Blogs from Shaanxi, China, Asia

19 April 2013 I look at the air quality index readings in disbelief. 500 - Hazardous!!! For a full description of what this actually means google it. The short definition is: you are inhaling poison with every breath you take. 2.5 nanometer in aerodynamic diameter particles are lodging themselves in your respiratory system ready to be absorbed by your blood. If you continue to do this for any length of time you will get very sick. In fact just one day is enough to give you a rasping cough, stinging and itchy eyes and a disabling headache. And people live here?!!?? The incredibly impressive city walls have withstood centuries of attack, but this new enemy can't be kept out. It is everywhere. Even in your mouth. The taste and the grit are horrible. Not to mention ... read more

I left Beijing after 6 nights as was lucky enough to take the high speed train to Xian, the old capital of China. This city has so much history and lots of landmarks to hit so I was very excited about getting here. I was also excited about staying with my friend Katja! For those of you that don't know, Katja and I worked and lived together in Mildura, Australia, she is German and currently studying in Xian with 7 others, so I spent a lot of my time trying to understand German! Quite entertaining. It was so nice to be stable for a few nights, not to worry about lockimg my stuff away and being able to do washing! I am very thankful to Katja and her flatmate Julia for being such great hosts, they ... read more

Everything was going so well the next morning. Our planned taxi journey to the station area of Xian to pick up our coach to the Terracotta Army went without a hitch - well there was a minor blip when our taxi driver decided he would stop for breakfast en-route but apart from that all good. And then we saw the queues for the coaches to the Terracotta Warriors! As they say in Norfolk where Lottie Let Loose hails from 'Ooooh moi gard!' There were literally hundreds of people in the queue (the fact that the Chinese were actually queuing warranted a photo!) and it wasn't moving as far as we could make out. Dennis hadn't ever seen it this bad before, but this is where having a fab local tour guide comes into its own. A ... read more

Today we went to the woman's history museum at the new university campus. It was such a beautiful campus and the students are very proud to call it their school. There are 24 different areas of study from english, math, and science. We made many students accompany us, my favorite were ellen and mia (everyone chooses there own english name, after their favorite american stars or idols). One interesting fact id like to share.. Back in the qing dynasty, a group of woman started their own characters. It was only used between them to share stories and conversation. Today, no one can read or understand the characters except a few historians. I thought it was interesting, having a secret language, almost like a code, that only the woman could understand. The pictures im posting are of ... read more

Rural Living in China Farming in China is a challenge. We visited Pagoda Tree Village where 205 families live. Each person who does farming is given 300 square metres—but only those from the village. For example, if a woman marries and moves into the village, she is not entitled to farm land. Farmers can choose to give up farming and move into the city. They will be offered a new job. Each village elects officials similar to our mayor and council. Farms usually produce first wheat and then corn. Some sell vegetables in front of their homes—there is little space wasted. If the farm doesn’t produce enough, sons often take off-season work elsewhere to make money for the family. The grandmothers look after their grandchildren when this happens. The farmers decide how to use ... read more