Forest of Stones

September 12, 2008, Xian/Guilin, Friday afternoon

We are sitting in a coffee bar at the Xi'an airport. Mark having an expensive Bud—no soft drinks here—only bar drinks or coffee and tea. For me it is too hot for tea. Mark is not too happy that we have been eating a lot of American fast food—of course, he doesn't like it even at home. Me, I love having at least something familiar to put in my stomach. I haven't been really sick yet—but my cast iron tummy has not been too happy most of the last ten days. So far we have eaten KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Dairy Queen and have seen outlets for Burger King and Pizza Hut and Haagen Das. Of course Starbucks is everywhere—even inside the Forbidden City. Mostly when we have had fast food it has been a time issue rather than a deliberate choice to avoid the real thing. Fast Chinese food means a street vendor cooking a pot of something or offering you a skewer of something—usually mutton, if there is a label. Many of the food vendors in Beijing and Xi'an have been Muslim—don't know why.

This morning we got in some yoga and then went to the old city wall—quite impressive. Big enough on top for many cars to drive—though only official ones allowed. But bicycle rentals, pedicabs and even an electric mini bus for tourists. It takes about 1 ½ hrs to bicycle the full way round. 4 main huge gates, many smaller ones and 98 guard posts that jut out from the main wall. Large moat and between the wall and the moat a beautifully landscaped city park with trails, boats to rent for pedaling the moat, exercise equipment, etc. The wall is the largest and oldest extant in the world, dating from the sixth century, renovated in the 15th. It is huge. I will let Mark describe the street of the calligraphers and the Stele Museum.

At the south gate to the walled city is a university of traditional arts and many streets and arcades of calligraphy shops, both art works and equipment. There is also the Forest of Steles, or the Forest of Stones, the oldest and largest collection of stone tablets in China. They are all huge, over 2 meters high. All the classics of ancient China, Analects, Confucius, Mencius, et al. We got some pix of Confucius (on a tablet) and also bought a rubbing of a mountain in western China we liked.

Then a mad dash back to the hotel, packing, on to the travel agent (no deal), shopping for a camera filter, a aquick non-Chinese lunch, and the bus ride to the aifrport. Unfortunately there was no time for the Muslim quarter nor the Grand Mosque. We got on the plane just fine and enjoyed the 2 hour flight south to Guilin, via China Air--nice Chinese meal, choice of fish or spicy beef and noodles, salad, beer, tea, fruit, dessert--then the usual 40 km shuttle ride from the airport to town, then an easy taxi transfer, thanks to a young woman who wrote "Sheraton" for us in Chinese (also Mark's resourcefulness). We are at the Sheraton/Guilin, on the Li River.

Terra Cotta Worriers

September 11, 2008, Xian, Thursday

For those of you wondering if Vicki is on this trip, I am. Mark is going out hunting for a beer and an Olympic t-shirt. I have had to spend any computer time I've had trying to figure out hotel reservations we didn't have, and generally trying to get all the things done that I didn't finish before leaving Missoula. We still have vast gaps in the planning--for instance, no place to stay for the next four nights. However, the travel agent who arranged our day tour today said she could help with that tomorrow morning.

Our day today was pretty close to perfect. We were part of a group of 10 on a mini bus with English speaking Chinese guide. We visited the first Buddist pagoda built in China--1100 years old, then to an archeological site of the oldest villiage--about 4000 BC. Both sites had wonderful signs in English, information displays, dioramas, etc., which along with our guide, made it all very nice. We did stop at the obligatory factory store--but at least this one was "high class." The only factory allowed to make reproduction Terra Cotta warriors from the clay quarries used 2,200 years ago. We learned the whole process--30 days in a kiln to fire one of the life size ones. They also had craftsmen making laquered and jade inlaid furniture, cut paper work, etc. Not being able to buy anything is sometimes a blessing. I did get one of the smallest warriors as my one China souvenir.

Then we had an amazing Chinese family style meal--at least 12 dishes and 2 soups and the waitresses actually told you what most of them were in English. A little vague--chicken, pork (turned out to be a very sweet, smoky ham), fried winter melon (no idea--the woman from New Zealand said she thought it was bean curd), sweet/sour pork, the regional noodles, an orange flavored fruit with a green skin, etc. Mark and I would both eat there again in an instant--we had Dairy Queen blizzards for supper--though not the green tea or sesame seed flavors.

After lunch we had 3 hours at the Warriors site. There is really no way to describe it--none of pictures or videos I've seen begin to do it justice. The guide described it as the eighth wonder of the world and I do not think it an exaggeration. Mark and I have been to historical and archeological sites all over Europe, Mexico and America--the Chinese do it best. I would have dearly loved to buy the newest book-- being signed right there by one of the farmers who made the discovery in the 1970's, but our luggage is at the limit we can manage and also for Asia flights. You are allowed 44 lbs total including your carry-ons! That is not much when you're going to be gone over 6 months and visiting every climate from the Himilayas to the tropics. Right now we would dearly love to ditch the down mummy bags and jackets but I know we won't feel that way in Nepal.

Last comments from me on a philosophical note. I have been continually struck these past 9 days that China is the future. The high school across from our hotel in Beijing began class at 7:30 and ended at 6--plus homework and weekend exam practice sessions. These people are not kidding. They are moving forward at a breakneck pace, they are young, and they see the world as their oyster. If you were impressed by the Olympics--multiply that accomplishment as far as the eye can see for ten days--and we haven't been to Shanghai--which is not only the largest city but the economic center of China. It is truly impressive in a way our travels to Europe and elsewhere have never been. Hope we will have Internet the next few days. Internet cafes are not that common and most we have seen have had only 2 or 3 computers, so we are relying on hotel connections. In Guilin we plan to stay in slightly less expensive places which may not have connections. Vicki

Ditto to the above. The pagoda was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The gardens and stones were particularly interesting, as well as the three-wall jade depiction of events in the Buddha's life. The neolithic village was Banpo, an extensive facility, several large buildings housing the excavations. Neolithic things are pretty rare. We have visited several in Europe, but Banpo was perhaps the best we have seen, especially of one site. The Chinese appear to be taking extraordinary care of these things, exercising great patience. We saw ever more of this with the Terra Cotta "Worriers" (as the signs outside Xian proclaimed), where, amazingly, only a small percentage appears actually excavated. In the case of Qin himself, his tomb's whereabouts are well known, but the Chinese are willing to wait for technology to appear that will enable exploration without sacrificing preservation. As Vicki said, full employment for Chinese archeologist for generations to come! Mark

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the earliest Buddhist structures in China

In the huge neolithic center, Banpo

Infantry in Pit #1

Closer up

Ditto

A general, in the command/cavalry building

Pedometering in Xian

Shopping center, traffic, from the Bell Tower, ground zero,
Xian

New pedometer

September 10, 2008, Xian, Wednesday

Today we decamped, bidding farewell the luxurious Sheraton Four Points/Haidian, taxied to the airport, and, with only a little e-ticket difficulty, flew to Xian, the ancient capital. The trip was made ever more pleasurable and informative by a fellow passenger, Mr. Jim Kim, sales manager/Asia for InfoTrust Group. He travels frequently to the US, speaks superb English, and was able to answer the 1,001 questions we have been formulating about contemporary China. Lunch aboard the Air China flight was a treat (not pretzels, to say the least). The terrain we flew over was largely mountainous, dry, then later very green, with terraces, rivers, gorges, and, finally, the fertile plain we are now on in Xian. The 40 km shuttle ride from the airport featured massive bucolic scenes—lots of corn—dotted with ancient imperial burial mounds, most as yet unexcavated. At length, we arrived in the central city, within the ancient walls, and found our hotel, the Prince International. (It apparently goes by many names). It's plenty nice enough.

Xian is a sleepy little Chinese town of 8 million. About the size of NYC or LA, I guess. We walked the downtown a bit, booked our tour of the Terra Cotta Army tomorrow, and visited the 14^th century Bell Tower, which is ground zero in Xian. The view from the Tower enabled us to gain greater perspective on Chinese traffic phenomena and driving behaviors. We have formulated the following hypotheses:

Pedestrians have no rights, no priority, whatever.

Wheeled vehicles have rights and priorities in accordance with their size. Even bicycles outrank pedestrians. Buses have great priority. Taxis, however, appear to be bound by no rules nor priorities.

Everyone drives pretty slow. In10 days in China, we have seen only two wrecks, both very minor, both today (one in Beijing, one here). Top speed on the freeways we have observed is 80 km/hr. We have seen some pretty close calls, however, and were involved in one with our pedicab ride last week.

We believe the entire country is engaged in a massive game of “chicken.” Tour buses and taxis rule.

After the Bell Tower, we decided to check out a massive department store nearby. It was comparable to anything we ever saw in Dallas, with every upscale brand of every conceivable article. We were about to head for the food court/epicurean market in the basement when there, at the foot of the escalator, was a huge counter of Omron products. My beloved Omron pedometer had ceased to function properly back in Missoula, after going through the wash and most of the dry cycle; I had borrowed Rebecca's, but neglected to pack it for the trip, and had been missing it for days, especially with all the walking we're doing. So I am now the proud owner of a new Omron pedometer (as seen on the You docs). It's China-red, has Chinese language markings, weighs me in kilos (76 currently), calculates my mileage in kilometers, but counts steps just like the old one. It was meant to be.

After an unremarkable dinner, we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will do the Terra Cotta Army and associated tombs and sites. We leave late Friday afternoon for Guilin, so will see more of Xian Friday, hoping to use the evenings catching up on photos, blog, learning our various gadgets, including camera.