West of the Mountains

"Earth heaped high, like a mountain, supplies enormous resources. In human beings, morality
cultivated to the highest level is the means to spiritual purity and stillness."

(Attributed to the Yellow Emperor - Source Taoist Web Site)



Shanxi, (山西) literally means Mountains' West ( 山=Shan,Mountain)(西=Xi, West). It shouldn't be
confused with its neighbouring province of Shaanxi. I arrived in Shanxi from Shaanxi (see my previous
blog "On the edge of forever").



Shanxi is at the centre of Chinese culture. It was one of the birthplaces of Han Chinese Civilisation. A
legend claims that the legendary Yellow Emperor once lived in Shanxi province. The mythological Yellow Emperor (Chinese = 黄帝 ) reigned from 2697 BC to 2598 BC according to the historian Sima Qian (145 BC-90 BC). The Yellow Emperor (Huang Di)
became a chief Deity of Taoism during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). He is a cultural hero whose victory in war is seen as the establishment of Chinese Han nationality. Amongst other achievements he is said to have established the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. The legend also claims his wife taught the Chinese to weave silk and that his historian Cāng Jié created the first Chinese characters. In modern times Shanxi is the centre of China's Coal mining industry.

Pingyao

At the end of the last blog I was in the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi, the latest leg of my multi-year world trip. I took the bus from Xi'an to the city of Pingyao on the 21st of June. It was another comfortable air-conditioned journey that took 7 hours. The bus dropped us off outside the city just off the interstate
highway. In fact, it was in the middle of nowhere. There were 2 other non Chinese tourists who got off
the bus at the same place. We were wondering how far it would be to walk into town when a woman
came up to us and asked if we were the people that had booked rooms in her hostel. We told her that we hadn't booked anything - the people she was waiting for must be on the next bus in an hours time. But, we agreed to look at her hostel anyway. (It saved us a 3km walk carrying heavy backpacks). In fact the hotel was cheap and fairly good. I got a single room in an old Ming Dynasty building for 120 Yuan (about 8 quid or $US16). It was a beautiful building in the heart of the ancient walled city, although the plumbing wasn't very good. It was a bit of a culture shock because the place was full of western tourists. In my time in China I haven't stayed in places frequented by western tourists very often. Pingyao ancient city has a history of over 2,700 years. The old town within the city walls is the best preserved ancient town I have seen in China. The City Wall completely surrounds the city unlike other Chinese cities. The buildings and streets are well preserved examples of Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture and urban planning. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in Dec. 31st 1997.



The UNESCO citation says:



Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric shows the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries. Of special interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking, for which Ping Yao was the major centre for

Yungang Caves near Datong

the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries.




It was fascinating walking around the narrow streets of the ancient city - every other building seemed
to be a cultural and architectural wonder. The streets are full of old houses, temples and draft banks. In
fact, during the commercial heyday of the city, China's first Banks were founded here. The merchants
of the city became very rich and built splendid mansions. In recent times the city went into decline
which is why the place is so well preserved and hasn't been over restored like some other places in
China. I enjoyed my time in Pingyao and took in an evening Dance Performance "The Wild Jujubes" in
the evening.

Taiyuan

On June 23rd it was a short bus ride (2 hours) to the city of Taiyuan, which is the capital of Shanxi
province. Taiyuan is an ancient city that was founded in about 500 BC, but today is dominated by
heavy industry. Over half of China's coal production is produced here. Also, 25% of all the electricity
used in Beijing comes from the coal fired power stations of Taiyuan. Taiyuan and the province as a
whole is responsible for producing the energy that has been powering the Chinese economic miracle.
It's coal production is also responsible for much of China's huge increase in its release of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, increasing global warming. So, the city is seriously polluted. Adding to
the city's woes the coal mining industry in China has an appallingly bad safety record. According to the
Mines and Communities website: Zhu Deren, vice-president of the China National Coal Association
(CNCA), told Inter fax; We know there are safety risks [in China's coal industry],but we have to meet annual targets. It is like the U.S. fighting Iraq. People die but we have to fulfill national coal demand.



I stayed 2 nights in Taiyuan which allowed me to write up the last blog and to visit the local museums.
On the 25th I moved on to the city of Datong, a 4 hour bus ride.

Datong

Datong is another city that gives a bad impression when you arrive. It is also dominated by the coal
industry. It was an ancient Imperial Capital during the Northern Wei Dynasty (398 AD until 494 AD).
My reason for visiting was to see the Yungang Grottoes. The Yungang Caves are 16 km West of the
City, which I reached by public bus. The Yungang Caves contain thousands of carved Buddhas that are
up to 1,500 years old.



I stayed in Datong for a couple of nights before catching the bus to Beijing, which is where I am typing this now.

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Part of trip: Asia

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