China Trip

I finally made the trip to China. It's a remarkably diverse country. The north reminded me of Mexico and the south was like, well, China I guess. The people were mostly friendly, when they weren't in a big hurry to be somewhere else. There is much too much to see in one trip, but I took in the highlights.

We started at Tian'anmen Square, which is one big square. It was all done up for 1 Oct, their 4th of July.

Next to the square is the Forbidden City, home of the emperors. Notice the building's isolation, they were all afraid of evildoers, of which there were plenty.

This is the summer palace. It's a man made lake which accounts for the hill. They do things in a big way.

The Temple of Heaven is a big wooden structure used to pray for a good harvest.

The wall is THIS BIG.

We visited a kindergarten class, handed out some crayons and listened to Jingle Bells and Itsy Bitsy Spider in Chinese, worth the trip in and of itself.

This is the entrance to a Hutong courtyard. The Hutong's are the older neighborhoods and are disappearing in the Beijing building frenzy.

Some of the courtyards, while small, are quite pleasant

This is in Xi'an, the ancient capital of China. This is the western gate of the city wall. This was the starting point of the silk road.

This is the main force of the Terra Cotta Warriors. There are 3 pits, one infantry, one archers and cavalry and one headquarters. They were intended to protect the emperor in his afterlife underground. His tomb is a couple of miles away and has not been explored yet. So far the warriors seem to be doing their job.

When originally built they were painted, but exposure to the air quickly faded the bright colors. Excavations have stopped until a better method can be found to preserve the site.

From Xi'an to the southern city of Guilin, we took a cruise on the Li river. It's noted for its limestone hills and fabulous scenery.

Doing a little fishing, if the water buffalo doesn't ruin it.

So they were selling samples of snake wine and, well, it seemed like a good idea. Believe it or not, it's horrible.

Home page

Send me an email

We started at Tian'anmen Square, which is one big square. It was all done up for 1 Oct, their 4th of July.	Next to the square is the Forbidden City, home of the emperors. Notice the building's isolation, they were all afraid of evildoers, of which there were plenty.
This is the summer palace. It's a man made lake which accounts for the hill. They do things in a big way.	The Temple of Heaven is a big wooden structure used to pray for a good harvest.
The wall is THIS BIG.	We visited a kindergarten class, handed out some crayons and listened to Jingle Bells and Itsy Bitsy Spider in Chinese, worth the trip in and of itself.
This is the entrance to a Hutong courtyard. The Hutong's are the older neighborhoods and are disappearing in the Beijing building frenzy.	Some of the courtyards, while small, are quite pleasant
This is in Xi'an, the ancient capital of China. This is the western gate of the city wall. This was the starting point of the silk road.	This is the main force of the Terra Cotta Warriors. There are 3 pits, one infantry, one archers and cavalry and one headquarters. They were intended to protect the emperor in his afterlife underground. His tomb is a couple of miles away and has not been explored yet. So far the warriors seem to be doing their job.
When originally built they were painted, but exposure to the air quickly faded the bright colors. Excavations have stopped until a better method can be found to preserve the site.	From Xi'an to the southern city of Guilin, we took a cruise on the Li river. It's noted for its limestone hills and fabulous scenery.
Doing a little fishing, if the water buffalo doesn't ruin it.	So they were selling samples of snake wine and, well, it seemed like a good idea. Believe it or not, it's horrible.