Monday, July 23, 2012
Home Sweet Home
Three of the seven flights of our trip were on Monday, July 16. First, Xi'an to Hong Kong, my new favorite airport. We had time to go through immigration twice (once for arriving from the mainland, and once for departing for home) and enjoy the lovely airport before leaving for Vancouver, BC. On the flight from Vancouver to Portland we flew right by Mount Ranier and Mt. St. Helens. Looked for Mount Hood, but we weren't close enough. We walked onto the tarmac a little after 9 pm to a beautiful Portland sunset. Clean air, water you can drink from the tap, soft beds. Ahhh, it is great to be home.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Monday, July 16,2012 Xi'an to Hong Kong
We headed out early to see the tomb of Emperor Jingdi. Today is a weekday, which means fewer tourists. We got to the site before they opened, so took a little walk in this rural area. There are two man-made hills, one the tomb of the Emporer and one the tomb of the empress. Actually, there are many royal tombs in this area because there were many (72?) emperors who ruled from Xi'an, and the location is doubly favorable according to fung shui.
The tomb we visited is partially excavated and has been open to the public since 2007. It is not yet well known. It is the only museum in China with glass floor panels that allow one to look directly down at the excavation tunnels. This emperor was well prepared for the afterlife with 10 separate tunnels for the kitchen, textile weavers, etc. The site seems to be very well protected and preserved.
At the Xi'an airport we ran into a dragon boater and her father from Ottawa. They had planned to go to Tibet, but it is closed. They were re-routed by their travel agency to some alternative sites, including small villages where the people prepared hot pot for them. It was heartening to hear that they had some wonderful food. They enjoyed talking with others who spoke the same language!
Flight to HK on China Eastern was fine, and again included a meal. My chicken with noodle was edible. Vanessa got the classic beef with rice and gravy. She ate a roll.
Have I mentioned how much I like the Hong Kong airport? Cosmopolitan, with a good variety of restaurants and shops, and free wifi. Sweet!
We are about to board Air Canada for the flight to Vancouver.
The tomb we visited is partially excavated and has been open to the public since 2007. It is not yet well known. It is the only museum in China with glass floor panels that allow one to look directly down at the excavation tunnels. This emperor was well prepared for the afterlife with 10 separate tunnels for the kitchen, textile weavers, etc. The site seems to be very well protected and preserved.
At the Xi'an airport we ran into a dragon boater and her father from Ottawa. They had planned to go to Tibet, but it is closed. They were re-routed by their travel agency to some alternative sites, including small villages where the people prepared hot pot for them. It was heartening to hear that they had some wonderful food. They enjoyed talking with others who spoke the same language!
Flight to HK on China Eastern was fine, and again included a meal. My chicken with noodle was edible. Vanessa got the classic beef with rice and gravy. She ate a roll.
Have I mentioned how much I like the Hong Kong airport? Cosmopolitan, with a good variety of restaurants and shops, and free wifi. Sweet!
We are about to board Air Canada for the flight to Vancouver.
Sunday, July 15 Terra Cotta Army and Other Sights
The Qing dynasty lasted only 15 years, but it is very important because it was the first to unify China. During this period common methods of writing, weights and measures, etc. were established that are still in use today.
Today we started out at the terra cotta warriors, who guard the tomb of this emperor. This is a world heritage site. It's the largest museum in China built at the site of discovery. It's about an hour from town. The site is as excellent as you might imagine. We were able to take pictures because the archeologists are away at this time. I particularly enjoy the fact that the site is a work in progress. The discovery continues, and it lends an air of excitement.
We headed back into town and visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is one of China's best examples of a Tang-style pagoda (squarish). It was built to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by a monk who studied there for 17 years. Upon his return he was offered a governor position, but declined. He spent the last 19 years of his life translating scriptures with a crack team of linguist monks. The word pagoda come from an Indian term togoba. During the troubles in recent history, religious places were closed or destroyed unless they were actively used. Most monks were forced out. One persevered at this location, in the face of great trials. He is interred here as a hero, and he is the reason an active monastery is located here now.
We had lunch at a local restaurant. The kungpao chicken had a vinegary, perfumey sauce, with peppercorns as well as red peppers. The broccoli and tofu came with a salty gravy, mostly on the tofu.
We next visited the Little Goose Pagoda and the city museum. The top of this pagoda was shaken off in the middle of the 16th century, but it still has 15 progressively smaller tiers. There is a garden area filled with authentic old stone posts which were originally located ouside houses and used for tying horses.
The city museum was a find. The have some wonderful treasures in the permanent exhibit: ceramics, figurines (many still painted), Ming-dynasty seals and jade artifacts. I have never seen so many high quality pieces of this type together. Of course, as Vanessa pointed, out, we are in China. :-) There is a large scale model of Xi'an when it was in its prime. Each large block had a wall around it. Everyone must be inside their living place each night. The authorities knew exactly where each household was located. They used this information for conscription to service, such as for the military and tomb-building. Upstairs was another exhibit of gold and jade objects.
Our last stop was the Great Mosque. It is one of the largest mosques in China, and reflects both Arabic and Chinese features. It is said to have been founded in the 8th century.
One gets to the mosque by walking thru a pretty-well organized market.
Our guide informed us that over 90% of the people in China are Han, and they are subject to the one child policy. There are also 55 minorities. the Chinese Muslims may have 2 children. Some minorities, such as the Turkish-speaking Chinese and the Tibetans may have as many children as they wish.
The jewel today could not be anything other than the terra cotta warriors, but I also very much enjoyed the city museum. Tomorrow we are going to squeeze in a visit to the tomb of Emporer Jingdi before our departing flight at 11 am. Tomorrow will be our longest day as we travel home thru 4 countries on 3 flights (and cross the date line again).
Today we started out at the terra cotta warriors, who guard the tomb of this emperor. This is a world heritage site. It's the largest museum in China built at the site of discovery. It's about an hour from town. The site is as excellent as you might imagine. We were able to take pictures because the archeologists are away at this time. I particularly enjoy the fact that the site is a work in progress. The discovery continues, and it lends an air of excitement.
We headed back into town and visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is one of China's best examples of a Tang-style pagoda (squarish). It was built to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by a monk who studied there for 17 years. Upon his return he was offered a governor position, but declined. He spent the last 19 years of his life translating scriptures with a crack team of linguist monks. The word pagoda come from an Indian term togoba. During the troubles in recent history, religious places were closed or destroyed unless they were actively used. Most monks were forced out. One persevered at this location, in the face of great trials. He is interred here as a hero, and he is the reason an active monastery is located here now.
We had lunch at a local restaurant. The kungpao chicken had a vinegary, perfumey sauce, with peppercorns as well as red peppers. The broccoli and tofu came with a salty gravy, mostly on the tofu.
We next visited the Little Goose Pagoda and the city museum. The top of this pagoda was shaken off in the middle of the 16th century, but it still has 15 progressively smaller tiers. There is a garden area filled with authentic old stone posts which were originally located ouside houses and used for tying horses.
The city museum was a find. The have some wonderful treasures in the permanent exhibit: ceramics, figurines (many still painted), Ming-dynasty seals and jade artifacts. I have never seen so many high quality pieces of this type together. Of course, as Vanessa pointed, out, we are in China. :-) There is a large scale model of Xi'an when it was in its prime. Each large block had a wall around it. Everyone must be inside their living place each night. The authorities knew exactly where each household was located. They used this information for conscription to service, such as for the military and tomb-building. Upstairs was another exhibit of gold and jade objects.
Our last stop was the Great Mosque. It is one of the largest mosques in China, and reflects both Arabic and Chinese features. It is said to have been founded in the 8th century.
One gets to the mosque by walking thru a pretty-well organized market.
Our guide informed us that over 90% of the people in China are Han, and they are subject to the one child policy. There are also 55 minorities. the Chinese Muslims may have 2 children. Some minorities, such as the Turkish-speaking Chinese and the Tibetans may have as many children as they wish.
The jewel today could not be anything other than the terra cotta warriors, but I also very much enjoyed the city museum. Tomorrow we are going to squeeze in a visit to the tomb of Emporer Jingdi before our departing flight at 11 am. Tomorrow will be our longest day as we travel home thru 4 countries on 3 flights (and cross the date line again).
Saturday, July 14 Beijing to Xi'an and the City Wall
Today we packed for the flight and set out to find some porridge for breakfast. No luck, so we took a walk. Found hutongs in our neighborhood, as well as a hospital. We wandered to a park and watched people. Saw a couple of very cute wicker strollers, as well as a high tech pram.
It took an hour to get to the airport. Cost about twice as much to go there as it did to come in, as our hotel attendant had explained the night before that 'it should'. I guess it's customary.
We checked in for our domestic flight and were given good seats, no problem. The sky was blue - were appreciating that. There has been some blue sky the last 3 days. Then, we were surprised to see a meal served on our 2 hour flight, but, really all the food is tasting the same. Meat or seafood in a very salty gravy served with rice or noodles. Ugh.
We landed in Xi'an and were greeted by our guide. It's the first time we've had one of those people holding signs waiting for us, so it was fun. The terminal we used is large and new, open for one month. There is smog here too, from the coal plants and industry. The driving style here is the same as Beijing, but not as much honking. Our guide seemed to enjoy my comment about conversatnal honking in Beijing. He told us that it is said that the second language in China is honking! Do you know what the national bird is? The construction crane. :-)
BTW, we aked how many taxis in Xi'an. Weve been keeping track. 10K in HK, 300K in Beijing, and 15K in Xi'an. They are even cheaper here.
Our guide was not surprised to here that we were struggling with the salty and greasy food. He explained that this food style is common to north China because of the limited food sources that were available to people in the past. He will help us to find some more agreeable food. We also learned that porridge here means congee. Not what we were thinking of.
Xi'an is steeped in history and was the center of power until the 10th century. We visited the city wall, which is one of the few that remain in China. Ramparts are located 120 meters apart, because arrows could be shot 60 meters. We saw a performance of drums and soldiers.
We are staying in central Xi'an, inside the wall. 35 years ago there were only fields outside the wall, but now everyone wants to come to the cities, and the outside is all built up. The Muslim quarter is near our hotel, on the other side of the drum tower. The Chinese muslims have been here for hundreds of years. There is a lively street scene here. We had dinner at one of the restaurants and were happy to have a more palatable meal. We had two dishes. One was a cold spinach and rice noodle dish, with vinegar and a little bite, like horseradish. The second was a shrimp, cashew and veg stir fry with a light sauce. Ah, what a relief. Vanessa tried to order some bread because the picture in the menu looked interesting. We found out you can order that only if you're getting a stew. :-)
One thing I especially appreciate about traveling with Vanessa is that she has a good sense of direction and space. It is most valuable in finding our way around and back again. She is also good at figuring out mechanical and electronic things. Although I'm better at getting Internet access. :-)
Right now there are not many western tourists, but many Chinese people are visiting with their children because school is out. We'll head out early tomorrow to beat the crowds to the terra cotta warriors!
It took an hour to get to the airport. Cost about twice as much to go there as it did to come in, as our hotel attendant had explained the night before that 'it should'. I guess it's customary.
We checked in for our domestic flight and were given good seats, no problem. The sky was blue - were appreciating that. There has been some blue sky the last 3 days. Then, we were surprised to see a meal served on our 2 hour flight, but, really all the food is tasting the same. Meat or seafood in a very salty gravy served with rice or noodles. Ugh.
We landed in Xi'an and were greeted by our guide. It's the first time we've had one of those people holding signs waiting for us, so it was fun. The terminal we used is large and new, open for one month. There is smog here too, from the coal plants and industry. The driving style here is the same as Beijing, but not as much honking. Our guide seemed to enjoy my comment about conversatnal honking in Beijing. He told us that it is said that the second language in China is honking! Do you know what the national bird is? The construction crane. :-)
BTW, we aked how many taxis in Xi'an. Weve been keeping track. 10K in HK, 300K in Beijing, and 15K in Xi'an. They are even cheaper here.
Our guide was not surprised to here that we were struggling with the salty and greasy food. He explained that this food style is common to north China because of the limited food sources that were available to people in the past. He will help us to find some more agreeable food. We also learned that porridge here means congee. Not what we were thinking of.
Xi'an is steeped in history and was the center of power until the 10th century. We visited the city wall, which is one of the few that remain in China. Ramparts are located 120 meters apart, because arrows could be shot 60 meters. We saw a performance of drums and soldiers.
We are staying in central Xi'an, inside the wall. 35 years ago there were only fields outside the wall, but now everyone wants to come to the cities, and the outside is all built up. The Muslim quarter is near our hotel, on the other side of the drum tower. The Chinese muslims have been here for hundreds of years. There is a lively street scene here. We had dinner at one of the restaurants and were happy to have a more palatable meal. We had two dishes. One was a cold spinach and rice noodle dish, with vinegar and a little bite, like horseradish. The second was a shrimp, cashew and veg stir fry with a light sauce. Ah, what a relief. Vanessa tried to order some bread because the picture in the menu looked interesting. We found out you can order that only if you're getting a stew. :-)
One thing I especially appreciate about traveling with Vanessa is that she has a good sense of direction and space. It is most valuable in finding our way around and back again. She is also good at figuring out mechanical and electronic things. Although I'm better at getting Internet access. :-)
Right now there are not many western tourists, but many Chinese people are visiting with their children because school is out. We'll head out early tomorrow to beat the crowds to the terra cotta warriors!
Friday July 13 Pandas and Acrobats
Today we saw giant pandas, lesser pandas and Asian elephants. Saw a toddler wearing split pants with his little buns showing. (This allows an adult to hold him over a garbage can to pee.) One of our taxi drivers sang with the radio. We visited the memorial of one of China's most famous writers, Lao She Jinianguin. We also saw a performance of a national acrobatic group. Acrobats are like fireworks - fabulous!
We got a taxi right away and credit Vanessa's black and white striped shirt. We think the language problem works in our favor. We pile in the taxi and then hand the driver the card for our hotel. He doesn't have a good chance to tell us he doesn't want to go there.
We've had some blue sky for the last 3 days - nice. Tomorrow we travel to Xi'an (say she-an). We are ready to leave Beijing.
Today is Friday the 13th - just noticed that.
We got a taxi right away and credit Vanessa's black and white striped shirt. We think the language problem works in our favor. We pile in the taxi and then hand the driver the card for our hotel. He doesn't have a good chance to tell us he doesn't want to go there.
We've had some blue sky for the last 3 days - nice. Tomorrow we travel to Xi'an (say she-an). We are ready to leave Beijing.
Today is Friday the 13th - just noticed that.
Thursday, July 12 300,000 taxis in Beijing but you can't always get one
We headed out Thursday morning, to Tian'an Men square, which is the largest square in the world. Maybe 5 times as many Chinese people go to T square as go to the Great Wall. We saw some people carrying suitcases. They dream of coming to the capital once in their lives and may be able to afford to stay only one night. About 50,000 people a day visit T square.
We are in a central part of the city. Went by the national security administration building. You wont find it on google maps; it's blocked.
We wandered thru a park where retired men bring their birds for play dates every day. A bird can cost ¥500 - 1,000.
There are more western companies here than I expected. Apparently KFC was one of the first. The guide book says they serve some local food, and we tried them today. There was really nothing very good. I tried a local choice that is supposed to be Mexican. It is a strip of breaded, fried chicken with two cooked stalks of a green vegetable in a sweet spicy sauce in a wrap.
After visiting the Forbidden City we couldn't get a taxi, so we took a bus and subway to the Summer Palace. Once reserved for the emperor, it is now open to all and they do come. The palace took 50 years and 3 emperors to build. The emperor travelled a lot and built replicas of other places here. The scholar stones are stunning. There are over 100 bridges and none of them are the same. There are over 200 lions on the Marco Polo bridge and none of them are the same. We visited royal buildings and saw a grand corridor covered with many original paintings. The stone paths are beautiful. We took a motorized tourist dragon boat across the man- made lake, and visited the dragon temple where people went to pray.
Again, it wasn't easy to get a taxi. Over 3 million people a day take taxis, so no wonder they are busy. Our taxi was bumped from the back in transit. There are two ways to resolve such situations: car insurance or payment on the spot. This incident was resolved on the spot.
We had Peking duck tonight, complete with a personalized lesson in how to eat it - I'm sure Vanessa will write about it. (she was fed by a server in Beijing and I was fed by a server in Berlin! Hey, gotta learn somehow.) You really get a whole duck! Another item checked off on the bucket list. The entire meal cost ¥200, or $32. It was fun to have Peking duck in a good restaurant that isn't too fancy.
We walked past the Supreme Court on the way to the restaurant. I have more pictures of lions than you can shake a stick at.
Tomorrow is a free day - yay!
We are in a central part of the city. Went by the national security administration building. You wont find it on google maps; it's blocked.
We wandered thru a park where retired men bring their birds for play dates every day. A bird can cost ¥500 - 1,000.
There are more western companies here than I expected. Apparently KFC was one of the first. The guide book says they serve some local food, and we tried them today. There was really nothing very good. I tried a local choice that is supposed to be Mexican. It is a strip of breaded, fried chicken with two cooked stalks of a green vegetable in a sweet spicy sauce in a wrap.
After visiting the Forbidden City we couldn't get a taxi, so we took a bus and subway to the Summer Palace. Once reserved for the emperor, it is now open to all and they do come. The palace took 50 years and 3 emperors to build. The emperor travelled a lot and built replicas of other places here. The scholar stones are stunning. There are over 100 bridges and none of them are the same. There are over 200 lions on the Marco Polo bridge and none of them are the same. We visited royal buildings and saw a grand corridor covered with many original paintings. The stone paths are beautiful. We took a motorized tourist dragon boat across the man- made lake, and visited the dragon temple where people went to pray.
Again, it wasn't easy to get a taxi. Over 3 million people a day take taxis, so no wonder they are busy. Our taxi was bumped from the back in transit. There are two ways to resolve such situations: car insurance or payment on the spot. This incident was resolved on the spot.
We had Peking duck tonight, complete with a personalized lesson in how to eat it - I'm sure Vanessa will write about it. (she was fed by a server in Beijing and I was fed by a server in Berlin! Hey, gotta learn somehow.) You really get a whole duck! Another item checked off on the bucket list. The entire meal cost ¥200, or $32. It was fun to have Peking duck in a good restaurant that isn't too fancy.
We walked past the Supreme Court on the way to the restaurant. I have more pictures of lions than you can shake a stick at.
Tomorrow is a free day - yay!
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