Blog 6
Today we were able to sleep in a bit as we were taking off to see the Terra Cotta Army, about 1 hour drive outside of Xian. We had another buffet breakfast at the hotel before departing in our air-conditioned coach. Viewing the statues and excavation at the museum where the Terra Cotta Army was discovered is fantastic. The discovery is only thirty years old and they haven’t finished unearthing and repairing many of the statues. I believe there are 8,000 statues, each with a different face and costume. I have downloaded, but not edited or added descriptions of the photos I have taken thus far. It is on my Shutterfly site and I believe it can be accessed by:
if interested. I haven’t downloaded the videos yet. The great thing of having my computer along is that I can download my photos each day and have a clear flash card for the next day’s photo. (Great for me, maybe not so great for you).
It is hard to describe the view of the Terra Cotta Army Museum. The buildings are all modern. It is crowded.
We found out that there is going to be a solar eclipse on Wednesday. The next one is 300 years away. Supposedly the best place to view it is in China. Therefore, we have seen lots of tourists from other countries that have timed their trip to coincide with this event. We ran into eclipse tours at the museum from Princeton, MIT and UCLA. It is possible that we might miss this event as we will be going or be at the airport to fly to Beijing.
After the visit to the museum, we went on another Grand Circle Tour Discovery and had lunch at a local farmer’s home. We were warned prior to this visit by our guide director Nan that we might not enjoy this food. Actually, it turns out to be the best meal we’ve had to date. The farmer’s wife makes some embroidered hanging stuffed articles that are symbolic, I chose two to buy and Nan informed me that one represents long life and the other prosperity. I better get the prosperity so I can afford the long life.
Grand Circle Tours Foundation gives $10 from members of their groups’ trip costs to charity. In China, the gift, which amounted to $8000 this year, went to Shao Pingdian Primary School. Unfortunately, it is summer and school is out so we weren’t able to see the children. We were told that the money went to build a toilet facility this year, as last year when visitors came it was raining and the stench from the Eastern type toilets was unbearable. We were also told that children start to learn English in the 3rd grade. (Compulsory education is to the 9th grade.) Grand Circle Tour visits, we were told, have
inspired the children to strive to speak English better as they now have a better understanding of who those “big nose” people are and enabling them to associate us as a people rather than as a far away country.
This country is changing so fast from communism to capitalism. The government no longer is providing free health care or education. With the new freedoms come more individual responsibilities. It is hard to conceive how the older people have adjusted. If you can imagine how we feel when our children start to grow up and do things slightly different than us, think of how the older generation feels and has to deal with a belief system and economic system that is 180 degrees different that what they endured under Mao. The sense of the speed of time here is what is so apparent. The last 10 years here is equivalent to the changes it took us at least 50 to 75 years to achieve. That is what amazes me the most about China. It is like a speeded up film.
We have arrived back at our hotel. It is 4:00. Tonight we are going to a Tang Dynasty Show with dinner.
Just got back from the Tank Dynasty Show. They have a website that I haven’t checked out: www.xiantangdynasty.com.
Wow. It was held in China’s Premier Cultural Entertainment Theatre Restaurant. The Entertainment started off with an ancient Chinese instrumental ensemble. Then a Cultural dance segment with fantastic dances and costumes. It was further highlighted by a hand plucked string instrument with Pai Xiao solo musical presentation using an outdated wind instrument that is a cross between a harmonica and a mouth harp. The song played was a spring Orioles song. Sounded like an Oriole whistling.
A grand finale with ornate costumes from the Tang era with a lot of scarf dancing summed up the entertainment, but that was only half of the evening. While all this was going on we were served a multi course delicious dinner. The menu:
Pearls of Cathay—Delicacies of chicken fillet in special sauce with dumpling specialties a la Xian
The Royal Marriage: Black mushroom consommé
Heart of The Dragon: Crispy fresh king prawns accompanied with honey glazed cashew nuts highlighted with special dressing
The Princess’s Pin: Backed succulent tenderloin of beef served with garden vegetables and fried rice
The Willow’s Melody: Orange surprise with palm seed
And to finish all this off: A platter of assorted imperial “dim sum”
and Jasmine tea.
All through dinner a special wine to the region was served warm. The wine was a white cloudy color . It was delicious and the patrons were encouraged to drink lots of it as it is supposed to extend life.
That’s it for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment