Xi'An China, May 14

Saturday dawned clear, but a little chilly in the morning. We never needed more than a very light jacket the entire time we were in China. It was a great time of year to go. The only rain we had was in Guilin, and rain never stops us - we lived in Seattle too long to be bothered by a few drops from the sky.

Our first stop was Big Wild Goose Pagoda. There is a very interesting story behind this pagoda, but I do not remember much of it. There was so much to absorb this trip that many of the finer details have disappeared from my mind. It has something to do with a long trip taken, similar to Marco Polo, and this Pagoda commemorates it. That's as much as I can pull out of my brain right now. 

One of the things you can have made in China is your chop, or signature stamp. In Chinese art, each artist has his own chop. It's part of what authenticates artwork. I'm no artist, but I thought it would be fun to have one made to stamp inside my books. Here's the story behind mine: I mentioned before that many Chinese take an English name. Well, it works the other way too. While Ray's parents were in Hong Kong, they got a Chinese name, taken from their name, Linford: Lin (mandarin) or Lim (cantonese). Lin is the word for forest. So on my chop are two of the Chinese character for tree (hence, a forest). Above that is our last name. Here's a picture of the stamp my chop makes  (shown on a one inch grid - the chop is about one inch square). I watched the girl carve it while I waited. Pretty fun. 

Xi'An is the home of the Terra-cotta warriors, and they will not let you forget it. Before I went there, everyone asked if we would be seeing the warriors. I rolled my eyes (in my imagination) every time, thinking "What is the big deal about some Terra-cotta warriors?"

After having seen it, here's what I have to say: it was absolutely amazing. Here is a teeny bit of background info (it is easily researched on the internet if you want more information). Basically the Emperor Qin (I think it was him) had the warriors made to guard his tomb (think pharaohs and Egypt here). They are life sized, and there are thousands of them. Pictures do not do them justice. Here's a little blurb on the pits where the warriors were found:

 Before we went to see the warriors, we first went to a factory where they show you how the warriors were made, and how they make all the ones they have for sale these days. That was surprisingly interesting as well.

Then we went to the Museum itself. You get on a tram and ride to where the buildings covering the pits are. The pit with the majority of the warriors is about the length of three football fields, and the width is about the length of one football field. To see the warriors in person is breath-taking (in a good way).

In the mid-1970's, a farmer in Xi'An was drilling for a well. He discovered a hand, then an arm. He called in the experts, and the rest is history. They are still finding more warriors and working on putting them together like they have all the ones so far. The roof had collapsed over the years, and the warriors are in pieces and have been painstakingly put back together. Like I said, absolutely amazing.

May 14

• Wild Goose Pagoda
• Terra-cotta Factory
• Terra-cotta Warriors Museum
• Lunch
• Stone Tablets
• Dinner
• Back to hotel and pack

Charles by the bell at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Incense was burning everywhere we went, it seemed. I loved it.
It brought back memories of my high school days.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the background.
Dad, Ray, Diane, Mom, Ann, Charles, Orva, Paul, Audry, John

My favorite tourist

John (he carried Audry's purse for her the whole time), Paul, Orva, Mom, our guide Lucy

Ann

Diane, Paul, Orva, Audry. 

Dad in the terra-cotta factory.

Paul never met a police car he didn't like.

On the streets of Xi'An. This woman is buying vegetables.

Inside the big pit. These are the actual warriors. Each one is individual, with it's own features.

You can see by the tiny real people observing on the far side how large this place is.

Another view

One last picture. Notice the horses?

This is where we saw some ancient stone tablets. It was the most peaceful place we saw on our trip.
There was a wonderful feeling here.

Xi'An China, May 13

Friday morning we were up bright and early and once again headed to the airport. China is a very large country, and we flew from city to city. We lived out of our suitcases because we were never in a city longer than three days.

A travel tip for those of you travelling in China with a namesake: it can cause problems. Ray and his dad have the same first name, and the airport officials could not understand that. In each airport it took about 15 minutes to get it all straightened out, even though they each had a passport, and each have different middle names. In China they do not name people in the family the same name. Each person gets an individual name.

We arrived in Xi'An, city of the ancient Terra-cotta warriors, just at lunch time. We were met at the airport by our guide Lucy and she took us to lunch right away.

After lunch we went to an art gallery. Now, no offense to any tour companies or businesses, but it has been our experience wherever we've traveled with a group that somehow you end up in places that not only inform you about local products, but they are also quite happy to sell you those products. Especially the expensive ones. While in China we went to a pearl museum/shopping, two silk factories/shopping, a jade company/shopping, and an art gallery/shopping. All in the name of learning about local handicrafts. To their credit, we received lots of interesting information. I think they must have been sorely disappointed in our group because we did very little purchasing besides in the silk factory.

We didn't spend a lot of time at the art gallery, but the one thing I did learn is that all this time I thought I was born in the year of the rooster, only to find out that actually it was the year of the monkey because my birthday is in January. 

Our next stop was the city wall. Xi'An means Western Peace. It used to be a walled city, and the wall is still there even though Xi'An has expanded far beyond its boundaries. Inside the wall there are building restrictions on building heights. Outside the wall is where you find the high rises and newer modern buildings. We went to the top of the wall to overlook the city. It was quite a nice view. We rented bicycles and rode from one corner of the city wall to another. Ray and I rented a tandem bike. It was very fun except for the fact that the seat was adjusted for someone well under 5 feet tall. I'm 5'8", and Ray is 6'2". Too bad we didn't realize they would have adjusted the seat (this is what happens when you don't speak the language). We still had a great time. 

For dinner we had a traditional dumpling dinner. It was my favorite meal of the entire trip. That region is known for their dumplings. The dumplings have various fillings, and of the dumplings are designed to look like the filling (duck filling for example - the dumpling is shaped like a duck. Fish like a fish, etc.) They were beautiful to look at, and delicious to eat. 

After dinner we went to a "Music & Dance Cultural Performance." It was more of a cultural experience. The music and dancing on stage were fine - what we could see and hear of it. We were packed in like sardines, and could not see around the heads in front of us. People just left their seats and went and sat wherever they could see - on the cooling vents, along the aisles, etc. And they talked. Loudly. The whole time. Very interesting. We asked our guide if that was normal behavior at a performance and she said not at all. 

Our hotel was the nicest of all we stayed at. The lobby was bare, but the rooms were great, and had the most modern electrical system. The bathroom had a dim light that was triggered by a motion detector. Then once you were in there you could choose brighter lighting if you wanted. A master control for all the lights in the room and bathroom were located right at the bedside. Pretty sweet.

We found that all the hotels in Hong Kong and China that we stayed in required your room key card to be placed in a slot by the door to have the electricity on. It took us a while to figure that out in the first place we stayed.

May 13:

• Fly to Xi'An (with the aid of an airplane)
• Lunch
• Art Gallery
• City Wall
• Dumpling dinner
• Music & Cultural Performance

Leaving Guilin and headed to Xi'An
Ray, Diane, Paul, Orva, Yvonne, Dad, Mom, John, Audry, Ann, Charles

Guilin airport

Xi'An is all about their terra-cotta warriors. This display was in the restaurant where we had lunch.
Dad

These lovely women greeted us as we came in for lunch.
Mom

Ann, Charles, John, Audry

Mom on the top of the city wall overlooking Xi'An

Dad by one of the buildings on top of the city wall.

Mom and her bike

Charles and Ann

Diane and Ray

Ray and Dad went for a spin when Ray and I got back.

Dad and Ray

Paul and Orva

Dad, Ray, Paul

Mom and Orva

Mom

Orva

John

Audry and John

Atop the city wall: John, Audry, Paul, Orva, Dad, Mom, Diane, Ray, Ann, Charles

The Dance perfomance. At least the few minutes we could see of it.

This was our view of the performance.

Guilin China, May 12

Day 2 in Guilin dawned chilly, misty, and overcast. Parts of the day it poured. By the afternoon it was nice again.

We took a three hour cruise of the Li River. Because of the amount of rain they've had, the river was higher than usual, and muddier. Normally it is very clear and beautiful. The surroundings were certainly beautiful with or without rain.

We ate lunch in the town of Yangshuo and did a little shopping. There were tons of little shops, with a lot of knock-offs available. Knock-offs are not created equal. You really have to look and make sure you're getting the best one available. Then bargaining time sets in. Usually I leave the negotiating to Ray, but this time I got a couple of very sweet deals all on my own. Like the rain poncho I got for mom for 5 yuan. (about 75 cents).

After the shopping we went to an art gallery, then a pearl museum, and finally the silk factory. The silk factory wasn't on our list originally but a friend of mine asked me to pick up a silk comforter for her daughter's wedding gift if we got to a silk factory. We went, planning on running in, grabbing the comforter, and leaving. Well, all of us ended up buying a comforter, and most of us got a silk cover to go with it. I think it was the fastest shopping/decision making during the whole trip. I bet we weren't there more than 45 minutes total. 

May 12 in a nutshell:

• Li River Cruise
• Lunch and shopping in Yanshuo
• Art gallery, Pearl museum/market, silk factory
• Dinner
• Hotel  - pack to be ready to leave the next morning

Li River Cruise - Mom and Dad. This scenery is typical of the entire cruise.

Audry and John

Paul and Orva

Mom and Dad

Snake wine. No lie.
Yes that is a real (although now dead) snake in the bottle.
Yes they drink it. It's a delicacy.
For them maybe.

John, Dad, Audry. The small blue bus in the background was our transportation in Guilin.

Dad, Mom, John, Audry, Ray, Diane, Paul, Orva, Ann, Charles

One of many in China.

It was interesting to recognize company colors and logos even when the name was written in Chinese.

Orva and Paul in the town of Yangshuo

Our guide, Yvonne, on the left, Mom on the right. I bought a bag exactly like the one Mom's holding. I love it.

Dad and Mom shopping in Yangshuo

A woman working in the rice fields

The silk factory.

All of us pulling on the silk in a demonstration on how they make the comforters.