Hidden Dragons in Changzhou

Sometimes, the most quietly unique travel experiences happen by utter sheer happen chance. I was out on my electric motorcycle, and I stopped to check out a park. This was between the Wujin and Qishuyan districts of Changzhou. The park itself wasn't much to look at just a artificial concrete pond and the usual exercise equipment you find in most Chinese public parks. There was, however, a building with a bunch of Chinese characters next to the door.

 

It definitely looked like a museum, and had trouble with the Chinese. So, I took a photo and posted it on Wechat. Within a few minutes, friends told me it was just the word "dragon," over and over again in different varieties of characters. So, I walked around the museum, noticed all the doors were locked. So, I continued walking around the park. 

Eventually, I went back home and forgot about the place for a few weeks. However, once a holiday weekend arrived, I found myself wondering what to do for the day. I did a little research, and found it the place was called "Hidden Dragon Pavilion"  常州藏龙馆. I jumped on my bike and went back out. Luckly, the place was open, and the moment I walked through the door, I was met by an elderly man. Given the remote location, my guess is that this place is very rarely, if ever, visited by foreigners. The guy was extremely excited to see me -- he pretty much grabbed me by the arm and gave me a guided tour.

The whole exhibit is dedicated to dragons in almost every variety you could think of: statues, ceramics, and much more. The guy even had a collection of baijiu bottles shaped shaped like the mythical creatures. Those bottles, by the way, were empty, and I am assuming somebody drank all the alcohol before exhibiting them.  The thing, though, was the man couldn't speak English, and I couldn't speak Chinese. I simply nodded, as if I could understand. However, the man was so animated, it was easy to feel his passion and enthusiasm for the subject. Before I had come out, I had read that the place was classed as a "folk art museum" by the municipal government. Essentially, this man had spent a lifetime collecting everything related to dragons, and that with government funding, his private collection had been turned into a public exhibit. 

Still, no matter what, things came back to language barrier. While I got to look at and appreciate a long of things at this place, I was still missing out on all the information this kind, old man was trying to convey.  For that reason, I have been meaning to enlist an equally curious Chinese friend and return, someday.