china and tibet

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We made it to xi-an china and saw the emporers tomb with the thousands of warriors, horses and carriages in a great room and it blows your mind! every face, character, horse is different and all the artisans worked 36 years in the making and then were killed as no one was to know any of them or how or when they were made. china is not what you would imagine. they have freeways, cars, high rise buildings, yet you still see the chinaman in his round hat hoeing his little plot of land. it's got the very old customs and the very new mentalities. amazing. then we flew to Chengdu, the home of the Panda's and bamboo forests, but it rained constantly so were unable to see them. and we were there just overnite. we flew to Lhaza Tibet this a.m. and oh, man, the tall mountains and broad valleys, the colorful tibetans and the temples and shrines of the millions of different Buddhas, the friendly shy people, smells and scenes baffle the mind and all the senses. Are we really here? The Chinese are everywhere tho and don't want anyone to discuss the Dalai Lama in any way. Tho they have been here for 40 years now and they have really put money into bridges, roads, railroad, airport, housing. The Chinese are a very strong force here. The Tibetans are just very gentle beautiful souls. They hurd their Yaks and chickens and live such a basic nomadic lifestyle. But each tribe has their colorful clothing and so distincive from the next. There are Buddhas and shrines everywhere and it feels so very holy here. What a land, what a people! We are here for another night and then back to Chengdu for a flight to Armenia.

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