Guilin to Hong Kong

Rained all day, but we made the most of it. The locals must be very use to the rain as they had various creative products to cover themselves up on their scooter bikes.

The first stop was the Reed Flute Cave, which is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations. Inside, there are more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty. The Chinese have added many colorful lites and some videos making it mostly a cheesy tourist destination. So much so that non Chinese enter in a different direction so we can be headed through shopping stands.

From there we headed over to Elephant Trunk Hill which is a landmark of Guilin. It got its name because it looks like an elephant drinking water and is located at the confluence of the Taohua River and the Lijiang River.

We had an early lunch then off to our final bullet train to Hong Kong.

Li River

It is hard to describe the beauty that is the Li River. While it was raining again today, the fog over the mountains was truly majestic! The day started with a 3 hour river boat cruise down the Li River. About 1 hour into the tour we went to the top deck which is outside to see some spectacular views. It continued for another hour. Everywhere you looked, it was spectacular!

After the river tour, we transfered to a different area of the Li River, this time in the town of Yangshuo to take a bamboo boat tour. We were on a raft made of bamboo with two bamboo lawn chairs and our guide. We also went through 4 “dams” that we needed to make sure we kept our feet up otherwise we were going to get wet!

Afterwards, we came back to the hotel and had a Chinese wine. Wasn’t half bad.

Guilin and the Longji Rice Terraces

Today we headed out early as there was a bicycle race happening near the hotel. It rained most of the day, but we made the best of it. We drove 2 1/2 hours to Longsheng to see the terraced rice fields. It was rainy and foggy so we didn’t get to see the sweeping views of the terraces, but when the fog would break over the mountains, the view was spectacular! The terrace is called Longji (Dragon’s Backbone) Terraced Rice Fields because the rice terraces resemble a dragon’s scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of the dragon and were built over 650 years ago. We rode the “electric car” think golf cart for 10 up to the top. Because of the fog there was nothing to see. So I suggested to the guide we walk down. She said it would take 40 minutes. I was thinking it should take 30 seconds, but realized she was thinking, back down the mountain. That was fine with me, so away we went. I was so glad we walked down. There were times when the fog would blow off and there were beautiful views. I was also able to see some of the local villagers and how they lived. It was quite spectacular! On the way back to Guilin we stopped for lunch at a local establishment. We had a type of hot, sweet tea which was very good! Chicken soup, a bamboo shoot dish, chicken dish and some vegetables.

Here are some pictures from today’s adventures.

Leshan Giant Buddha

Drove to Leshan today to see the giant Buddha before flying to Guilin. The statue is carved out of a cliff and is 233 ft tall. It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha statue in the world. Construction was started in 713 during the Tang Dynasty and was led by a Chinese monk. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels traveling down the river. However, the project ran out of funding when only the head was complete. About 70 years after the monks death, the project received sponsorship and the project was completed in 803. Apparently after the giant Buddha was completed, the construction removed so much stone which was deposited in the river making the water safe for passing ships. To see the Buddha, you can take a winding path or do as we did and opt for the boat ride. Much better view for pictures.

There is also said to be a sleeping Buddha in the water where the carved statue is the heart of the sleeping Buddha. The head would be on the right side of the picture above the boat. Can you see it?

We ate lunch at a local restaurant having Kung pao chicken, bean sprouts, cucumbers and a spicy chicken dish. Everything is served with rice.

Since we had time before the flight, our guide took us for tea. The place she wanted to go was closed, so we ended up at a local tea place the driver suggested. To get there, we took a boat to an island, crossed over the island via the dirt pathway then took another boat to the next island over. Round trip for the boat was for 4 Chinese dollars CYN (about $0.60 USD). Our guide told us we were on the local boat. If we had taken the boat for tourist it would have cost 70 CYN each way or about $20 round trip. The tea house was basically a bamboo table and some chairs sitting outside, but you had a perfect view of the Buddha!

From there it was off to the airport to Guilin.

Chengdu

We took the bullet train to Chengdu which is in the Sichuan Province. Known for their spicy food. The 4 hour train ride was largely in tunnels because the area is so mountainous. When we did come out of a tunnel, the view was beautiful!

In the morning I headed with our guide and driver to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The center was founded in 1987 with 6 giant pandas rescued from the wild. It now houses over 150 giant pandas as well as red pandas and other animals such as cranes and peacocks. While the adult panda sleeps over 16 hours a day, I did have the opportunity to see many pandas as well as some baby pandas!

After visiting the pandas, lunch was at a traditional Sichuan restaurant, I was the only westerner in the restaurant. I was a little worried about how spicy the food might be, but It was manageable. There were people eating plates full of chili peppers! My guide also instructed me on the proper way to drink tea.

The remainder of the day was spent strolling along Jinli Old street (mainly food and shops), then heading to Renmin park which is the city park. As with the other parks we have seen, there were retirees dancing, playing mahjong, singing and playing musical instruments.

It is much more lush here than the other cities we have visited and the traffic is as crazy as it was in Beijing. The guide describes it well when she said, there are two lanes on the road, but many times the cars are three across. You never know when they will merge upon each other. Also add in the motor scooters and bicyclists.

Xi’an, Day 2

Today we started at the city wall with a Tai Chi Chuan lesson. We met the Tai Chi master just inside the gates to the wall and he performed some of the moves for us and then showed us how to do them. It was quite fun!

Afterwards we walked up to the top of the wall. The wall was originally built in the old Ming Dynasty and is about 45 feet wide, 40 feet tall and covers 8.5 miles. We only walked a short distance. They were actually filming a local show on the wall describing the city and some of the local customs. We have seen a fair number of traveling groups made up of all Chinese people. While we in the US travel in our own country, we tend to do so independently. How, the Chinese tend to take tours.

After the Wall, we toured the Bell tower. There is also a drum tower. The bell tower is in the center of the city and was used in the morning, whereas the drum tower is used in the evening.

From there we headed over to the Muslim Quarter where there were various stores selling all kinds of things including many food items on a stick!

Lunch was at a famous dumpling house. They made very creative dumplings in the shapes of different animals.

After lunch we headed to the train station and took the bullet train to Chengdu.

Xi’an

Today is the day of the Terracotta Warriors! First stop was a shop where they made replicas of the warriors as well as lacquer furniture.

From there we headed over to the museum. The collection the terracotta sculptures depict the armies of the first emperor of China and was buried with the him in 210–209 BCE. Their purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. Our guide said that he wanted to bury the army alive with him but the prime minister suggested the sculptures be made as they still would need the army to protect the empire.😛 When coming here I didn’t realize that the individual sculptures were life size. They were made in pieces. The legs first which is solid clay. Then the body was made and the arms, which are both hollow. The head is made separate and placed on the body. There is no directions to putting the pieces back together, so in all likelihood some of the heads have been placed on the incorrect bodies! It is estimated that there are more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby. In addition, non-military personal have been found as well. There are currently 3 pits that can be toured. The first which is the largest is where the original discovery was made in March of 1974 by farmers digging a water well. Our guide told us the government paid the farmer whose land the army was found on about $35 a month for 5 years. After then the site became very popular so the farmer was hired to sign autographs. He retired in a few years ago supposedly a rich man. Another interesting fact about why the sculptures are in pieces even though they are in the ground is due to several earthquakes over the years as well as the fact that the chariots were made of wood which deteriorated causing pieces to collapse. Our guide also told us that the terracotta is painted, however, when exposed to the air, the color disintegrates. There is so much information about the warriors, if you are interested in details, here is the wiki site: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army I was not sure how interested I was going to be, but it was such an amazing experience!

Here are just a few of the pictures I took. Look at the detail!

Next we went to the Tang Bo Art museum to learn about Chinese art and have a calligraphy lesson. It is much harder than it looks!

The day ended at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda which is a Buddhist pagoda built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty. There is a legend as to how it got its name…

According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, one of which you could eat meat. One day, they couldn’t find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: ‘Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.’ At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence its name.

In front of the pagoda is a statue of hierarch Xuanzang, who went to India to collect Buddhist materials which were stored in the pagoda.

From Shanghai to Xi’an

Today we walked the Bund which is the water front area. On one side of the river are older buildings which was once the foreign trade center originally settled by the British. Across the river is the newer area we toured yesterday with all the skyscrapers.

We then walked around more of the French section and a few parks where people played music and danced.

After lunch we headed to the airport and off to Xi’an.

Shanghai

We arrived in Shanghai after dark yesterday, which I believe is the best way to arrive in the city. My first impression is that it is a cross between Las Vegas and Manhattan. Skyscrapers all lit up in neon. Although while I don’t believe the lights ever go off in Las Vegas, they are turned off at 11 pm in Shanghai.

In the morning, we left for our tour of the city. We started at the Shanghai World Financial Center going all the way up to the 100th floor. It was amazing to see the city from that high! They also had windows on the floor. I have to admit I couldn’t walk across them although I did take a few pictures looking down.

Next we walked along the the Lujiazui which is the new financial district taking pictures of all the tall buildings we just saw from above.

It was then on to a silk factory where they showed us how they made silk blankets and pillows. Like Morocco all I could see is Porter digging into a silk bedspread. So no purchases for me! We then headed to the Yuyuan Gardens walking through a local market. The gardens were built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty and are located in the middle of the city showing a mix of old and new. They were quite beautiful.

From there we had lunch and then to the French Concession where we toured a former residence to get a feel for Chinese life in Shanghai.

Then sat outside in the square for a bit to do some people watching.

What is amazing to me is how there are more people in Shanghai than Beijing, yet it doesn’t seem as crowded.

Off to Shanghai

Afterwards we headed to the train station to take a bullet train to Shanghai. The train took 4 hours and 28 minutes and was a very pleasant ride. At one point, I noticed we were going 347 km/h., yet you barely felt it move. The view along the way was very interesting. One would see empty land and then there would be several very large buildings that would pop up in the landscape. It was rare to see single story buildings.

A high speed train

Views along the route