I look forward to bringing educational and fun experiences in Asia to my granddaughter Mila, who lives in Oklahoma, USA. She can learn about the world vicariously through all my adventures. I got a flat stuffed toy to join me. She is reversible. One side is a little girl, with angel wings and the other is a ladybug. I call her LadyB. I sent the same toy to Mila, which she can name as she sees fit. My Chinese name is Gonggong (公公), which means grandfather in Chinese.

I want to also share my China life with other youngsters and adults, so enjoy the stories. Hopefully you can show them around.

I posted the first 15 on Facebook and got many complaints from fans who hate it, don’t use it or got banned, of which there are more than you realize. Not just them, but Facebook – not to mention Instagram, Reddit, Quora, SoundCloud, StumbleUpon/Mix, Substack, TikTok, X and YouTube – all heavily shadow ban/block me, as you can see below. Therefore, I decided to start posting them on China Rising Radio Sinoland, where I have the artistic freedom that you deserve to fully enjoy. Catching up with #14 here.

Typical Facebook censorship. All three of their explanations are utter BS. It’s there, but you have to dig to get to it.

ADVENTURES IN ASIA WITH LADYB AND GONGGONG
Story #14: Going to a Taiwanese copy shop is a cultural feast.
Puli Town, Nantou County, Taiwan Province, China.

Dear Granddaughter Mila,

Going to an ordinary local shop in Taiwan Province is an amazing cultural and historical adventure.

This no-name copy shop’s 10 photos show what I mean. The foundation is the Chinese writing system, using pictographs that have been around for over 5,000 years! Badly named “characters” in English, they alone can keep you fascinated nonstop. The owner, Mr. Yu gave me two of the red posters for the upcoming 2025 Chinese New Year of the Wood Snake, which LadyB and I can put on each side of our home’s door to celebrate starting 29 January.

Who did the calligraphy, the Chinese writing art paintings? Why none other than the orange-robed Buddhist priest pictured on the book cover below! He is very famous in Taiwan and his given name is Xingyun (星云), which means Star Cloud.

I don’t have time to translate all the photos, but Star Cloud kindly puts the meaning of his axioms in English,

2024 Dragon: May you be free as cloud and water, auspicious and joyful, below,

2017 Rooster: Rising dawn of success, below,

2016 Dog: A family legacy of loyalty and honor, below,

The red dragon poster with the peony flowers below, China’s national flower, says, Rising Prosperity.

The framed gold painting is very famous in China. It is Emperor Wenchang, the God of Reading. He is cradling a book in his hands. You will also see him above the doors of copy shops, bookstores and libraries, riding a tiger.

All of the decorations on the store’s front are for 2024 Year of the Dragon. On 29 January 2025, the Year of the Snake begins, and these will be replaced with serpents!

WOW! All I wanted to do was photocopy a couple of documents and I left wiser and culturally richer!

Love, Grandfather Gonggong