Blogs from Shaanxi, China, Asia - page 96

Not able to add photos at the minute grrrr!! Wé've got so many!! 13th May Laura - Arrived in Xian at 10am after a hard sleeper train ride that we both agreed was the most disgusting train in the world (and actually is the worst train in China, we were later told by a well informed Chinese guy). It was so dirty and it smelled of toilets as soon as we got on - a smell which got quite unbearable during the 18 hour journey. The smell actually kept me awake, it was that bad! Anyway, we were in a 6 bed open compartment with 2 girls from Israel, (plus a couple of chinese people who couldn't speak english) who were really nice and we spent most of the journey playing cards with them. So that ... read more

As a final-goodbye evening (KTV wasn’t deemed enough - they obviously like us, they said they’ve never been friends with any of the volunteers before, only seeing them as teachers), the med students invited us out for Mah-jong and tea at a very posh tea house outside the city walls. We managed, for the first time in three months, to actually be there on time, despite the crowded buses and ridiculous traffic, I was so so happy to prove that we weren’t thoughtless all the time, just time conspires against us. I had also told the rest of the volunteers that we had to be there fifteen minutes before we actually did, so it meant we left on time rather than late. Sly, but it worked! After a bit of food (great noodles), we headed on ... read more

We tried to book our way from Xi’an to the Three Gorges and then down to Daniel…little did we know what a head wreak this would be…ended up not being able to do the Three Gorges and catching two planes in order to get to Daniel. We then went to visit the Terracotta Army and they really are absolutely amazing… Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had by the time he was thirty-eight he conquered the six neighbouring states to unify China for the first time. Although reviled for his tyranny, Qinshihuangdi is also admired for many radical and insightful policies which subsequent dynasties employed. To synthesize seven separate states into one nation, he standardized a common script and established ... read more

20th - 22nd April Xi'an This former imperial capital is our base for a day trip to the terracotta warriers. These stone warriers have been buried for over 2,000 years, until they were discovered by a farmer (Mr Yuang, or similar) in 1976. They are all facing East in battle formation and were created by 720,000 people over 40 years as part of Emperor Qins self-designed tomb. At that time the belief was that the soul lived on in the ground after death and the warriers were a way of protecting the Emperors post-mortem rule. There are three pits in which there are different seniority of soldiers ranging from archer to general. We take about 1,000 photos! I hadn't realised that the warriers had all been smashed 4 years after incarceration by peasants who were rising ... read more

Two hours away on the train, there’s a mountain called Hua Shan. It’s a huge draw for Chinese tourists, as it’s one of the five most famous mountains in China, with Taoist connections. Some little old ladies climb it almost everyday to pay homage to various things, and there are temples dotted around at the top. It’s 2200m above sea level, and absolutely beautiful. The most unusual thing about it is that it is basically one giant staircase, as that is the only way of climbing this granite peak. There are chains and handrails to help you occasionally, as some of the steps are almost vertical. Two of the girls from the museum (where Joe and Alex work), Renee and Domino, also came with us. There are two ways to get to the first peak, cable ... read more