Nora Stops Traffic

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We (Nora, Mike and I) flew from Shenyang to Xian on Saturday and have been on our own in this city. Xian is experiencing a transformation, mainly due to the Terra Cotta Soldiers discovered in 1974 and listed as the 8th wonder of the world. The city has transformed since Andrew last made the trip, only he doesn't know it yet! The Terra Cotta soldiers are wonderful, but the food pretty much sucks. There is a lot of investment going into this town to upgrade the appearance and quality of the tourist experience. the Chinese will be spending a lot of money on travel in the future, and it may as well be here.

This city is really, really clean. The old city walls are the best preserved in the world, the Shanxi Museum is interesting, and the Terra Cotta soldiers and must see. They are building an amusement park across from the Great Goose Pagoda. But, now we know where the monks in the Keweenaw get their ideas for gardens.

The traffic here is something else, people, cars, bicycles and almost everything else struggle for the same space. We feel like we are in a movie chase scene every time we get into a taxi, the calls are so close with other vehicles and pedestrians. Unfortunately, we have had to cross the street several times from our hotel to where we are going, always feeling quite nervous. The first day in the city, Nora and Mike crossed the street with me a couple of steps behind, when Nora lost the hat on her head. It feel right in the middle of the road. I tried to pick it up before I got run over, but missed. We thought that hat as a goner. To our surprise, all the traffic came to a screaching halt so I could run back and pick up the hat. I have never seen anything like it before. we thought we were in a roadrunner cartoon.

We were really impressed iwth Xian, and would have liked one more day here --- there is a pottery village about 1 1/2 hours from here, and everyone who knows me well knows I love pottery!

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Photos

Terra Cotta Soldiers
This is an amazing site, 2000 years ago the Chinese emporer who united China and ruled for 37 years thought he could come back from the dead and defeat the new emperor. He created an army out of clay, but the army was based on real people, each face different, some with wrinkles or pot bellies.

Pagoda
Where the Keweenaw Monks get their inspiration

Spa Treatment
We missed the Sheraton from Shenyang, so we created our own spa treatment. Our attendant, seen here with Nora, did a great job on the foot soaking.