Putting the Qin in China

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Ni hao

Arrived in Xi'an on the overnight train from Beijing, we had a luxury cabin with our own en-suite. Xi'an was crowded, this seems to be the norm at all the Chinese train stations we have been to so far, train travel is a popular mode of transport given the huge distances that people cover. We got in a taxi to the hotel and our driver started driving but did not appear to know where we wanted to go, after much gesturing and waving around of the guidebook we got the message across; our driver seemed to like driving with one hand over the horn and the other on the horn, this would have been a little bizarre on its own but there was no traffic in front of us most of the time, he did this while laughing in a loud and slightly disturbing manor. Half way through the journey he decided we would pay a fixed rate and not the meter price which he decided to switch off, we really must get rid of that sign on our heads that says "I'm a westerner please rip me off!"

Xi'an has been an interesting experience, a thriving city which does not seem to stop bustling. It is a modern city with a completely different feel to Beijing, this is a much grittier place. Xi'an and the surrounding area are steeped in history dating back to 4000BC! It is known for being the end of the Silk Road, monks and Emperor's; one in particular who has left us with one of the wonders of the world - The Terracotta Army; Emperor Qin (pronounced Chin) is the reason why China has its name.

Armed (no pun intended) with background information from the British Museum exhibition we were ready to take on the Terracotta Army, seeing the warriors in all their glory at their original site, some of them still emerging from the ground was phenomenal.

Xi'an once the capital of China still retains its city walls (circa 1370) we strolled around the 14km circuit starting in daylight and ending in the dark, taking in all the different walks of life that make up Xi'an. It is one of the few complete city walls still in existence in China, a pretty impressive achievement given all the modernisation that is going on. We were pooped by the time we had finished, some of you may think 14km's that's nothing but we had visited The Big Goose Pagoda earlier in the day which was a round trip of 8km's, making 22km's! The Big Goose Pagoda may be of interest to those cult followers of Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy, remember tuning into BBC2 on a Friday for "Monkey magic, monkey magic.................."? The monk Xuan Zang housed his Buddhist sutras that he brought back from India in the Pagoda; his travels influenced "Journey to the West" one of China's most well known works of literature; it is Mr Zang you have to thank for a generation of Monkey watching, kung-fu fighting, chest hair pulling, finger blowing teenagers. For those less familiar with Monkey, you could not have failed to miss him and his friends during the BBC's opening credits of the Olympic coverage. We are not just traveling for fun; we like to bring you enlightenment along the way.

We are now about to head off to Hefei in the Anhui Province, we booked the tickets ourselves at the booking office rather than through the hotel, it feels like we are really doing the independent travel bit now. Now we are out of Beijing there are less English speakers so we are now becoming experts in mime and gesture. Our sleeper train from Xi'an will be a four berth cabin, this is the first time out of our 2 berth comfort zone! We will see what the journey brings!

For those who may be interested in the weather, we are seeing the first rain today for about 25 days, it took us a while to figure out what it was; that is not to say we have been bathed in glorious sunshine but rather shrouded in smog since arriving in China with about 3 days of sunshine. Although I think smog may be preferable to the weather you are having in the UK at the moment.

LOL
K&R
xxx

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Photos

THE QIN
the Emperor without who the Terracotta Army would not exist

Still Smiling
not only with the Terracotta warriors but also in sepia!

Xuan Zang
His travels inspired one of the most well known works of Chinese literature "Journey to the West"

The Big Goose Pagoda
Surrounding the Pagoda is Da Ci'en Temple

Big Goose
with a touch of Vegas

The Red Arrow's of water displays
only there are no planes, no smoke and it's not even red, in fact it's just a water fountain

Goose Pagoda Reflection
The goose is on the left!!!

Kim Jong-il holiday's in Xi'an
A very popular fashion accessory in China!

Inner city Xi'an
a common view from the old city walls

Hello!
Kids playing below the old walls

Chinese Kite
It first appeared in the Period of 770 BC - 476 BC.

The old city walls
A 14km walk around the old city.

Comments

[Jean(Mum)]

Hi Darlings
Rob, your little sister is winding you up about your beloved Mini. All right, I did have a bit of trouble finding the spare wheel, it was a good job you rang me from China to put me right and problably saved a lot of money in putting the Mini back together again. She is exaggerating about the speeding, it's the new designer sunglasses, I'm having a little bit of trouble seeing the speedometer; although I would add the flowery throws over the back seats adds a certain Je ne Sais Quoi!! and the colours go very well with the fluffy dice and cushions, however I have not been able to find a nodding dog yet - but I'm having great fun looking. Rob, be asured Your Mini is in safe hands and I'm sure you will love the transformation and I promise I will have "Pensioner's Silver Wagon" etched out before you come home. Love you both - Stay safe Mum