China Photos Now on Picasa

While drinking green tea we bought in China I have gone through our photos and uploaded a large selection to Picasa. Take a look at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102526380860843893580/2012China?authuser=0&feat=directlink

By the way, after sitting through what was effectively an infomercial at the green tea factory I now firmly believe that green tea can cure all ailments! It's the tea polyphenol you know. I'm drinking mine, and you can reuse the leaves five times. :)

And another note on China. Our best weather and clearest skies were in Beijing and we were very lucky to have that. And, as hot as it was there, the humidity was much lower than what we endured the rest of our trip.

Thank you China Highlights for putting together a great tour and to each of our guides and drivers for getting us here and there while helping us undertand what we were experiening and seeing.

China Tour 2012 - Xi'an and on to Guilin

My Chinese Zodiac Sign

We got a bit of a respite this morning. Though we had to have our bags to the lobby by 8:00am we had no plans until 9:30. We all had a leisurely breakfast and then strolled the area until we met our guide. We needed a bit of a rest.

I realized this morning that all the food here has basically the same flavors. Breakfast, lunch, dinner are all similar. I'm feeling a need for something different, perhaps more western?

This morning we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda which was pretty and relaxing. This is a Buddhist site, the simple, elegant brick Pagoda stands in the grounds of the attractive Da Ci'en Temple. Most of the crew chose to climb the pagoda while Sharon and I wandered the grounds. I found a place where people hang prayers. They were fascinating in that they were in different languages and from around the world. In addition to the prayer, they included names and addresses. I saw requests from Brazil, France, Spain, Russia, United States, Korea, and of course, China. Wonderful.

Next stop the Shaanxi History Museum. This museum covered China from pre-history though all of the Dynasties. I was particularly taken by the pottery from the earliest periods. Most of the styles and designs of the pottery were similar to what I know of similar pieces from early man in what is now Europe and the middle east. Separately developed but similar solutions to common problems. The development of bronze seems to follow a similar path.

We had a tasty lunch in a very local restaurant and then off to the airport. As I write this I am on a Hainan Airlines 737 on route to Guilin.

Later... It took us four hours to get to Guilin even though we left Xi'an on time. Our flight was a one stop - pretty much two one hour flights on the same airplane. However, the first leg took close to two hours and then we had to get off the airplane, reboard, and then sit and wait. We were all so ready to get off!

In Guilin we found our guide quickly, Jenny and were off on a 40 minute rife to the Sheraton - nice hotel! Once there we went out looking for dinner and by about 11:30pm we were having some dinner. Western style. Sharon and I had salads, There were some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and Audra had pizza. An interesting meal but a very late night.

China Tour 2012 - Xi'an

Audra the Warrior

Good morning Xi'an. We already like this city more than Beijing. Could it be that it is a small city of only 8,000,000 souls?

After breakfast in the hotel it was off to The Chondale Pottery Factory and the Terracotta Warriors. The pottery factory was interesting, the local clays used for the warriors and for modern decorative pieces and paving tiles and bricks makes for a very dense and hard finished pottery after firing. Of course there was a shop after the brief tour and Sharon and I picked up a new tile for the house, some pottery trinkets, and a silk embroidered piece with a circle of gold fish in the center.


The Terracotta Warriors! This is an extraordinary thing to see and experience. Anyone who comes to China should make the effort to come to Xi'an and see this. There are over 7,000 soldiers, horses, chariots that have been here since about 200BC. Many of them were badly damaged when the supporting roof beams collapsed but they have been carefully restored. Fascinating. Though we have seen pictures and a documentary, seeing them is a memorable, moving experience.

Lunch at A Wa Shan Zhai Restaurant was mainly Hunan and Sichuan cuisine and very good. Summer recommended a dish made from pig intestines and we went for it. Quite tasty! She told us later that in four years of being a guide no other American group has tried this dish. We are adventurers. The meal was very good and we all especially enjoyed the bean and eggplant dish and ordered a second one.

After lunch we headed to the Great Mosque and Muslim quarters street. There has been a Muslim presence here dating back to the beginning of the Silk Road which starts in Xi'an. This is one pf their National Heritage sites. I think it needs work. The Muslim Quarters street was very interesting, filled with people and sights and sounds.

Next stop the City Wall. We all road bicycles on the wall. Sharon and I wimped and only rode the length of one side then turned around. Frankly, the air pollution here was taking a toll on my lungs and my throat was burning. Air pollution is a major issue here. Think of the worst of L.A. back in the 60s before the Clean Air Act.

Shopping. Larry wanted to go handbag shopping. Our guide took us to a shop that had really good high end copies. The Dunivan clan made out with some great deals. Sharon and I sat out front and watched the neighborhood. I chatted with a young boy of about Avery's age, 11. I complimented him on his English. He asked where were were from and what we were doing in Xi'an. Cute boy and shame on me for not getting his picture.

We finished the day with a dumpling banquet. The dumplings kept coming and coming! Many were good a couple were terrible and a couple were outstanding.