A Red Sun Rising.....

Update:

More on pollution ( I know you love it).  I could NOT believe there was a place with more smog and pollution than Beijing. Back home, relaxing with the New York Times, I was knocked flat by an article stating that not only was Beijing NOT #1 in pollution, it was a measly #79!  So, who is #1? New Delhi!  The mind boggles at what New Delhi must look like...if you can see it.  The title of this blog was inspired by the view out of our Xian hotel window at dawn.  I rolled over in bed and bolted upright fearing the hotel was on fire (phobia #22).  It wasn't, however a giant red orb was slowly rising in the East.  It was beautiful.  I guess even smog has its upside.

Red sun rising.

A Melting Pot - Well, Kind Of...

So, we get to Xian (Shee-an) and we go to see the Little Goose Pagoda. Photos will tell all.  But then we head to the Muslim section for dinner.  When you think of China you think of the Han Chinese but there are 56 ethnic minorities in China.  Some fare better than others.  The Muslims in Xian seem to be doing very well.  So, how did they get there?  Who are they?  Answers:  The Silk Road.  Middle Easterners and people from all those _____stan countries.  Xian is/was the terminus of the Silk Road. So a whole bunch of interesting outsiders ended up there and stayed.  And it is very nice.  I understand their choice.  We went to a Muslim restaurant for dinner which was interesting and a good break from our standard, nonstandard fare.  I am happy to report that I could identify everything I ate which was becoming an increasingly rare experience.  Of course, being a Muslim restaurant, no liquor was served. Which leads me into another whining digression.

The Little Goose Pagoda (imagine what the Big Goose Pagoda must look like).

Everywhere we went the flowers were absolutely amazing, especially the roses.

For a "contribution" you could ring the bell on the grounds of the pagoda.

The latest hairstyle for the youth of Xian.

A woman in the Muslim section of Xian.

Spirits In China

The liquid, not etherial kind.  You can buy beer anywhere and it is cheap.  Wander beyond that selection and things get odd.  At every restaurant I would try to order a glass of wine.  They only listed bottle prices.  I would point at a glass, point at a bottle of wine and the server would shake his head sadly "no".  Lacking vocabulary, I would shake my head sadly, and submit to yet another beer. I finally asked Yuan what was up.  Apparently, nobody drinks wine in China.  They are afraid if they open a bottle and pour you a glass that by the time someone else finally stumbles in and wants one, the wine will have turned.  Really.  I finally got a glass in one place and it was 88 yuan -- the equivalent of what you would pay in Napa for a fine glass of wine.  Which it was not.  Meanwhile, Michael orders a Scotch and it was 50 yuan.  Didn't matter if it was Glenfiddich or rotgut -- 50 yuan. At an airport Michael ordered a Cappuccino and I ordered a cognac.  Same price.  Very, very odd. Traveling is so educational.

Back to the Subject

So after the dinner, we walked through the Night Market in the Muslim section and past the Drum and Bell Towers.  Here again, photos really do the job.

The street of the Night Market. At first we were wondering what the purpose was of the sticks in the can in the picture. WE later found out they were skewers for all of the many cooked meats.

When you need some meat to cook, just cut some off of the carcass.

You can see noodles ( we THINK they're noodles) being made right on the street....

as they really stretch the dough.

The Bell Tower Pagoda all lit up at night...

and further along the Drum Tower Pagoda.

Starbucks has invaded China too and the sign above refers to the Chinese New Year (although even that was on February 19).

Oh God, I'm Going to Hate This....

If I dread "home dinners" with local folks, let me just tell you that they were looking pretty good compared to the description I found in the next day's agenda. "A morning visit to Xingqiing Park, a hub of activity. Join the residents in their morning exercises."  Visions of pudgy, pale American Giants crashing and stumbling through graceful Tai Chi and Qi Gong while appalled Chinese retirees look on with sympathy flavored with disdain.  I sulked, but dutifully followed my group into the park.

But it was a blast.  So here is the deal.  Virtually everyone retires at 55 in China.  Every morning all the retirees go to their local park and hang out.  Here's what we saw:  Fan Dancing; Tai Chi; Qi Gong; Ballroom Dancing; Some Exercise Group where you pat various parts of your body; Dancing with a racquet while juggling balls; choral singing, calligraphy painting on sidewalks... it just goes on from there.  I mean they actually USE their parks.  And they seem to be having FUN.  I threw off the shackles of middle class restraint and fan danced with abandon with a man with a bodacious mustache.  Our crew really got into it. Go figure.  Newly reinvigorated we climbed aboard the bus for a visit with the Terra Cotta Warriors.  But there were a couple of stops first.

Tai Chi anyone?

Deirdre got right into the rhythm of the Fan Dance.

Part of the Fan Dance tradition is that some of the women dress as men and the men as women.

The choreography of the dance is amazing...

while the musicians provide the beat.

Afterwards many of our tour group posed for pictures with the dancers.

Some practice their calligraphy on the pavement. The medium is water so it doesn't last very long.

Deirdre practices accupressure with our local guide Ivy.

And what would a Chinese park be without badminton.

This was most interesting --- a giant whip requiring two hands to crack.

There was choral singing....

ballroom dancing...

and this amazing exercise involving moving a paddle with a ball in the center around, while trying not to drop the ball.

The park also had the biggest rubber duckies in the world!...

as well as a tranquil scene with a moon bridge.

Once more the flowers were magnificent, whether individually...

or in groups.

Ghost City

These were all over China.  They are high rises that speculators buy but no one lives in -- at least not now.  Maybe never.  So, they put them up but don't build them out.  Maybe wiring and plumbing but that is it.  You buy it like that and then (theoretically) sell it at a profit.  The one Yuan took us to was not cheap.  Many hundreds of thousands of dollars.  While the vast majority were empty, we were met at the door of the "model tower" by a staff dressed elegantly in black and white.  They escorted us to the model apartment. A couple of photos will give you the idea.

To buy these, if it is your second piece of residential property, you need a 50% downpayment.  There must be a lot of money rolling around in that country.  Where will it end? Who knows.  The developers get some money from the government which inspires them to continue.  An expat who has lived in China for decades said that some developers take the money and run.  He then said the the government has been known to "pursue them and take care of them".  Hmmm.

One of the "ghost" buildings which we toured.

The penthouse model was lavishly appointed, but all you get is a shell.

A lot of money was spent on decorating...

down to the English language books. I especially like the top book, which Deirdre and I enjoyed reading. 

All of the decor was definitely "over the top".

Our next stop was lunch at this really, really spiffy hotel that was completely empty except for us. We inquired as to why there was no one there.  Turned out that it was built as a "training center"-- read boondoggle center-- for government bigwigs.  Now they are really into this anticorruption campaign (they seem to really mean it but who knows) and the place was totally empty.  They are so desperate they take tour buses. Some win.  Some lose. Food and ambiance was excellent.

All Hail the Terra Cotta Warriors

While I dislike facts and figures as much as the next, a little background is in order.  In about 250 B.C. (or roughly 2,200 YEARS ago), Qin Shihuang got his guys (700,000 of them) started on making Terra Cotta Warriors, Officers, Chariots and Horses to provide him with company in his tomb.  Qin vanquished all enemies in 221 B.C. and the first Chinese dynasty was born.  In 210 B.C. Qin died from mercury poisoning during a "failed attempt to make himself immortal".  Obviously, he didn't have a lot of confidence in his ability to become immortal or he wouldn't have bothered having 8,000 Terra Cotta figures produced for his tomb over a period of 40 years.  The reward for all the workers still breathing at the end of this effort was being buried alive so that the secret of the location and the treasures within would be protected.  And it worked.  Until 1974, when five Shaanxi farmers digging a well unearthed the first of the Warriors.  The rest is history.

When we arrived, Yuan and Ivy (all the guides but Yuan adopted English names -- the WASPier the better. Unsettling.) warned us of the many dangers we would face: pickpockets; surging crowds and, worst of all, ubber-aggressive hawkers of all things Terra Cottery.  While I DO hate to haggle, my dedicated efforts and elaborate facial and hand gestures drew a crowd as I whittled the price of these adorable little Terra Cotta figures down to the price of an ice cream cone.  But I digress.  Photos will give you an idea of the scope.  Bear in mind that thus far only ONE Warrior has been found intact. The rest is like the biggest, most intricate jigsaw puzzle ever. They are impressive.  Oh, the gift shop boasted the REAL farmer who uncovered the first Warrior.  He was sitting in a chair and was fast asleep.  Or expired.  But it was thrilling to see him.  Not really.

This gives you an idea of the size of just his one building with all of the warriors standing in line in trenches, the way they were buried.

Some of the warriors have lost their head..

while others are in amazingly good shape after restoration.

Speaking of restoration, in this area are the pieces waiting to be reassembled into the original warriors.

This marks the site of the well where the first terra cotta warrior head was discovered.

These warriors represent some of the best restorations, and they are braced to prevent any possible damage.

A frontal view of a warrior with his horse...

and the posterior view showing the terra cotta tail.

This terra cotta figure was a high ranking official...

and this was one of the generals of the army.

This was an example of an archer...  He was the only one found intact.

While this archer shows both some of the color and the detail tread pattern on the soles of his shoes.

It was truly awe inspiring to imagine creating each one of these unique warriors (and this only represents a small number of the total.

Tang Dynasty Extravaganza 

I'm only including this because the pictures are great.  It was a dinner show and the dinner was as might be expected when you attempt to serve 700 or 800 people simultaneously. A bottle of wine was about the cost of an Apple Watch. It revolved around the Tang dynasty (618A.D. to 907 A.D,) which was based in Xian and featured dance and instrumental music.  The show was good.

These few paltry photos hardly do justice to this Tang Dynasty extravaganza.

Day 7 (I know it seems like more) Xian to Chengdu

In the morning we all trooped around the Xian City wall which is the most complete city wall in China (Whoop!).  We then took a flight to Chengdu.  I had never heard of Chengdu.  The Chengdu metropolitan area has 33 million people.  How can I have not heard about a place with 33 million people?  That's just the way China rolls.

And Now for the Pandas

Everybody loves pandas.  The worst people in the WORLD are charmed and get all mushy around pandas.  Even PUTIN melts before pandas.  We were not immune.  We went to the Panda Research Station. The name made it sound like a place bristling with sterile rooms, medical instruments, and large satellite dishes or something but it actually was this very beautiful park.  They definitely know how to "stage" this whole thing.

You start out with the adult pandas.  Nice.  They eat if they are not sleeping.  Cute. Then you go on to the teenagers.  They move more.  Hang out together.  Eat or sleep.  Soon they will have to stop being teenagers and grow up and hate each other and become social isolates. Except once a year when the females will climb a mountain (well, not in the research center) and mate with a highly inexpert and incompetent male and probably not conceive.  We learn that they used to be carnivores, then omnivores and now they eat like bazillion pounds of bamboo each day, only effectively digest about a third of it and, because of the lack of nutritional value, sleep way too much.   NOTE:  Revisit Australia blog and kolas/eucalyptus/sleep.  These odd bears need to rethink their diets.  I can't help thinking that all this nutritional waste and lack of energy may be impacting their reproductive capabilities. However our guide points out that the fact that because they don't eat meat they are   much more friendly with people.  Point taken.  Upon our return, I hear a report that they are thinking about reintroducing meat to pandas -- is that a good idea?  Really?  They are sooooo cute and friendly...now.

The entrance to the research station dispelled any ideas of a sterile environment, as these photos show.

This adult panda was happily munching away on bamboo...

while this one was happy catching a few zzz's.

This teenager was just kicking back taking it easy...

and these teenagers were doing what teenagers do everywhere...just hanging with their buds.

This panda looked like it was trying to do a head stand...

but just couldn't quite get there.

Then, just when you think you are going to fall asleep with the pandas, you reach the babies.  What could be cuter than pandas?  BABY pandas!  These guys are hysterical.  And active.  We watch two that are really intent on practicing walking backward.  They are terrible at it which makes them even MORE (is it possible?) adorable.  And then, this obvious provocateur among the panda babies approaches  his more subdued age mate who is draped unceremoniously in a tree.  He ascends and tortures him and they end up a roiling mess of baby panda up a tree.  Michael has captured this in a slide show. Watch it and swoon with panda delight.


Chengdu Giant Baby Pandas (click on the Title to bring up the link.)

Well, they say always leave them laughing.  So I will.  I know I said we'd do Tibet in this post but it is already really LONG.  So, next time we will do Tibet, the Yangtze River cruise (everything is timing in life) and Shanghai.  Thanks for reading.  I heard from a lot of our long distance pals last post but still would love to get an update from the rest of you (you know who you are!).  But no pressure.  Until soon.