Xi'an Part 2 (7-15)

Tuesday was museum—Shaanxi History Museum—day, which was one of the things I really wanted to do in Xi’an. The man at the hostel had suggested that I go on Tuesday instead of Sunday because it would be very crowded on Sunday. Karen confirmed this, as she had planned to go on Sunday until she saw the crowd waiting to go in. I don’t know what Sunday was like, but when I arrived at 8:40 Tuesday morning there was already a very long line. It could be that more people were there because the museum is closed on Monday. Or there are just a lot of tourists. It took two hours to get to the ticket office. Fortunately, I could read on my phone while waiting. I also chatted a very little, which is how much English they could speak, with a couple 15-year-old girls behind me. The line was actually pretty well organized. Although it looked like an unorganized mass, there were three separate lines that stayed in line.

The museum is free to 4000 people every day. I wondered if they extended that number for the summer crowds. Once inside, I immersed myself in museum world for three hours. At the beginning it was extremely crowded, as everyone entered at the same time and was in the same place. It was hard to get in to look at the exhibits closely, and the line moved slowly because everyone was taking lots of photos. However, after a while, the crowd dispersed and it was easier to wander around. 

I always enjoy the pottery 

and bronze items. 

And I especially have always enjoyed Chinese figures. 

There is an exhibit of terracotta warriors that we could see close up. 

Another exhibit I enjoyed is miniature people from another tomb. 

The museum has a special exhibit of Tang dynasty treasures that included gold and silver items. 

There is also a special exhibit of imitating Tang dynasty murals in which paintings of artists’ imitations are displayed. The museum has an exhibit of Tang dynasty murals, but the entrance fee is 300 RMB/$50. I wonder how many people actually pay that much to see the exhibit. I think it was half price according to a sign, but that’s still a lot.

My second destination of the day was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is a half hour walk from the museum. Since it was mid-afternoon and I hadn’t eaten much all day, I stopped at First Noodles under the Sun, which is on the corner of the park leading to the pagoda. The server turned the menu to the noodles page and suggested three items for me. They were listed as “spilt the knife noodles.” I’m not sure what that means, but they were freshly homemade and were some of the best I’ve had.

Karen had said she didn’t like this pagoda very much because the park area you walk through to get to it is full of vendors. (She preferred the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which I didn’t get to, because the area was quiet.) There were stalls, but they weren’t active yet, maybe because I was there in the mid-afternoon heat. The pagoda wasn’t very crowded, either. The complex includes a number of beautiful rooms with wall murals and Buddha images. The murals in one room are covered with stone. Those in another room are carved wood.

I walked up the six levels of the pagoda. Views were lovely.

Across from the pagoda’s park is a new, very modern shopping mall. It features a huge ceiling with a video of changing seasons and places. Many people stood watching and photographing it.

My third destination was the City Wall again. I walked back to the main street, which took longer than I’d anticipated, and took the metro. The street I walked along has a series of statues along the side of the road, between the car lanes and the other vehicle lanes. 

When I decided to revisit Xi’an, I knew I wanted to ride a bicycle around the wall just because it’s possible to do it and I like riding. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if I hadn’t done that, but, since it was on the way home and I felt pretty good, I decided to do it. 

By the time I got there and rented a bicycle it was 8:00; so daylight was fading and the lights were already on. 

I did the 14 km trip in an hour and 15 minutes. Since I’d seen the views on the first part with Karen on Monday, I could ride past them. While the area outside the South Gate is pretty glitzy with lots of fancy buildings, the rest of the wall goes though more residential areas. It looked like a lot of regular—not fancy—apartment buildings. In some places before it got dark, I could see lots of people enjoying the path around the bottom of the wall—walking, sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed riding even though it was dark most of the time with the only lights being the lighted lanterns along the wall. At the North Gate, one entrepreneur was still open selling drinks for high prices, knowing that there wasn’t anywhere else to purchase them. It was good to see her, as I needed a drink. In the last section, there was a group of women in a plaza at the bottom of the wall dancing with cloth squares and umbrellas. It was fun to stop and watch them for a while. By the time I walked back to the hostel, my body was tired, as I’d been out for 13 hours. I know I packed too much into the last day, but it felt OK when I did it. Had I had more time, I would have saved the pagoda for another day and rested in my room before doing the bicycle ride. But such is life when traveling.

I came to Xi’an to do three things: the terracotta warriors, the museum, and the wall. I did all three and also the Tomb of Jingdi. I like what I’ve seen of the city. It’s quiet compared to Chengdu—less traffic and no honking—and it’s not as crowded. The hostel is in a residential neighborhood, which is nice. Local vendors sell food in the morning and evening. My favorite treat in Xi’an was a slice of big cantaloupe on a stick. I bought one every night and ate some, leaving most of it for breakfast. There are several local cafes that are also used to having tourists. People are out walking and sitting in the evening. I like being in residential areas.

Xi'an Part 1 (7-14)

On Saturday I took the high-speed bullet train from Beijing to Xi’an—5.5 hours instead of 11 to 18 hours. Seats were very comfortable—large and padded with lots of leg room. The cabins are air conditioned. The train traveled at 298 km per hour. When we arrived in Xi’an at 5:30, the temperature was 37/98 degrees.

Once I checked into the hostel, I went for a walk to the Bell and Drum Towers and the Muslim Quarter, which are a ten minute walk from the hostel. Since it was 6:30, the towers were closed, 

and the Muslim Quarter was very crowded. 

When I was taking photos of the Bell Tower, I realized that there was hardly any traffic and no noise. Much different from Chengdu. 

I walked down the street checking out the food stalls and looking for something I wanted to eat. Didn’t find much but I sampled a cake-like thing on a stick and a Muslim bread roll. On the way back I found a stew with vegetables that was quite tasty. 

After dark, it was fun to see the Bell and Drum Towers lighted up.

Sunday I joined the hostel’s tour to the Tomb of Jingdi, who died in 141 BC, which had captured my interest. The group had eight other people from England, Germany, Italy, France, and Canada. The Italians just complete a semester of studying Chinese, as they are both Chinese majors. They said it is a fairly popular major these days. They served as our translators, as the driver didn’t speak English.

The tomb, which was discovered in the late 1980s, has archeological relics in several underground pits. The upper level has a Plexiglas floor so you can see the relics from above 

and open windows so you can

get a sense of the size of the pits. From the lower level you can see the relics close up. Since I really like such sites, I enjoyed this one a lot.

The relics are small—about two feet—statues of people without arms, as the arms were made of wood and have not survived. Somehow I liked these small, armless people. 

They were originally clothed, but the clothes also have not survived. Some were painted. Several statues in the museum, which we visited later, still have some paint, but most are now plain. 

Other items are masses of animals: sheep, horses, pigs, cows, goats dogs. There are also remnants of chariot wheels. At the museum we saw a 3-D movie about the history. We were given recorders with an English translation, but, unfortunately, it was difficult to hear and understand. But the presentation was fantastic. This site was especially nice to visit because it wasn't crowded.

When we returned to the hotel, I relaxed in my room for a few hours before embarking on my evening entertainment: a dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty dance show. Both were wonderful. Since I was the only person from the hostel to go, I had a table of my own. The feature of the meal is, obviously, dumplings—15 different kinds, one of each. In addition, there were cucumbers with the special dipping sauce that I like, marinated beef, vegetable bullion, two desserts, and watermelon. Drinks provided were water (or coffee), tea, and sweet rice wine. It was fun to sample all the different kinds of dumplings. Each was in a special shape, some of which mimicked the contents: a goldfish with abalone, cabbage-shaped filled with cabbage, pig with pork, small duck on top of a duck-filled dumpling.

The dance show was fantastic, as are all I have seen. For an hour I was transported to another place and time. Highlights were long sleeve dances, 

masked warriors, and the finale. In addition to the dances, there were a few musical performances. Since I was in the back of the center section and no one was behind me, I stood for the performance so my view wasn’t blocked by the people in front of me and so I could take photos. I enjoyed the evening and was glad I splurged to treat myself to it.

Monday I joined the tour to see the terracotta warriors. I’d seen them on my previous trip 27 years ago but wanted to see them again, as I knew more had been excavated. At the hostel I met Karen, who is American and Dutch and teaches both English and Dutch languages in the Netherlands, and we hooked up for the day. Since we are both teachers, we enjoyed chatting. She was especially interested in my China teaching experience because she thinks she may want to do that in the future. The bus trip to the site was 1.5 hours. The tour group had 38 people with the majority in our bus (We had two.) being from the Netherlands; others were from Spain, Korea and England. Interestingly, the Spanish man came to China to work to improve his English, which he has accomplished because his coworkers are mostly Western English speakers. He made the interesting observation that, when he lived in Spain and met Irish or German people, he thought about how they are different from him. But now that he lives in China, when he meets other Europeans, he thinks about how they are similar. Living abroad does make one identify with those who are similar—Westerners of any kind.

At the site we walked a kilometer from the bus to the buildings. These famous terracotta figures are a hundred years older than those of Jingdi and are from the 3^rd century BC. Information states that about 8000 figures have been recovered. As excavations are ongoing, the museum is a work in progress. 

First we went into Pit 2, which contains over a thousand—not all excavated—cavalry and infantry figures. Displayed figures in the pit are mostly broken because the roof caved in. It was fun to look at the collections of pieces to see what was there. 

There are also several whole figures that still have paint and are displayed in cases. 

Next was Pit 3, which contains 68 mostly unfinished—headless—figures. Other sources suggest that the figures were vandalized and the heads removed. It is a command post with officers, some groups of which look like they are having a meeting or are casually standing around. Our guide told us that it will take twenty more years to excavate these two pits completely and piece together the remnants. Before we entered each building, she gave us information and told us where and when to meet. I was really glad that we weren’t required to stay together the whole time and we could walk around at our own pace pretty much. The time was adequate, although I could have used about five more minutes in Pit 2 and about ten more minutes in Pit 1.

Pit 1 is saved for last because it’s the biggest one and is famous for its multitude of figures—over 6000 total, with over 1000 on display. This is the one I remember from the previous trip, but it wasn’t as big then as it is now. I think we stood closer to the statues then, too. Now you stand on a high platform overlooking the massive pit. 

One section newly opened to the public has unfinished statues. 

Another has one statue for each of the 56 minorities. It was interesting that it was important to recognize them separately from the main group. 

The main section contains the rows and rows of statues, each with a unique head/face, but it required the telephoto lens to really see the faces well. Different hairstyles indicate different ranks. They are truly amazing. Of course the front platform for viewing them was quite crowded, but it was worth dealing with that. I really wish I could look at my old photos for comparison to see how the site has changed in 27 years. Pit 3 wasn’t open then.

After visiting the museum, we stopped for lunch. Since it was 2:30, everyone was hungry. The meal had ten different dishes. One was local special noodles that are an inch and a half wide. It was fun to try one, but it wasn’t very tasty. Before leaving the area, we stopped to see the tomb of the emperor who had the terracotta warriors made. Because it has a very high mercury level—a thousand times higher than is safe, the tomb was closed in 2000. They plan to open it again in twenty years. So we walked to see the hill above the tomb. Could have skipped that.

Karen and I decided to go to the Xi’an City Wall after resting for an hour and a half. The rest was good, as it was very hot and our energy was low even though we hadn’t been out in the heat much. When we left at 6:15, it was pleasant out again. We walked to the wall (about 20 minutes from the hostel) and then had a leisurely walk on the top for half an hour before turning back. We enjoyed the view of the city buildings on one side 

and rooftops of what looks like a renovated or new shopping area on the other. We also enjoyed the traditional instrumental music coming from speakers along the wall. It was a very relaxing experience.

Back in the hostel area, we stopped for dinner at a place that has individual hot pot. You can choose your food and cook it in your personal hot pot. It was perfect. It was fun to introduce Karen to hot pot, as she wasn’t familiar with it.

Beijing Part 2 (7-12)

Thursday was Great Wall day. Jerry always referred to it as the Chinese Wall. 

One reason I had selected this tour is that it goes to the Mutianyu section of the Wall, which is farther from Beijing and is less crowded. It took an hour and a half to get there. Jerry told us that we would see many people, but they would be mostly foreigners, as Chinese people don’t want to go that far and go to the Badaling section because it’s closer to the city. 

We took the chair lift to the top of the mountain and down again. There is a choice to take a toboggan slide down, but we stuck with the chair lift. Actually, it wasn’t crowded when we were there. But it was hot. We were glad to be leaving at noon rather than arriving and starting to walk as some people were. 

This section of the wall has 23 towers, but we went to only six, walking about one kilometer to the end and then back. 

The wall is a series of steps up and down the mountain. 

Views of the surrounding mountains and the wall snaking over them were lovely.

After our Great Wall walk, we stopped for lunch nearby. Jerry ordered a local fish specialty. It was cut in half and cooked with the meat side up and was seasoned nicely. We also had our daily eggplant, which was served over a bed of sweet onions, and green beans. Then it was back to the city for an hour and a half. 

At the hotel we relaxed until time for dinner, as this was the night of our Beijing/Peking duck dinner. It had been ordered in advance and was served shortly after we arrived. We also had Chinese beans/broad beans. Since we had a whole duck, this was enough. The duck was good although I’ve had better. Ercilia didn’t like it, as it didn’t have as much flavor and was cooked differently than she is accustomed to.

After dinner we were dropped off at the church in Wangfujing. We also walked around a couple department stores in the area just to see them. Then Ercilia directed us back to the hotel on a road the driver had taken. But she had the wrong road; so we ended out walking much more than planned. When the road intersected with a main road we weren’t familiar with, I showed our hotel card with a map on the back to a policeman on the corner. He pointed out the direction for us, which was the direction I knew we needed to go. Eventually we came to Tiananmen Square where we enjoyed watching all the people taking photos of the gate with Mao’s picture. We also enjoyed seeing the area lighted up at night. At the next corner we asked the policeman which way to go, and he pointed out the direction. When we came to the next big intersection, a policeman was sitting in his car. When I showed him the hotel card, he gave us directions in English, which was really nice. At that time, we were finally close to the hotel. So, instead of taking half an hour to return, it took an hour and a half. It was a good walk and we were happy to have seen the Mao gate lighted up, but we were glad to be back, as it was 11:00 and we’d been walking for 3.5 hours.

Friday was the last day of our tour. We started at the Summer Palace. I remember going there on the previous trip and especially remember the marble boat. 

Even though we arrived at 9:45, it was already crowded. 

First we went to the stage where performances were held and where they now do a short show of classical performances. 

We saw dancers, a singer, and a music ensemble. I enjoyed them, but with the atonal classical music, the show was long enough.

Next we walked around the area. The 750 meter covered walkway is the longest in China. It is decorated with paintings representing many areas of the country. 

We had a brief glimpse of the marble boat, which is what I remember from my previous visit, before getting into a dragon boat to ride across the lake. 

From the boat we got a good view of the seventeen arch bridge. The boat ride ends near the entrance. Although the palace and grounds are lovely, it was difficult to enjoy them with the mobs of people. Although it seemed like there were more people than at the Imperial Palace, there probably weren’t. It’s just that they were crowded into smaller areas. It wasn’t pleasant to have to fight the crowds just to walk along.

Back in the city, we had a rickshaw ride through a few hutongs. These are narrow lanes where people live in crowded conditions. They originated in the 13^th and 14^th centuries and surround the Imperial Palace. At that time, they served as courtyard administrative residences. 

Important officials had/have larger homes and are noted by the number of beams sticking out of the front door. Now they are mostly inhabited by retired people, as young people don’t want to live there. 

We were taken into one house that is a private residence for a wealthy family.  Most of the courtyard houses are divided into five to ten small “houses,” which are actually one room, where people only have room to sleep. They do not have bathrooms; so there are public toilets and showers (for pay) in the area. The number of electric meters outside a house indicates how many families live there. Many hutongs are being demolished by the government and Jerry predicts that they will completely disappear in ten to twenty years.

Lunch was at another good restaurant. We had a vegetarian lunch: cooked cucumbers, bamboo, eggplant, and fried rice. The bamboo was some of the best I’ve had and was cooked differently—with the skin and with special seasoning. Then we walked through a renovated shopping area.

After our tour, we returned to the hotel to rest and be out of the heat for a couple hours. Then we walked to Jingshan Park, which is close to the hotel. The park has a hill with pagodas from which you can view the Imperial City roofs as well as the modern city. 

When we got to the top, there were already many people lined up with their cameras on tripods waiting for sunset. Since it was only 5:30, they had a long wait till the 7:30 sunset. After going up the hill, we walked around the rest of the park. 

The big water lilies were in pots in one area and were blooming. 

In another area several children were bicycling and roller skating while their grandparents watched. 

As the evening progressed, more people came to the park to walk. It was an enjoyable and relaxing place to hang out for a couple hours.

Next we headed back to the Wangfujing food stalls. On the way we stopped at the Forbidden City tower to watch the sunset. 

Again, photographers were lined up along the moat, waiting. 

Once at the food stalls, Ercilia had her fish on a stick and curled potatoes on a stick that she had been talking about for two days. I had squid and dumplings. We also had the cute balls decorated like animals. The man had said one had chocolate inside. They turned out to be steamed bread, and the chocolate wasn’t chocolate. They were fun to try but not really great tasting.

After eating, we took the direct route back to the hotel, as we had been walking for four hours and it was time to get packed and ready to leave on Saturday.

Saturday morning Ercilia walked with me to the bus stop where Jerry had said I could get a taxi to the train station. Although I enjoyed the time with Ercilia, as we got along well and traveled well together, I was ready to head off on my solo journey.