Photoblog: Journey Across Asia-Pacific (2)

A wonderful mood to match the wonderful weather! Little did I know, I was being shadowed by a little mimic. (Wen Qi)

This plaque commemorates the beginning of construction of the Sydney Opera House. All measurements were taken from this basic reference point. (Jing Yuan)

Sydney has many beautiful beaches. The vast ocean blue seems to merge with the boundless sky above. Oh the grandeur! (Regina Dong)

Can you guess which program this pose is from? (Anna)

In Melbourne we watched a parade of the world’s smallest penguins. (Jing Yuan)

Inside the park, other than the omnipresent “no photo” signs, there was also this… (Jing Yuan)

I finally got my first up-close look at a real Australian kangaroo. (Ying Xin Yu)

The kangaroos seem to be assessing us with much curiosity. (Ying Xin Yu)

Ahhh! Back to the food heaven that is Taiwan. (Anna)

Have you ever seen charcoal-roasted “pearl corn” before? (Anna)

You can brush on various condiments and we can assure you that the results are superb! (Yang Song)

Taiwan-style noodle soup met with great acclaim but you must be sure to pick the right noodle shop! (Yang Song)

The most scrumptious was the candied hawthorn fruit, which also happens to come in a wide variety of flavors. (Ying Xin Yu)

Dancers Lisa Ma and Kaidi Wu in front of the Kaohsiung Harbor. (Regina Dong)

The famous Shilin Night Market in Taipei provides great shopping for all kinds of knickknacks. (Jacob Wallenberg)

After four months of touring we’ve come back home! (Epoch Times)

After the last blog entry, many friends commented: “Hey, looks like you guys had a lot of great food in Asia!” To tell the truth I was a bit embarrassed by this remark so for the past two days, I have been asking fellow company members for more photos – of anything other than food! This actually proved to be quite difficult.

Anyone who has been to Taiwan must have wonderful memories of the tastes and smells of the various refreshments. For many of our Western-born performers, especially those who have never been to Taiwan before, everything (from regional delicacies to night market treats) provided a fascinating and novel taste sensation.

Of course, the Asia-Pacific isn't only renowned for its delicious food. Here, I truly felt the impact that the incredible landscape had on the people, who seemed full of respect and veneration for their unique environment. This photo blog also includes pictures of some incredible memories from Australia for everyone's viewing pleasure.

As we travel around the world with Shen Yun, there are many things that we cannot capture with our cameras. We often come upon things that are indefinable; a special local custom or feeling that words alone cannot express; something we have to feel and remember with our hearts. Something similar happens to us as we perform. When we are on stage, we’re actually using different artistic abilities to communicate with audience members. We listen with our hearts to perceive and comprehend their thoughts and feelings so that we can respond through our performance.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Let’s continue with our reminiscences from our last photo blog. Our third stop on 2011’s Asia-Pacific tour was Australia!