Attending the Specialty Tea Institute Level 3 Pu'erh course in San Francisco. Phil Parda from Savvy Tea Gourmet in Madison, Connecticut expertly taught the course.   I first met Phil in 2008 at the Durham Fair in Connecticut, when I was visiting my parents nearby. At his tea exhibit, he educated customers about every aspect of tea: where tea is from, how it's made, what the different varieties are, and how best to brew. I was instantly inspired, signing up for courses with the Specialty Tea Institute and then later with the Dongfang Guoyi tea school in Beijing.

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It seems more and more like Christmas every December in Beijing. The gigantic snowman at the Friendship Hotel (upper left), the Christmas tree in the koi pond before the Blessed Mother at the Xishiku Church (North Cathedral), and the Santa scene in the Dongsheng Plaza office building (lower left) all show how the season can be celebrated anywhere. And it's snowing quite heavily outside behind the Santa scene. 

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Reading from the Catholic Book of Rites, Father Zhu Daihua blesses this shipment of tea in Yidu. This blessing of the tea drew the attention of the plant administration and workers, cultivating a respect for the faith and inviting questions on what we believe.

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Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province, where Yichang and the Three Gorges region is located. The Huayuan Shan Church in Wuhan, also known as Holy Family Church, is one of Wuhan's oldest churches. The Zhongnan National Seminary is also located on the premises. Many of the priests who serve in the Yichang Diocese are formed here.   The four-character inscription above the main door, Pu Tian Tong Qing 普天同庆, is a classic Chinese idiom meaning "the whole world joins in the jubilation." 

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  This month, diocesan administrator Li Xiaoguo and I ventured to several remote locations in the region where the faith is still alive. Here in the Tongzigou Village, Jianshe County, we visited with 85-year-old Liu Chenggui, baptismal name Catarina. She reveled in telling stories of her time with the Belgian priests who served in this village in until the late 1940s.   For more photos from Father Li and my travels through the region on this trip, please visit the Explore the Area page.

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I'm always saddened when I come across an abandoned church. I imagine the times when there were vibrant celebrations and then wonder why the community disappeared.   In this scene, I stand with Fathers Li Xiaoguo, Li Guanxue, and Li Jinlong before the abandoned church and school in Mahuang Village, Moudao County. We first lamented over the loss of this church, which was closed around 1950. We prayed for the souls of the religious and laity who served this community, vowing that their work was not to be in vain. Father Li Xiaoguo then led us in prayer to...

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There was once an old man who had two sons, the older was named Green Mountain and the younger was named Red Mountain. Shortly before he passed away, the old man divided his property among his sons, leaving the east mountain to Green Mountain and the west mountain to Red Mountain. The west mountain had very dense forests, which Red Mountain labored each day to cut and sell.  For all of his hard work, Red Mountain became very wealthy. After a few years, all of the trees had been felled, and Red Mountain planted crops in their place.   Shortly...

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I was intrigued by this blending of religious imagery in Datong City, Shanxi Province. Huayan Temple is a historic and beautifully resorted Buddhist temple, monastery, and museum complex near the center of the city. While touring the temple, I noticed this cross at a neighboring church.    After I completed my tour of the temple, I visited this neighboring Christian church Qipan Street. The pastor happened to be hosting a bible study that evening, and I was invited to take part, sharing my impressions of the bible passage they were studying. It was a very unexpected end to the day,...

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The peony is the Chinese national flower. Luoyang City, in Henan Province, is known as the City of Peonies. Some of China's most expansive peony gardens are located here. Each April, tourists flock to Luoyang to see these enormous flowers when they are at their peak. I found this white peony at the Shenzhou Peony Garden. It was larger than a grapefruit, with the stalk just barely able to maintain the weight of the flower.

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The Hepu River delta on the South China coast has long been known for producing beautiful pearls. In the 2nd century AD, during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han dynasty, the local residents harvested the pearls and used them as currency for food. As the pearls were strongly desired domestically and internationally, the county officials were lured into corruption, forcing the farmers to hand over all of the pearls for the officials' own personal enrichment. Emperor Huan himself is known to this day as being famously corrupt. The story goes that as a result of the depletion of...

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