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Published: December 13th 2008
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Our Hotel in Pingyao...an old Bank
Our hotel was amazing...it was an old bank over 1500 years old converted into a hotel. The bank had a total of 5 courtyards. Our room was in one of the watchtowers. It was the neatest thing and beautiful architecture preserved very well. We left Beijing to a small town mearly 12 hours away. Like all of you, we had never heard of this place. After a comfortable, yet different ride abord a train in a hard sleeper, we arrived at Pingyao. This place is ancient. The old town is completely surrounded by a huge wall that is still in tact. Most buildings in the town are incredibly old. Our hotel was an old bank that was over 1500 years old. 1500 years!?!? How could a bank be that old. Well.....Pingyao is famous for being the birth place for the modern bank draft, and thus, the bank was born. Using money pooled, with detailed records of who's money is who's, was invented in Pingyao. Yet another invention of the Chinese civilization that has changed the world......along with mathematics and explosives to name a few.
Pingyao was a cool place that had many tourists.....only, they were Chinese. We had seen only a few foriegners while in Pingyao. We also experienced the common side effect of many people staring with open mouths at the forigners.
Next we were on to Xian. Xian is the ancient capital of China, and is home to many amazing
things. Some of the coolest things here are the Drum tower, Bell tower, water show, and Big Goose pagoda. The old city is also surrounded by a large and impressive wall (it seems that ancient China is obsessed with walls). The most well know, and completly amazing treasures, is the terra-cotta warriors that are located about 70kms out of town. Xian is probably one of the most enjoyable places in China.
Xian has a huge population of muslim followers, and as a result, creates a wonderful area full of shops and markets, and an impressive Mosque.
The terra-cotta warriors were discoverded in the late 1970's by farmers digging for water wells. These statues were built by an emprer that wanted an army to protect him in the afterlife. Although they are not completely sure how many warriors there are, there is over 6000 in the largest of 3 pits. Each warrior is built life size, and has different features. The scale of the army is hard to imagine. There is a soccer field area enclosed in a building that is home to the sleeping sentinals. Not only is the army comprised of soldiers, horses and cavalriemen, and generals. The
Pingyao
The ancient city... site has a museum, and 2 other pits that aslo have countless numbers of statues buried, ready to be un-earthed. It is a magnificent attraction, that displays the supersticious superpower that is ancient China.
After Xian, we went to a city of 10 million that we have never heard of called Chongching. This was the jump off point for a Yangtze river cruise. For those that dont know, the Yangtze river is the single most important item in all of China. It connects countless cities, provides shipping and trade routes to hundreds of cities and towns, and provides countless jobs for people that surround its banks. The size of the river is a staggering 6380kms long, and devides north and south China.
The Yangtze is changing, and by the time you read this, will have changed forever as a result of the water rising from the construction on of the largest damns in the world. The 3 Gorges Dam project has created the largest multi-function damn in the world, and the largets public works project in modern Chinese history. In order to complete the damn, over 1.2 million people were displaced, as their lives would be swallowed by
the rising river.
Countless treasures were lost under 175 meters of water that is the total height of the new water level. The Chinese government moved some of the relics to high ground, but it is said that less than 2% of historics artifacts, temples, burial sites, and countless other un-replaceable things are lost forever to the mighty Yangtze.
Overall, our experience is sad. We are sad that the world has lost so many treasures, sad that China has lost so much history, and sad for all of the old people that lost their whole lives, everything they knew, to the water and economic development. This is our perspective on the project, however, many of the Chinese look at this as a great opportunity to get ahead. All 1.2 million were relocated to the major cities and provided homes and jobs. The young are happy for the opportunity and a "new beginning".
However, the damn site, and the scenery was very impressive, and it has been said that a person must float the Yangtze before you die to see the treasures before they are gone. We can still scratch it off the list, but we just made
Pingyao
Close up of one of the many doors it.......just.
The water height was 155m, 15 days before maximum height, 175m.
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