China Xian

We spent the day in Xian which is an ancient capital city of China before Beijing.

 We spent the morning at a park with the residents.  Most people live in apartment so the parks are a popular place to go.  We went to Xingqing Park and saw some people doing Tai Chi and joined in for a while.  It's a good way to get some exercise.

 We also saw people even dressed up for different dancing activities.  Jacquelyn joined in with some people doing fan dancing.

 More dancing with umbrellas and lots of color.

 Some people were playing different instruments in different bands and groups.

 This is our whole tour group posed for a picture.

 Our hotel here was the Ambassador International Hotel.  It was a very nice luxury hotel.

 The main lobby.

 In the evening we went to an optional dinner show.  This is the music performers during the six course dinner.  It was called the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show.

 A close up of one of the performers.

 The orchestra.

 Then the show started, with lots of color and costumes and music.

 It told the story of a Chinese geisha girl who actually rose to become of the few female empress rulers of China.

 We really enjoyed the show, lots of spectacle.

 Dancing and singing.

It was great.

China Terracotta Army

We took a bus out to the park where they found the Terracotta figures surrounding the tomb mound of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.

 First stop at the entrance was at a shop where you could buy souvenirs and statues (not the ones found there, but newly made ones).

 There was a lacquer store where you could see them making Chinese furniture, like the big screen we have in our living room.  It was interesting.  We saw much smaller ones that were several thousand dollars.

 Finally we got to see the terracotta warriors.  They have these huge covered warehouses they've built over the diggings to protect them from the weather.

 It was quite amazing.  They are all life size and there are approximately 8,000 of them.

 They were found by a farmer in 1974.  They were placed in trenches around the burial site of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang.  And they've only looked on the south side of the tomb so there could be more on the other sides.  The trenches had roofs and then they were covered by dirt.  So they remained buried for centuries.

 They're life size and all represent actual people or horses and each has a different face.

 They were originally in color, but shortly after being uncovered and exposed to the air they oxidize and loose their color.

 The roofs had caved in and they were all in pieces when found.  Here you can see what they look like in pieces and some that have been restored.

 It was amazing how many there were.  Can you imagine the work that went into this.  It's really kind of sad when you think of the resources that went into this project just to bury it.  Historians estimate one third of the population was used to build and make all this and it took 40 years..  Just to be buried with that emperor.  Think of what they could have done with that manpower, money and effort in the way of road and bridges and public buildings.  Sad.  According to Chinese folk legend, Emperor Qin Shi Huang died of a people's curse due to his tyrannical government.

This is a staging area when they are reassembling the fragments back into their original shape and form.

Each warrior has to be put back together individually.

A close up of some of their faces where you can see actual facial features of individuals.

A few, right outside the entrance to the tomb, were chariots and warriors of bronze and gold.

Palace guards.

It was all just amazing what they built way back then over 2,200 years ago (from 246 BC to 208 BC).

we feel fortunate to have seen this, considered by some to be the great wonders of the world.

China Beijing and Giant Panda Bears

Next we flew (China is a big country) from Xian to Beijing.

 We saw the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, part of the old historical section of Beijing.

 There was a long narrow stairway up.

 Inside are the drums.  We were lucky to be there at the right time to see them play the drums.

 Ancient time calculation devices inside the tower.

We had a free afternoon and walked around town some.  We saw this old Catholic Cathedral near our hotel, one of the few still standing after the Cultural Revolution when most all were destroyed by the gangs of youth forming the Red Guard.  This was saved because it was used by them as a school.

We also had rickshaw ride and went to an old part of town and got to see a traditional courtyard home in the old part of town.  We got to meet the owner.  The home belonged to her great-grandparents, was taken by the government when Communism took over, but is now leased back to them for 99 years.  People still cannot own land privately in China but they can lease it for 99 years.

 Beautiful stairway in our hotel.

 We visited a jade stores.  They always take us to stores to try and sell things.

 This jade elephant was one of my favorites.

 Animal god statues.

 More animal warrior statues.

 Tapestry.  Interesting that one of the warriors was riding on a fighting water buffalo.

 The bus made a stop so we could see some of the buildings from a distance that were built for the Olympics held in Beijing.

 Finally we got to the Beijing Zoo.

 This was a treat to see more than six Giant Pandas, native only to China.

 They are really big and slow moving and so cute.

 Lunch time.  They mostly eat bamboo.

 They different enclosures with different panda bears.

Nap time.

China Great Wall

A short bus ride from Beijing and we got to see the Great Wall of China.

 This is a gate through the Great Wall that is close to Beijing.  The Great Wall of China is a series of fortificatoins built along an east to west line across the historical northern borders of China.

 This is a view of the Great Wall going up a hill.  Most of the wall followed hilly or mountainous terrain to take advantage of the added height.  The Great Wall was built to protect China against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups to the north.

 Jacquelyn and I making the climb up one side from our starting point.  It was mostly steps or ramping up to a look out point.

 View from up high on the other side down towards the gate.  We went in both directions as far as we had time.

 You can see the steps and fortifications.  Imagine having to protect against attacking barbarians.

 Window in one of the lookout towers.

 View from up the other side.

 Some of the inclines were pretty steep.

 View of a couple of fortified towers and the wall in between.

 View of how high the wall was in some places.

 A level section before starting up another set of steps.

 We had a lot of fun exploring the Great Wall.

 We were in a section of the Great Wall that has been restored for tourists.  They used the same type of stone and mortar but it's a lot newer.  Most of the original wall is in ruin now because it is so ancient. It was built over 2,000 years ago.

 Look out tower on top of a peak.

 It was an amazing achievement to build this incredible wall, not just around a city but along the entire northern border of China, spanning nearly 4,000 miles.

This has to be one of the most amazing sights we've ever seen.