This festival,  one of the world’s four largest ice and snow festivals, includes humongous ice buildings built from the frozen waters of the Songhua River, gigantic snow sculptures, and ice slides. (Kind of an icy version of Burning Man at night!)

I loved the multi-colored night lights that illuminated the sculptures from both inside and outside. Really cool to see the brilliant and dazzling lights against the dark night sky.

Something for everyone, this year’s festival even included the first China Ice and Snow Wedding Ceremony Festival and the 26th Ice and Snow Festival Group Wedding Ceremony on the Ice. (Hope the honeymoon was able to warm up these brides and grooms!)

Lacking the company of another dragon to snuggle up to, I stayed warm by trying ice rock-climbing, ice golf, skiing, skating, sliding, snow fights, and ice archery. (Unfortunately in a fit of sneezing I flamed the tip of Mao-tse Tung’s nose and then was encouraged to leave – immediately. Ah… the life of a dragon!)

Being rebellious, I spewed some flames as I flew away. Created quite a minor sensation below, with photographers snapping pictures of the mysterious light in the sky!

Inside I found an amazing exhibit called Sonabai, Another Way of Seeing. For a decade and a half, Sonabai Rajawar only contact was with her husband and child! In response to this isolation, she created an entirely new artistic expression of color, light, and fun.

How amazing that she had no instruction or guidance, but was able to create such joyous art! Years later, quite by chance, the Indian art world discovered her and later gave her India’s highest honor, the prestigious President’s Award.

Sonabai’s story clearly expresses the capacity of human beings (including dragons) everywhere to meet their challenges head on and to draw from within themselves the strength and insight to change their lives.  Sonabai found ways to transform her oppression into expressions of courage, beauty, and joy in living. What an inspiration!

I love the way guest curator Stephen Huyler truly captured the feeling of Sonabai’s environment in hi very creative exhibit of short videos of the artist at work and village scenes, projections of village dancers, and photomurals of Sonabai’s studio.

How different life in this village is from life in America! I especially love the variety and brilliance of colors in the women’s clothing (even for picking rice). These truly amazed me, as I don’t think they go to their local K-Mart to buy their clothing and yet the colors seemed brighter than the average outfit around here. Also the looks of pure delight and playfulness on the faces of the women and children so expressed their pure pleasure in the simple things in life! (Dr. Huyler’s photomurals of Sonabai’s studio made me want to fly right out to central India to see these sights for myself and join the villagers in their dance!)

Seeing the works of Sonabai, as well as the art of her four students in this exhibit, gave me hope and inspiration. Sonabai’s story reminded me of the story of holocaust survivor Victor Frankl. He concluded that life has potential meaning and that therefore even suffering is meaningful.

So true for Sonabai who emerged from her oppression to inspire artists, as well as others all over the world, with her art and story!

Whose story inspires you? Please share your inspiration here!

I met the dear emperor in my younger days (around 250 B.C.), as he was starting to plan for his afterlife.

You see death was perceived as a prolongation of life, and an emperor’s mausoleum was his afterlife palace, mirroring the magnificence of his palatial life on earth. As an old Chinese saying instructs, “treat death as life.”

It was natural then for emperors plagues by war to make their tombs battle ready. In the early days , it was customary to put the servants of a king to death so that they might serve him in the afterlife, but human sacrifice was less common by the time of Qin’s death. Rather than sacrifice an entire army, my pal Qin decided to bury himself with a symbolic force of detailed, life-sized, terracotta soldiers and horses assembled to protect him in the next world. (Just more humane though the people that constructed this army might not think so!)

I missed the discovery in 1974 when these awesome warriors were found by a local farmer digging a well so I’m glad I can now see the finished product!

These dudes look so vibrant, almost alive! And I didn’t have to fly to Xian to see them! (Still a bit bloated from my Halloween eats so Washington DC is so much closer!)

Check them for yourself if you have a chance!

This dragon has often envied the ability of my distant chameleon cousins to camouflage themselves. (Check out this amazing cousin in camo… If I’m extra good in this life, perhaps I’ll come back with that camo skill in my next life. This could a really useful skill for a big dragon!)

Speaking of camouflage, while surfing the net today I discovered an amazing Chinese Da Vinci named Liu Bolin. Some call him the “Invisible Man” and for a really good reason! (Yes, dragons do surf the net, despite our difficulties in using a mouse.)

This very talented dude’s photos have people painted to appear to be invisible or disappearing. It’s his way of showing how he feels Chinese citizens are being treated by the Chinese government.

“It is not so much the body that is concealed in the environment,” says the Invisible Man, “as the surrounding world that swallows up human beings, without giving them any option.” What a cool and a unique way to make a political statement!

See if you can find the invisible people in following pictures! Kudos to the artist and the patient people in these pictures!

For more pictures and info on The Man, go to the Intermedias blog, Galerie Bertin-Toublanc, and DesignBoom.

Today in America, many of us practice yoga and meditation for stress management. (In fact, most fitness centers now carry yoga classes.) Martial arts and Tai Chi have also become popular activities for many.

In the area of alternative medicine, more and more of us are turning to Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda and Oriental therapies for health and well-being, and most people have heard of Deepak Chopra, the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine.” (This dragon turns to acupuncture when its scales get too scaly or its flames start to sputter, especially since many health insurance companies now cover acupuncture!)

In the area of food (one of this dragon’s favorite topics), almost every city in America has Chinese takeout and most of us are experts in using chopsticks. (I confess that I still have problems with burning up chopsticks when I exhale when eating.) Many of us love Asian tea and dim sum, regularly eat rice, and speak sushi fluently.

For entertainment, many of us grew up watching Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Ninja Turtles! I for one especially loved the Chinese movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. (Go dragons! In 2000, this was highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history.) Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans, and Sony, Panasonic, and tons of other Asian products are abundant on freeways and in most American households. (Flying with your own wings is still the best way to get around! Low cost, fast, fueled by dim sum and sushi!)

Today, we check feng shui when buying and decorating our homes and some of us even consult Chinese astrology before selecting a date to get married. (I always make sure I’m not sleeping in the coffin position, in whatever cave I inhabit!) I could go on and on about how Asian cultures have merged into daily American life but that might even surpass my lifespan in time! Of course, my favorite of all Asian culture co-mingling is how much us dragons are loved today! We’re revered and celebrated in martial arts, festivals, and even on people’s skins!

So… what’s your favorite Asian culture co-mingling? Please share it here!

Prior to doing that I was having a bad run on luck, tying up lots of money in losing stock trades. The day after placing the red under my phone the stock market picked up steam. In fact yesterday the Dow went over 10,000 for the first time in a long time. That’s one powerful piece of red paper! And I’ve been meeting my goal to make 20 cows per week in the stock market ever since I added the red to my phone.

I loaned a horse statue to my friend who has been trying to sell his house for over half a year. Unfortunately I told him placing his horse in his travel position would either sell his house or help him travel soon. Since then he’s going on one trip and two more fell into his lap without any effort! (He may yet sell his house but at least will be going to three fun places while he’s waiting!) Since he’s kind of broke, I also gave him a desert rose succulent to put near his front door. (Another dragon had placed one near the front of the cave after hearing that plants with purple rounded leaves would bring prosperity when placed at the front door.) My friend repotted the plant and placed it outside the door just the day before the stock market went over 10,000! (He also dabbles in the stock market!)

Stay tuned as to what else comes about with the addition of this plant…

Try out the red paper or potted plant and let me know how it goes!