Chengdu Week 10 - Xian Day 3

Nov. 8, 2014

    The day start with Sean, Jesse and I admitting that we have a coffee addiction. We camped out at the table nearest to the drinks and just kept emptying out the small jug they had for us. Then after breakfast we were back on the bus. Our first stop was actually within walking distance, but the drove us as they usually do. It was the Stone Stele Museum. It had statues and famous calligraphy tablets. It was a quiet, peaceful way to start the morning. After about 45 minutes it was a long three hour ride out to the countryside. The problem with this area is the pollution. I could barely see 50 yards away from the freeway, so I have no idea what the Shaanxicountryside looks like. We arrived in Yuan village around lunch time and were immediately ushered into a restaurant. The food was actually fairly tasty, it’s amazing what happens when Wentao plans the trip. We were then unleashed onto the tourist town. It was ok but it didn’t really feel any different than any other tourist town we had been to. There was one really cool  little shrine in the back of the town that I enjoyed, but otherwise we wandered around and then got back on the bus.

He's making an impression for a wall scroll

Yuan Village Shrine

Noodles!

    We were driven to the Tang dynasty tombs. Before we went into the ticketed area of mountain, we were take to a mountain dweller home. They build their homes into the hillside using the natural insulation of mud and hay. It was actually pretty interesting. We were taken back up the hill, and into the ticketed part of the mountain. We technically had about 45 minutes but a group of us committed to climbing to the top. And so up we went, it was an intense, steep and totally doable. The top allowed for a sorta of view of the area. Again the pollution made it nearly impossible to see anything and the camera I was using was unable to pick anything up really. It was still a fun journey. Going down our little group essentially ran down the mountainside, probably not the best of moves but we had a blast. Then it was back on the bus for an obnoxious bus ride home. Everyone was really squirrelly, but we managed to make it back in one piece. We got dinner in the Muslim quarter, it was pretty tasty. Then we wandered around, singing a very catchy popular song in Chinese. It made Chinese people around us laugh pretty hard. It’s our little joke.  Then it was back to the hotel for movie (Crystal had never seen the Lion King). Tomorrow we go in the morning to ride the city wall before we have to depart.

Climbing Mountains

Straight shot down.

Cut my hand on this bit

It's a view of Pollution!

Pollution O.O

The rock face I scrambled up and down...

Chengdu Week 10 - Xian Day 2

Nov. 7, 2014

    The day began early but in a very natural way. I went to bed at 10:30, since I was exhausted from the train ride. I went down and there was only Jack eating. We had a nice chat and consumed too much coffee. I enjoyed it. Eventually people trickled in as the morning rolled around and eventually we were able to get going. Our first stop was about an hour outside the city. It was the hot springs of the Tang dynasty. Famous for being the site of Chinese valentine’s day. I essentially glued myself to my history professor and she walked us (myself and Karen) through the palace. It was really interesting as this particular site was famous for ancient Chinese history but it had modern historical context. It’s the place where 蒋介石(CKS) agreed to work with the Communist party during the Japanese invasion. So there was a section that contained an office, sleeping quarters and bathrooms, all of them modern. It was really interesting to see that. Xian is an ancient capital and Chinese culture rarely forgets their roots. Certain areas have deep cultural meaning, so it was very strategic for moral in invaded China.

    After the palace it was off to the Terra-cotta warriors, the thing Xian is the most famous for. We ate lunch in the park and then we were set loose. There are three pits, the third is the most recent and was fairly excavated, but it was also the smallest. The second pit is huge but hardly excavated, I think most of it was destroyed through time. It was amazing to see the size of it. The first pit however was the most impressive. At least two football stadiums long, the warriors were all restored. I think the think that really moved me was the physical size of the pits. This is the Mausoleum of the first Emperor of China, who found his empire in 221 BCE. And he essentially constructed tomb that even in the modern era can’t be matched in it’s complexity. I took as many pictures as I could but it’s had to really get the scope of what I was seeing. This mysterious place I had always heard about was suddenly right in front of me and tangible. It was a moving experience.

    After the terra-cotta warriors, we went back into the city, which took a really long time. We were off to the Wild Goose pagoda. It famous because the monk that established the temple was the monk who traveled to India to bring back the Buddhist canon. He spent the rest of his life in the temple translating from Sanskrit into Chinese. It was ok, after everything that we had done to today I wasn’t feeling particularly adventurous. We wandered the grounds, and just milled about. It was fun and then quick enough we were back on the bus. We were taken to the Tang dynasty show (total tourist moment) and had a Jaozi dinner. It was actually a pretty tasty meal despite the problems I caused by not eating pork. I ended up with a little plate of jaozi since I couldn’t eat about half the dishes served. It worked out I was definitely full by the end. The show was fairly interesting. Very colorful, and full of chords I did not recognized.  We made it back to the hotel and for some reason everyone had way too much energy. There were frisbees being thrown and various shenanigans. Overall it was an insanely fun day. Tomorrow will hopefully be as awesome.

Chengdu Week 10 - Xian Day 1

Nov. 6, 2014

    Waking up on a train is weird, because the lights are on and people are milling about but you are waking up and mildly disoriented as to what is going on. I did however enjoy my breakfast of Juzi (tangerines?) and muffins while watching the scenery go by. We were up in the mountains again and there was plenty of fall colors on the mountain side. From the time I woke up it was still a could five hours until we actually arrived in Xian. A bunch of us disappeared into the dinning car, just so we could have some room to stretch our legs. We watched a movie for a bit then went back to the sleeping car for many rounds of cards. We finally arrived in Xian around 12:30pm. It was a little disorienting because we ad to go out of train terminal and down some side street to find our bus, all the while being targeted by tour guides and people wanting us to buy things. We did, however, make it to the hotel safely and took a well deserved shower. After the train ride, I think everyone needed to freshen up and have a moment to relax.
    I wandered out with Jesse and Corey, just to explore the area our our hotel. We found the South gate of the wall and just kind of bounced around from there. The area within the city wall is actually quite small so getting lost wouldn’t real be a problem. We found a little street that mostly sold calligraphy things. It was interesting. We came pack to the hotel in time to attend the official lecture on Xian. On the way our friends from Shanghai appeared. Lots of joyful reunions and hugs for everyone. We haven’t seen them since Beijing so it was awesome to see them all settled. Xiao Laoshi will be leading us on this expedition. The lecture was actually pretty standard for one of her classes so it breezed by easily enough. Then it was off to personal hotpot dinner. The food was good, but split among everyone at the table it wasn’t enough. It worked out though because we headed out to a night market, nearby our hotel, where there was plenty of snacks to be had by all.

    The night market reminded me of Taiwan’s night markets, except this was one was specifically themed around the Muslim community that lives in Xian. The City was once the end of the Eastern Silk road and as such merchants from all over the world came to the city and some settled. The streets were bustling with shops, people and lights. Noisy and filled with sights it was a really fun time. Jesse and I managed to get separate from everyone and we just wandered around. He was actually having Turkey flashbacks and was nerding out about his experiences abroad. At one point we went out of the Market and found ourselves in an area with musical performances, which was pretty cool. Then Jesse and I wandered back to the hotel. It’s not very late but we both just wanted to sleep, the travel was catching up to us. So off to bed and tomorrow I will be at the Terra-cotta warriors.

Chengdu Week 10 - 15 hour train ride to Xian

Hard Sleepers

Nov. 5, 2014

    Test went well, almost to well. I am worried I am going to get it back and find out that I actually didn’t understand anything. But nothing I can do now. After the test it was a rather odd day, simply because we would be leaving for Xian at 7 pm and boarding a train by 9:30. I went with JD for lunch, we try to eat together at least once a month. We generally don’t hang out together but we actually are very similar people. Also it’s just good to keep good relations with everyone in our group. Then I was off to Trust Mart (Wal-mart) to get some snacks for the journey. Food is general expensive on long transportation, so instead I brought my food for much cheaper and just packed it. Then I went home and got all my clothes into my luggage and I was ready to go. Dinner was a quick pit stop to a sandwich shop, then an hour of wandering around the dorms waiting for something happen.
    We took a quick ride to the train station and security was interesting. To even get in the train station they needed to see our passports. It’s not that we are restricted in our travel, but instead they just want to know where we are in China. Getting on the train wasn’t too bad as far as Chinese lines go. Yes, there was pushing, but apparently assigned seating keeps people much calmer. Our hard sleeper seats are these small little bunks. Six people in each area, I was with Cassidy, Eric, Rana, and Myself. The upper most bunks were purchased by Chinese people. Once the train started it was really too dark to look outside. Instead I got to talk with Chinese people. I spent two hours talking to a man named 李长昕 Li ChangXin. He was telling me stories in Chinese. I learned a lot of new vocabulary and got to practice my listening. I spoke as well, so overall a good day to be learning Chinese. All the people on the car kept complimenting me on my Chinese, but it was because I have only been studying Chinese for 5 months. Apparently I sound very good, but my Chinese isn’t that great. I manage to crawl into bed around 1 am but sleep I knew would be difficult. The train did not have a consistent rhythm. Oh well we’ll see how this goes.