I was amazed at some of the sights we saw driving about, palm trees dressed in gold lame for decoration. We drove to an artist’s “village” a crowded maze of old and new buildings with a “gate” at the front that is home to many artists. It seemed somewhat deserted and we ambled around for at least an hour on stone streets. We came across a house crafted of oyster shells, and a performance pavilion with stunning gold and black “door ghosts.” We also saw a man hard at work mortaring brick and using an old fashioned bucket and pulley for bringing up the sand for his mortar.

Following our meanderings we headed off to visit the studio of Mr. Cuo, an acclaimed contemporary Chinese interior designer. We were greeted by his assistants and viewed all four floors. His work is reminiscent of Ron Arad, Michael Taylor, and Robert Kuo. It is bold in its shape, peaceful in its simplicity, and timeless by its largely organic nature. He had a stunning collection of fish, mostly carved wood, some ceramic that he had crafted. He shared that the fish is not present in the Chinese calendar of astrology, and he felt that it represented his uniqueness. He also had a collection of toilets, both working and decorative because he said (through the translator) that the invention of the toilet was so incredible and had been impacted by so many other countries that China needed to design a toilet also.

I was honored by his request to sign a book he owned on my great grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright. And he presented me with a clipping in Chinese regarding Fallingwater that he had hung onto for many years. He also presented each of us with a tiny ceramic cup, hand crafted used to toast with Chinese liquor. It was truly a privilege visiting his studio and viewing his craftsmanship and imagination at work.

The Chinese are masters at landscape artistry and even the highways are lushly planted with tropical looking greenery in full flower. They had plumeria, Japanese maples, crepe myrtles, palm trees, fringe flower and too many more to name. They also embraced the art of topiaries and the Foo Dogs here, or lions as they called them, are particularly entertaining.

We visited the historical property The House of Chen. It was in typical Chinese style with polychromed sculpted scenes on the roof line, tiled roofs, stone courtyards, and much carved wood. Most of the carving seemed to be contemporary interpretations of historical representations. They also showcased modern day artists working in the class arts of ceramic sculpture, bone carving, ivory carving, wood carving and more. The doors had enormous colorful painted warrior type figures, one on each door, and are called “door ghosts”) as they are protectors of all who reside within.