China: Xian, Shaanxi Province

Xian is another city graced by a full ring of ancient city walls, but that is about as much as it has in common with Pingyao. Xian is a much, much larger city. It was another important city along the old silk road, and it was one of the ancient capitals of China. We spent three days here on our trip, which wasn't nearly enough to take in all that the city and the surrounding area have to offer. Unfortunately, the wet weather came with us here, but it still worked out well. Overall, we had a really good time in Xian.

Songbirds are popular pets in China. People keep the birds caged, but they also take them for walks and to parks to socialize with other people's pet birds.

Xian is well known throughout China for its great food. There is a strong Muslim population in the city, with an entire quarter of the walled portion named after this fact. The Muslim Quarter is a great place to wander, and the central Asian influence on the food is amazing. They thouroughly enjoy their barbequed meats, which are always done out in front of the restaurants...so you can just imagine all the amazing smells you encounter as you wander around. Having such a great love of barbequed meats, the Quarter is also home to a great deal of butchers shops, which are almost all open to the street so that passersby can see all the raw, butchered animals and parts (which I really enjoyed honestly). My favorite meals here were all in the Muslim Quarter. The barbequed leg of lamb was incredible. They use this amazing mix of spices for the bbq'd meats...so spicy and so good. Also, late at night vendors with carts come out to make fried meat and vegetable sandwiches, which were literally life-changingly good.

In the mornings, breads and soups are popular. We had a great meal of meatball soup, gelatinous chicken soup, bread, rice, and salad at a tiny little place in the Muslim Quarter. The place was obviously family owned (the Mom ran the show, Dad cooked the soups, and the kids just enjoyed us foreigners stumbling in and loving the food....the family obviously lived upstairs), and despite them speaking no English and my Chinese being absolutely terrible, we managed just fine. The best is that the whole meal came out to $0.80 each! Can't beat that.

A tiny alley lined with market goods. Bargaining is a must in Chinese markets (just not in official, government stores and most official food markets or quick-stops), and I had a great time doing it there.

A normal backstreet scene in Xian.

Xian has two old city towers...the central Bell Tower, seen here, which lies right in the heart of the city, and the Drum Tower, seen below, which lies on the border of the Muslim Quarter. The pedestrian only street that runs north behind the Drum Tower into the Muslim Quarter is lined with amazingly delicious bbq restaurants.

About an hour bus ride from Xian is the Terracotta Army sites. Missy and I were going to skip this to go check out Hua Shan, a holy mountain, instead, but due to the rain, we changed plans.

This site is truly amazing, despite the throngs of tourists. The army is split up over three "pits". The largest is the first (shown in these pics), and I would recommend, should you ever go, doing the pits in reverse. Start with the third and then work back down to the first. This is what we did, and each pit gets more and more impressive this way. I'm not going to give too many details here, if you are interested, just look it up.

There are just row after row of soldiers, horses, and charriots. The army was built by Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, to guard his tomb. It was never supposed to be seen by living people, though since his death, it has been raided by enemy armies and most recently discovered by a peasant in the 1970's and excavated to the state it is in today. I wonder what the Emperor would think if he knew that thousands and thousands of people visit his "secret army" every week?

This is the second pit, which is also huge...though not fully excavated. Also, a lot of the figures here are broken.

The small, but important, third pit.

Each figure's face is different!

Back in Xian, at the Great Mosque, the largest of its kind in China. It was absolutely amazing to see the mix of Arabic and Chinese architectures and written language.

The roofs were tiled in blue...pretty cool. The complex is huge and well worth taking the time to wander and just relax, it is a very peaceful place. Also, the staff is very friendly and welcoming. The old Chinese guy that took our tickets spoke excellent English and French and I believe we also heard him greeting a couple in Spanish!

China: Pingyao, Shanxi Province

Pingyao, it is a small town to the southwest of Beijing, about halfway between Beijing and Xian. It's historical city center is a nearly perfectly preserved Ming Dynasty walled city. Thanks to this, it is very, very popular with Chinese tourists as well as the odd Western one.

As I said, the city center is well preserved, and we can now benefit from the recently repaved streets, which are beautiful. We had quite a bit of rain for the couple days we spent here, and I was very thankful for those paved streets. Many of them used to be dirt, and with the amount of rain we had (quite unusual for the normally dry Shanxi Province), they would have been very, very muddy if they were still in their old form. Anyway, our hostel was the first building here on the left (look for the Hosteling International triangular sign), and like many of the "Western Hostels" here in Pingyao, it is an old Ming-era mansion. Ours was specifically built as a residence for the Emperor when he came on trips to Pingyao (though he never got to stay there unfortunately).

The courtyard at our hostel. It was beautiful, though unfortunately, it wasn't well maintained. We even had an issue with bedbugs in our first room, but fortunately I caught the little buggers before we went to sleep, so neither Missy nor I were bitten. When we moved rooms (across the courtyard), we had no problem.

Pingyao was an important city along the old silk road. Because of it's key location along this important trade route, it sprung up as the financial center during the late Qing era in China (the Qing Dynasty, aka Manchu Dynasty, was from ~1644-1912 AD and came after the Ming Dynasty). The city now has many, many museums and historical sites (other than the city ITSELF which is one big historical site). This is inside the old county capital complex.

Symmetry...always key.

This is the old county prison. The character translates to "prison".

Courtyard at the county seat.

Typical main street in Old Pingyao.

One of the few gates through the old city walls.

Outside the old city walls. A fun thing to do in nice weather is rent a bike and go around the full circumference on top of the wall.

Entrance to the Confucian Temple. The fact that so much here survived the Cultural Revolution is a miracle.

Bridge inside the Confucian Temple.

The little red things hanging everywhere are apparently people's prayers, written down and then hung up in the temple.

Incense offereings.

There was plenty of greenery in the temple grounds, which was nice.

A Christian Church...this was unique, though Christianity is a somewhat popular religion in China.

Pingyao rooftops from the central tower.

Pingyao street in the rain.

This was in the old guard training complex. Since Pingyao was a financial center with plenty of banks and large markets, lots of money, wealthy people, and goods came through here. Thus, body guards and armored carrier services were necessary. This old complex is one of the many museums in town and it is one of the places used to train and house the mercenaries used to protect wealth while in transit between cities. It is an interesting little complex, though I must say the highlight is being able to shoot real bows and arrows in the back courtyard (pictured here) for only 10 yuan for 5 arrows! Fun, even in the rain!

Like I said, lots of rain...I would have loved to see this town with bright blue skies, but oh well. It was still incredible.

Our hostel from the outside at night. I'll say some stuff about the food now. Shanxi is famous throughout China for it's various noodle and sauce dishes. While Missy and I were in Beijing, we ate at a Shanxi noodle joint called the Noodle Loft (Mian Ku), which I would highly, highly recommend. You can get a massive bowl of noodles (all different types, shapes and sizes too) for 12 Yuan (~$1.75) and then help yourself to a plethora of different, and delicious sauces. The food uses a lot of dark vinegar and tomatoes, though the sauces ranged from a very beef-gravy like thing to a very-marinara like tomato sauce. Anyway, the famous noodles are the cat's ear noodles (triangular and somewhat flat) and the very long (several meters) green noodles. In addition, Pingyao is famous for it's beef. Needless to say, while we were here, we sampled a lot of the local style dishes in the smaller cafes and restaurants sprinkled around town. This particular style of Chinese food was one of my favorites!

The city tower by night.

Many of the shops stayed open late. Notice the dry streets too; it was incredible how fast everything dried up after a day and a half of nearly constant rain! This is testament to how dry the area normally is. Overall, I would highly recommend a short stop over in Pingyao. It is a beautiful old city, and though we didn't get the chance thanks to the weather, there are supposedly many beautiful things to see in the countryside around the city. Pingyao is definitely worth about a day or two stopover.

China: The Great Wall

Missy and I were brought to the Great Wall by one of my Chinese colleagues, Dr. Yan. We went to the Badaling Great Wall, which is by far the most popular and most restored. This section of the wall lies North of Beijing about one hour by bus. There are several other sections in the mountains North of the city which are accessible for a day trip, and of course there are many other sections of wall throughout the North of China itself. We met a guy from the Netherlands who had even seen a remote section in the desert in the far West of the country; that would be quite the different experience from what we had at Badaling. Overall, it was breathtaking and unbelievable to walk around on such a phenomenal feat of engineering.

Go South at Badaling. This section has a longer walk and is much, much less crowded than the North section. We found ourselves alone quite often towards the end of the open area.

Protective statuettes here as well.

There were some very, very steep sections fo the wall...and in the heat, it made for quite a good hike!

I tried to figure out where the rock was quarried from to make the wall, though I was unsuccessful. The walls here at Badaling are over 25 feet high (7.8 m) and 16 feet (5 m) wide!

This familiar Great Wall is part of the more recent, Ming Dynasty Great Wall. There are much, much older sections from various other time periods, dating back to ~200 B.C. when the Chinese simply used packed earth as the first walls.

These are serious mountains...I cannot immagine invading armies coming through these...the vegetation is dense and the mountains are steep. Apparently, those Mongolians were unconcerned by this however.

The much more crowded Northern section..

China: Beijing, Part II

I was in Beijing for work, but we were fortunate to get some time during the week we were there to see some of the amazing sites around the city. My favorite by far was the Summer Palace, Yihe Yuan. This massive park and historic area sits in the far northwestern corner of the city. It is a great place to get away from the hectic atmosphere of Beijing itself and just relax by the lake, or one of the historic buildings, or in the many gardens or woods. It was a remarkably peaceful place, and the grounds are so huge, you can easily find a place all to yourself.

Painting on the ceiling of one of the old buildings...the hilly grounds are sprinkled with old pagodas, temples, and palaces.

A woman practicing her flute. The locals definitely appreciate the beautiful and tranquil surroundings here.

The Summer Palace was started in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong. His artisans took the garden and archtectural styles from various regions throughout the Chinese Empire.

This palace was built in the Tibetan style.

This area near one of the few entrances has a bunch of little shops along the river.

Another person practicing the flute.

These walkways wind throughout the grounds...which are absolutely massive. We gave up on trying to figure out where we were...we just wandered and enjoyed everything we stumbled upon. Guides will try and intimidate you with numbers when you enter. They say the place is 3.0 sq kilometers, which is true, and that it is easy to get lost, which is also true. However, the reality is that while the property itself is around 3 sq km, 3/4 of that is covered by the lake, so the grounds you can actually wander are much smaller. A map is included with your entrance fee, and overall, the place is small enough that you can just walk in relatively one direction and find something major pretty quickly...finding the way out isn't hard.

A bridge near the Marble Boat (seen in the background on right).

This massive complex overlooked the main lake...it was enormous...once again, pictures do no justice.

Catching the late afternoon sun.

There were many statues of dragons, lions, and phoenixes scattered throughout the grounds. Dragons represent the Emperor, while the phoenix represents the Emperess. Lions were to protect people from evil spirits.

Once again, the painting and detail on the woodwork was intricate and absolutely stunning.

Looking out over the rooftops to the lake.

Attention to detail...and symmetry.

The newly restored Qianmen area, due south of Tiananmen Square. Unfortunately, not many of the stores and restaurants along this main street were open yet, but renovations are nearly complete and they will be open soon enough. This was a great area to come at night since all the buildings are lit up. There is also a cool night market just off of this main strip.

Back through there is one of the most famous Peking roast duck restaurants in Beijing.

The moon cooperated nicely for this shot...

Qianmen by day.

This was the little side street where the night market runs...though don't let the name fool you...most places are also open for business all day as well. One of the most famous tea shops in Beijing is down here.

Inside the Forbidden City. This place is old...and massive. It was built in the early 1400's, and these main courtyards were supposed to be large enough for the entire imperial court, which was comprised of around 300,000 people!

Many lion statues here.

Put these next three photos together to make a panorama of one of the main courtyards...

This place is enormous...impossible to translate by photos. There were throngs of tourists here too...mostly Chinese, but fortunately they stuck primarily to the main North-South axis through the City...so going off-axis a bit is a huge relief!

The Emperor had thousands of concubines and servants. They supposedly had a code system using the color of the roof tiles to let them know which buildings they were allowed to enter.

These carvings were amazing.

Lots of people crowding around trying to get a glimpse and picture of one of the thrones. The complex is set up along the North-South axis, with a series of large palaces separated by massive courtyards and gateways. To the flanks lie a maze of smaller passages and buildings. I didn't like it here nearly as much as the Summer Palace. There is a severe lack of living things other than a few small gardens scattered here and there (ignoring the throngs of tourists that is). The massive, paved courtyards give a very dead feeling to the whole place.

I couldn't get enough of these tiled roofs with the various protective statues on them. As you can tell...I love historic architecture.

Beware when you exit to the north...you WILL be accosted by people trying to sell you stuff...and it seems impossible to get a taxi from here, despite tons of them sitting around.

China: Beijing, Part I

China, where to start? This country is huge in pretty much every way. It is the fourth largest country in the world by way of land area and the first by way of population. It is one of the strongest nations in the world in terms of military and economy. The Yin and the Yang are fundamental concepts in Chinese philosophy, and these opposite yet interconnected and interdependent forces are seen throughout China. The country is home to some of the wealthiest individuals in the world, yet it also claims some of the poorest. It has several of the worlds most densely populated cities while at the same time, some of the most remote regions, which are practically devoid of human life. It is home to the world's highest piece of land yet its coastline stretches for thousands of kilometers. Its cities are infamous for their polluted air and waters, yet its less known national parks and preserved areas are pristine and beautiful. It is a massive country of contrasts with an incredible and very, very long history. Where to start? I will start where Missy's and my trip started, Tiananmen Square, at the center of Beijing and the heart of the country. Here, I will do my best to relay the incredible three weeks we spent traveling through this country. We did our best to see a lot, but we barely scratched the surface in China.

The picture above is of a guard at attention in Tiananmen Square with the southern gate in the background.

One of two nationalistic statues flanking Chairman Mao's Mausoleum.

The Mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong. As with other Communist leaders of the past, like Lenin and Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao was embalmed (against his wishes; he wanted to be cremated) and entombed in a crystal coffin so the masses could look at his body long after his death.

The other flanking statue. I particularly like the SKS (assault rifle) in hand, but it is fitting as Communist China was founded by revolution.

Tiananmen Square is the largest open-air city square in the world... and it is absolutely massive! The square itself covers 100 acres and it is named after the Tiananmen, which translates to Gate of Heavenly Peace and is the famous red gate featuring the enormous portrait of Mao. Missy and I walked through here...taking our time to take in the enormity of the place as well as the incredible history it has seen.

Looking south down the main axis of the square, and also of Beijing itself. Feng shui is very important to Chinese architecture and civil engineering, and a good North-South axis through the city's center (i.e. where the leader lives...the Emperors Palace in the Forbidden City for Beijing) is vital.

Tiananmen, Tianan Gate, the Gate of Heavenly Peace. This is of course one of the most photographed places in China, and thus, there are plenty of people around it...even more so when you consider that it is one of the few ways to get access into the Forbidden City, which lies directly North (along the main axis) through the gate. It was near here that Missy and I first had the feeling of how few Westerners get to China. We had a couple groups of students ask to have their pictures taken with us as well as plenty of stares from some of the Chinese tourists. Overall, the people were very friendly though, and they got a kick out of my terrible attempts at Chinese. They particularly liked when Missy and I would smile and thank them in Chinese, xie xie.

They must have been repairing some of the tiles on the roof...gives you a good idea of how big that portrait is though.

A traditional gate outside of the Yonghegong Buddhist Temple near sunset. Beijing has a brand new subway system thanks to the Olympics, and Missy and I found it most useful (and extremely affordable) to travel around using it. We hopped on at Tiananmen and got off right outside the temple...unfortunately it was already closed by the time we go there though.

With the temple closed, we decided to go check out a cool little hutong we had read about. Hutongs are the old neighborhoods in Beijing...the old Beijing that is. They are networks of alleys and lanes with old houses, shops, and restaurants. It is in the hutongs, and there are many of them, that you will find some of the best food in Beijing...you just have to be willing to dive in, and probably get lost once or twice, to find it. We ended up going down into this one, North of the Forbidden City and West of Yonghegong, where we found an awesome little cafe with a rooftop patio to enjoy a snack, some Tsingdao beers, and the hazy sunset.

I don't know what it was, but I loved the fact that there was an active skate culture in China. I think it is because it goes so much against the strict, rigid and overwhelmingly studious stereotype of the Chinese youth.

A typical house entrance in a hutong West of Yonghegong Street. Missy and I wandered down here looking for a cafe. We didn't find the one we were looking for, but we stumbled onto the beautiful, tree-lined and historical Guozijian Street and a cafe that was just perfect.

One of the entrances to the Confucian Temple along Guozijian Street.

Guozijian Street is a very well preserved historical street in Beijing. It, as well as the area around it, is well worth a stroll down if you are ever there.

Pagoda inside the Yonghegong Temple grounds. The colors of the paint and the intricacy of the architecture are just absolutely stunning.

There are lots of lion statues in China...this is because lions are believed to protect humans from evil spirits.

Symmetry is very important to Feng Shui and Chinese architecture and planning.

We were blown away by the roofs in China. This is still in the temple, so we expected the intricate rooftops here, but this style is seen on so many buildings, including the some of the average homes and shops, not just the large palaces and temples!

One of the statues flanking the masterpiece of the Yonghegong Temple...an enormous statue of Buddha inside the last building, which you can see some of the intricate painting on here in the background. Despite literal tour busses full of tourists, it was great to see that the temple was still run by monks and used by the devout as well.

For a bit of nightlife, check out the area around Houhai and Beihai (lakes North of the Forbidden City)...though I must admit, the price for a beer is outrageous for China (~35 yuan = $5.00...like prices back home!). There is a cool little, but touristy, night market street near here when coming in from the Drum Tower and some awesome restaurants around the area between the Drum Tower and the lakes.