A taste of China
I have to say I hadn't done much research before coming to China and had no expectations other than the language and food will be strange.. how naive of me. China is very impressive, more the culture and way of life than anything else. There seems to be a quality about their way of life. In general they are very welcoming. Funny looks generally means 'where did you come from?'
I loved Beijing, probably because we were staying in the older part of the city, where hutongs (streets where local communities go about their daily lives) are common. The people appear to live frugal lives content, avoiding the commercial life at the other end of the city. Beijing is 'a city of bicycles'. Rush hour involves eons of bicycles and cars coming down the street from all directions. Crossing the road is a 'kamikaze' mission, not for the faint heared or people who cant move very fast! After a few scares (of cars, buses and bikes coming for you despite the pedestrian crossing and green light on your side) you twig to hop along with the locals!
The food is quite pleasant if you know what you're ordering and some places give you boiling water on a bunsen burner with raw noodles and potato shreds to cook for yourself! The 'Tingtsao' beer can be bought for a mere 2 Yuan (20 cents) for nearly a litre if you bring the bottle back..
Aside from that their Peking Opera was fantastic.. a shrieking Emperoress wailing nostalgic tunes advising the Emperor how to defend his dynasty in battle.. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was breathtaking in all meanings of the word. I had to stop and remind myself to soak in the views as I climbed eons of steps up and down.. until I was dizzy and eventually delirious, running up and down steps!
The other highlight of China lay in Xi'an, the 'Tarracotta Warriors' (lifesized soldiers, officiers and horse statues that survived centuries buried underground from the Emperor's reign). They were found by a local farmer in 1974 near a well. Thousands of lifesize warriors were buried standing up in trenches so the Emperor would have an army in the afterlife to protect him. Seeing the fine creatures standing, all facing towards you with piercing eyes... you begin to understand the safety the Emperor felt moving on into the next life!
The 'Huajing hot Springs' in Xi'an, where the Emperor resided with his concubine (mistress) up the mountains (he had a great life)... was mythical. You could soak your feet in the 43 degrees C hot spring water along a wall in the gardens and smile at other tourists opposite, even wash your face with this water.. You get lost in the moment and forget about your neighbour's feet...
Interspersed between the museums the tour guides give you a 'free gift'.. free entry into a silk museum or two... to learn about how silk is made and buy their beautiful products if they appeal. The first silk factory we visited in Beijing was interesting, learning how silk was derived from the pupae of the silkworm. My second and third visit to a silk museum (on the same day in Xi'an) proved to be more comical than educational. I felt as if I was immersed in a computer game. 'Pacacuda', where you are the fish having to escape the octapuses comes immediately to mind. I was followed by about five attendants at a time as I swivelled around the isles of silk products (none of which appealed to the eye).
One other undesirable experience I had involved a child genious pick-pocket in Xi'an. Coming out of a crowded shopping centre I hopped on an elevator to get to street level. I looked down at my bag and let out an exclamation of horror... was bag was open and purse gone. I stared in disbelief. At the top of the escalator a child of about 10 passed me out. I had a fleeting thought.. this could be the pick-pocket (or just as easily not as I had not seen anyone or felt anything). I took my instinct and went to say something to him (I don't know what I was going to say..). He looked at me, slipped his hand into his pocket and handed me back my wallet. Oliver Twist could not have done it better. As we were taking the bus to the 'Terracotta Warriors' I realised why pick-pocketing was common in Xi'an. The countryside was a mix of dusty roads, dilapitated buildings and people selling fruit along the roadside for an income. The 'new found tourism' in the area to see the 'Terracotta Warriors' gave rise to extremes of wealth.. an opportunity for the repressed to earn an income, sometimes at the tourist's expense.
If you have read this far you're eyes (and head) and will probably need a rest..!
Next destination: fly to Beijing and try to hop on next flight towards Bangkok...
I loved Beijing, probably because we were staying in the older part of the city, where hutongs (streets where local communities go about their daily lives) are common. The people appear to live frugal lives content, avoiding the commercial life at the other end of the city. Beijing is 'a city of bicycles'. Rush hour involves eons of bicycles and cars coming down the street from all directions. Crossing the road is a 'kamikaze' mission, not for the faint heared or people who cant move very fast! After a few scares (of cars, buses and bikes coming for you despite the pedestrian crossing and green light on your side) you twig to hop along with the locals!
The food is quite pleasant if you know what you're ordering and some places give you boiling water on a bunsen burner with raw noodles and potato shreds to cook for yourself! The 'Tingtsao' beer can be bought for a mere 2 Yuan (20 cents) for nearly a litre if you bring the bottle back..
Aside from that their Peking Opera was fantastic.. a shrieking Emperoress wailing nostalgic tunes advising the Emperor how to defend his dynasty in battle.. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was breathtaking in all meanings of the word. I had to stop and remind myself to soak in the views as I climbed eons of steps up and down.. until I was dizzy and eventually delirious, running up and down steps!
The other highlight of China lay in Xi'an, the 'Tarracotta Warriors' (lifesized soldiers, officiers and horse statues that survived centuries buried underground from the Emperor's reign). They were found by a local farmer in 1974 near a well. Thousands of lifesize warriors were buried standing up in trenches so the Emperor would have an army in the afterlife to protect him. Seeing the fine creatures standing, all facing towards you with piercing eyes... you begin to understand the safety the Emperor felt moving on into the next life!
The 'Huajing hot Springs' in Xi'an, where the Emperor resided with his concubine (mistress) up the mountains (he had a great life)... was mythical. You could soak your feet in the 43 degrees C hot spring water along a wall in the gardens and smile at other tourists opposite, even wash your face with this water.. You get lost in the moment and forget about your neighbour's feet...
Interspersed between the museums the tour guides give you a 'free gift'.. free entry into a silk museum or two... to learn about how silk is made and buy their beautiful products if they appeal. The first silk factory we visited in Beijing was interesting, learning how silk was derived from the pupae of the silkworm. My second and third visit to a silk museum (on the same day in Xi'an) proved to be more comical than educational. I felt as if I was immersed in a computer game. 'Pacacuda', where you are the fish having to escape the octapuses comes immediately to mind. I was followed by about five attendants at a time as I swivelled around the isles of silk products (none of which appealed to the eye).
One other undesirable experience I had involved a child genious pick-pocket in Xi'an. Coming out of a crowded shopping centre I hopped on an elevator to get to street level. I looked down at my bag and let out an exclamation of horror... was bag was open and purse gone. I stared in disbelief. At the top of the escalator a child of about 10 passed me out. I had a fleeting thought.. this could be the pick-pocket (or just as easily not as I had not seen anyone or felt anything). I took my instinct and went to say something to him (I don't know what I was going to say..). He looked at me, slipped his hand into his pocket and handed me back my wallet. Oliver Twist could not have done it better. As we were taking the bus to the 'Terracotta Warriors' I realised why pick-pocketing was common in Xi'an. The countryside was a mix of dusty roads, dilapitated buildings and people selling fruit along the roadside for an income. The 'new found tourism' in the area to see the 'Terracotta Warriors' gave rise to extremes of wealth.. an opportunity for the repressed to earn an income, sometimes at the tourist's expense.
If you have read this far you're eyes (and head) and will probably need a rest..!
Next destination: fly to Beijing and try to hop on next flight towards Bangkok...
posted by jen hayes at 2:59 AM
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