles, aunts, and cousins, went out to dinner several times and played lots of Mahjong. We didn't get to do much site seeing due to the fact that the heat was unbearable.

A couple of sites by a place called Mirror Lake. I'm pretty sure it received it's name because of photo's like the one I took above.

Picture of a cool looking dragon we saw while walking through a park.

Andi next to two fat little Buddha monk statues.

Andi's uncle knew I liked spicy noodles so he took us to a very small place in a crowded little alley. He ordered for me spicy beef and tofu. It was sooooooo good!! The noodles were drenched in a bright red chili oil and had hints of star anise and another herb I just couldn't place. It was almost like cinnamon because it gave the entire dish a hint of sweetness. I have dreamed of these noodles for several nights now! :P

We then went back to Andi's Uncle's house and started to play Mahjong. Real Mahjong is nothing like what we play in the USA where we just match up tiles of the same number or color. It's kinda like someone built that game for Americans because they thought we could never grasp this game. It's very similar to gin rummy because you have to make runs of the same suit or three of a kind of the same tile. Every province has it's own style and rules of how to play from Hong Kong to Beijing to Wuhu. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes very addictive. Andi's dad and uncles will stay up all night during Chinese New Year and just keep playing. 

After Mahjong and dinner we took a walk along the river. While we walked, we turned a corner and there was this huge pagoda lit up against the backdrop of buildings. It was very cool to see since it was the only thing within the area giving off a substantial amount of light. We plan to return to Wuhu when we come back to China to live and hopefully I can see more of the city when it's cooler.