Greetings - While recovering from "Plague '09," we got a little behind on the blog, but here we are, reporting on our two week run through Xian, Beijing, and Shanghai. Transitioning from Yunnan province to China's big cities was a little rough. We went from blue skies and gorgeous countryside to cold, imposing and gray cities. But once we settled into our winter gear and our eyes adjusted to the smog and cityscapes, we found there was a lot to enjoy. First, we hit Xian, pop. 3.25 million, formerly the terminus of the Silk Road, now the famed location of legions of unearthed clay soldiers, the "Terracotta Warriors" (touted by China as the "8th Wonder of the World"). Expecting Xian to be all Terracotta Warriors, all the time, we were pleasantly surprised that the city
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