soliders

so i won't explain the terracotta soliders much except to say that they were originally over 6,000 of them and Mr. Qin Shi Huang (China's first real emperor) had them built in 221-207 BC in order to guard him and his tomb in the hereafter. they were discovered in the late 1970s and the farmer who first pulled a head of one from a well was paid a handsome sum of 30 yuan for his efforts (about $4.50 us).

once Mr. Wang (the farmer) discovered the guys the CCP reclaimed the land, that was already theirs, and began excavating the area. since then they have built a fully equipped tourist viewing complex the largest of which is about the size of a football field. i always like visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world, but never again during Chinese holiday.

again, LOTS of people everywhere. herding, herding, pushing, shoving, elbowing, stepping on toes, squishing between each other, violating my personal space bubble over and over, sweating, pushing, elbowing - that about sums up my experience at the solider's home this time around.

at the enterance to complex 1 hangs a sign forbidding the use of flash or tripods when taking pictures - since everyone else ignored the sign, and the guards just looked on, i freely used my flash and got several good shots. after standing my ground at the railing for as long as i could stand it, i finally had had enough and went outside to breathe some un-recycled air and have sit where no one would push me off my place. there are 3 complexes of the excavation and 1 museum. seeing the displays was difficult given the crowds so we eventually just ended up outside.

before you enter the complex there are several women in nice purple suits offering to guide you around and give a tour (for as small sum of course). one of these fine ladies was standing off to the side of a doorway and i had a quesiton that i can now not remember. she enthusiastically answered it and before i knew it was on a tour! she mentioned that Mr. farmer Wang - yes! THE guy that found the soliders - was that very day signing books in the book store.

this peaked our interest so she dragged us over there, telling us all about the soliders, all about Mr. Wang and how he used to have dark hair, but now he had turned grey. he had met Pres. Clinton when Clinton visited China, we could look at the guy, but we couldn't take photos.... etc etc.

when we walked into the bookstore a mob of people were pressed up against the table behind which sat Mr. Wang, with a helper on either side of him. as promised he was elderly. there he sat while hoards of people squished, pushed and elbowed to catch a look. he leisurely smoked a long pipe while open books were put in front of him to sign. a large photo of him shaking Clinton's hand hung behind him for all to see as a verification that this was indeed "the man."

our newly non-hired tour guide swept us over to the side of the table where stacks of books and postcards were being sold - and if you bought the package for 200 yuan ($30.00) Mr. Wang would sign your copy. my friend, Chris, didn't want a chinese copy of the book as - well she couldn't read it - so i was trying to figure out how we could get an English copy for her. they didn't have English copies in the stack and the mob was getting anxious. as i'm trying to figure out how to get an English copy, ms. tour guide is telling me to just buy a Chinese copy and swap it in the bookstore, (which i had my doubts could would happen), the woman selling the books starts yelling at ms. tour guide and the crowd starts squishing me up against the table - all the while Mr. Wang sits behind the table with all the space in world smoking his long pipe and signing if he feels like it.

finally, i had had enough, i shoved my way backwards through the crowd and tried to ditch ms. tour guide. it didn't take long before she found us - since were some of the few foreigners around. "follow me! follow me - i'll help you get an English book then he can sign it" and she headed towards the book store thinking we would follow. chris and i followed her about 10 steps then took a sharp right into the crowds and out the door. not only do think she was going to later tell us that we owed her a tour fee, but i believe she was getting some kind of kick back from the book sales.

i sat on the ledge of a flower garden while chris took a deep breath, waited long enough for ms. tour guide to fade away and then plunged back in to find the english copy and get a signature. while sitting on the ledge i started a conversation with the Chinese guy next to me about life and where he was from, etc. of course the topic turned to Mr. Wang and this lucrative practice of signing books. my new friend told me that since the soliders had become so popular the government took good care of Mr. Wang, as they should. then he said "but i have my doubts if that's even the real guy." i asked him why he felt this way, he didn't have a solid reason, just that it was possible and most likely.

chris made it out alive with an English copy of the book and a large illegible signature in the front of her book. at that point we were done with crowds and needed a bathroom. after looking at the map and doing some deductive logic we decided to head for the bathroom on the further most reaches of the complex next to the movie house. for once we actually outsmarted the crowds as no one was there and we didn't have to wait in yet another line (or mash into a crowd).

after taking care of business we wandering into the movie depicting the soldiers, their creation and eventual demise that is shown in a round-about movie theater. it was actually one of the best parts of the whole day. coming out of the movie we were funneled, not surprisingly, through the gift shop. it was time for an ice cream so i rewarded myself with one. when i asked the very bored, and not so service minded service lady where a garbage can was she pointed down to the floor behind the counter. then i asked her if she could help me throw away my ice cream cone paper, she said no, it's his - and pointed to some guy sitting next to her. (wouldn't it be nice to have a garbage can dedicated only for your personal use?)

i hadn't noticed the fellow before so i looked over and there sat an elderly Chinese guy and on the wall above him was a photo of him motioning to the soldiers in the background. not one person was talking to him, or near his table but there were plenty other people like myself looking at him wondering what it all meant. i asked the "service" lady who he was. "He's the guy that discovered the soldiers." i then said "I thought that guy was over in the bookstore signing books." she held up her hand, all fingers showing, "There were 5 of them." huh, but he hadn't shook Clinton's hand otherwise there would have been a photo ~ so it seems that Mr. Wang has several friends who also come around and sign books for 100 yuan a pop. just as long as you are an old Chinese guy with a photo of you and the soldiers it seems there is some cash to be made. i'm forever amazed at the enterprising spirit of the Chinese, even at some of their most prominent National tourist attractions.

chinese holiday

as mentioned, the CCP (chinese communist party) allowed the whole country a week off ~ which translates into everyone in 1/4 of the world's population traveling around and seeing stuff. i'm not sure what thought processes went into my decision to join them, but i had time off, my friend was here from the States and so why not get squished, jolted, bumped, elbowed and stepped on for a week?

while in Xi'an we had a fully planned out schedule but no matter how much i gazed into my "how to avoid the crowds" crystal ball there was no way around it so we brazenly dove in. the first night we got there we headed to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. this was built some time long long ago and housed some famous monk(s). since it's construction a long long time ago the CCP built a tiered water fountain show off to the side of it consisting of about 6 large 1/2 acre platforms that are equipped with water spouts that shoot up out of the ground and every which way dancing to music and narration that is blared over loudspeakers. apparently, we weren't the only tourists/locals who had heard about this cause it seemed that the whole town, the surrounding countryside and a few other million people came to see the show too.

we staked out a spot on the ledge around the top tier and watch as the crowds grew, and grew and grew. just before it was supposed to start someone decided there was the smallest of entry way right next to Chris and so people kept pushing their way through the rabbit hole to get into the inside in order to see better. finally we spread our feet and held ground which then resulted in us being pushed from the wall of people behind us. we did let a few kids squeeze through, but adults were held back. it was only annoying if i let it be.

when the water started spewing it caught some people out in the middle - most entertaining - and then for the next 30+ mintes water ran, people ran and everyone stood out by the water for a photo moment - because i'm part Chinese i too had a turn, and even got it with a tall military guy - see photo. it was the first of our crowd adventures. it was only got more crowded as the days went on.

on to xi'an

xi'an china is most famously the home of the terracotta soldiers. the soldiers reside about an hour bus ride outside of the city in an open countryside surrounded by pomegrate groves and rice fields, but there is so much more to see in xi'an than our guys in dusty grey.

xi'an was a long time capitol of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) and it has the last remaining fully in-tact city wall in China. it is also the end of the silk road that came across China from the west. via that route came buddism and other Western cultural ideas, people and goods.

we stayed at the Xiang Zi Men youth hostel near the south gate of the city - the biggest and most famous of all the gates. the hostel is a beautifully restored building in the style of Ming dynasty. one of the cleanest and well-run places i've ever stayed in (bar a 5 star hotel).

after our overnight train ride to arrive in xi'an (we shared a 4 person soft sleeper compartment with our 3 yr old Ding Ding, his mom and his grandma - he was so cute, very chatty and went to sleep early ~ whew!) we checked in to the hostel, ate and showered then headed for the south gate.

in the court yard of the south gate a stage was set up for some type of cultural show in celebration of the Chinese National Holiday. there were guys dressed in traditional Tang dynasty warring wear, another group dressed in Tang dynasty courtyard outfits and lots of other people milling about. it looked interesting, there were seats available so we sat down for a watch. first the guys in uniform did a military re-enactment. then this troupe of Chinese yo-yo performers came out and did an amazing show for us with their toys. after that the Tang concert group performed their music. (see below for photos). it was as lot of fun and i took about 150 photos just to get a few good ones.

after that we wandered to the top of the wall and pushed our way to the front of the line to rent some creaky bikes to ride the circumference of the wall. 100 minutes for 40 yuan. pretty good deal! we set out on our bikes for about a 7 mile ride. the road on top of the wall is made of large bricks which makes for a bumpy ride and the seat post of my bike felt as though it had bumped along this journey so many times that any time it threatened to come up through the middle of the seat. i sat lightly and rode hard.

it was a beautiful day - and it was one of the most fun things i have ever done in China. see below for all our photos.

xi'an south gate performance

training for a century on the wall

on top of the xi'an wall

shanghai

October 1^st is the Chinese National Holiday, a celebration of the Communist take over of China in 1949. This was year 59. Since Oct 1^st fell on a Wednesday everyone originally had Wed - Fri off work and then of course the weekend. About 2 weeks after we arrived here it was decided by the biggies in Beijing that the country deserved a whole week off. So everyone worked and went to class on Sat/Sun to make up for missing Mon/Tues then the country mobilized starting starting Sunday PM.

Getting train tickets anywhere was an experience in Chinese bureaucracy in and of itself that involved a lot of decoding of the system and the frequent use of words like “what ? why? How?” More than anything it was a class in cultural training that no powerpoint presentation could attempt. We all managed to use our magic language skills to acquire the appropriate transportation and made our way out into China. My students went every which way and I boarded a train for my first stop on Sunday after church - Shanghai.

A Deer Valley co-worker, Chris Rock, took me up on the invite to visit China while I am here. She was scheduled to arrive 3.5 hours before my train pulled in. We were to be greeted by some of her friends who live in Shanghai and teach at one of the local colleges, Fred and Joyce. About 4 days before I left I had emailed Fred, but he had not replied with a phone number to call or plans to connect. Besides email I had no way of getting ahold of him. The train was leaving regardless, so I joined the herd of Chinese at the station and hoped for the best. Fortunately, I had given Chris my cell number.

It has been 14 years since I have been to Shanghai ~ and the train station is still the crazy zoo I remembered. With the trains completely packed, and everyone exiting at once, I could only walk slowly to the exit. From observation, I was the only white person in sea of Chinese. It is difficult to describe exactly how many people are in this country, but it is almost scary to be with so many people in a tight space. Somehow I escaped to the outside and began wandering. Since I didn’t know if Fred had my cell, and I had no knowledge if Chris had actually arrived, my back up plan was to get a hostel somewhere and get on the internet to try and at least email them.

About 15 minutes after coming out of the craziness the station to the outside craziness my phone and wandering around like a lost tourist dragging her suitcase around my phone rang ~ it was Chris, et.al. They had begged a phone off a Chinese guy who spoke minimal Enlgish. After a few more calls, some deciphering of the Chinese guy's unintelligible English and a quick ride on a motorcycle taxi to the other side of the station we finally connected.

(I have to say that I was impressed with Mr. Wang’s (my motorcycle taxi driver) ability to strap my suitcase to the back of his motorcycle, along with his knowledge of the fine American sport of WWF wrestling. I did have to bald face lie that I didn’t have a cell phone that he repeatedly requested the number for. I passed up a fine opportunity for him to call me later and show me around the town. He did, however, give me his number just in case I wanted to see places in Shanghai that no one else goes to.)

My first night in Shanghai was spent eating at an Isreali restaurant and then breezing through the knock-off market to see what China is copy producing these days for the interested consumer. North Face Jackets, Gortex ski pants, Spyder wear for kids – these were the things I was most interested in.

It wasn't until the next morning that I pulled out the cash but even walking by a shop is mildly dangerous to even glance or stop briefly at a shop. The sales person will practically accost you and drag you in all the while telling you in English about the good quality, prices, etc. An expressed interest, or touch to an item immediately produces several versions and sizes being dragged out for your viewing pleasure. Then comes the bargaining:

“you like? 300 yuan, I sell you good price – 300 yuan”

“I’ll give you 100 yuan”

“oh lady! That too little! This good price, good quality, OK OK, 280 yuan – good price”

“No, I think 100 yuan is OK”

“I work so hard, this good – you see you see here, good quality, good sewing, fabric special and North Face”

(I start to walk away)

“OK OK OK – (pulling me back into the store) I sell 210 yuan”

At this point I stick to the 100 yuan price and just start walking away and down the hallway.

(Running down the hallway to catch me and physically drag me back to the store) “OK OK – you come here, you speak Chinese so good, from America – big country. I give you special price, 130 yuan”

“100 yuan” (cause I really don’t want to get it for more and there are 20 more shops with the same exact stuff)

Look of distress - “OK, OK! 110 yuan, that best price, 110 yuan”

At this point it’s $1.50 US more than 100 yuan so I agree. I pull out my cash from my secret passport pouch while they wrap it up in a big bag for transport. I have no idea what their profit margins are, but I feel I got a deal and they made something otherwise they wouldn’t have sold it to me at the 110 yuan price.This was our Monday morning was spent, as my friend Chris put it, “like a cow in a Parana stream.” Treasures were found, and the prices were good but I worked for it.

Our plan after shopping was to ascend to the 100^th floor of the newest tall bldg in Shanghai the Financial Trade Center. (the bldg pictured to the side with the hole in the top) We arrived at the center into the first of our upcoming week’s experience in Chinese tourist travel – lots of people.

The line outside didn’t look too bad, however there was a sign placed at the snaky line entrance advertising that the wait to the top would be 2 hours. OK – we lined up with everyone else. We waited for 30 minutes to be allowed into the downstairs ticket issuing area where we waited another 45 minutes to buy tickets. After scanning our bags, etc and doing the safety check thing we waited in another line for another 20 minutes to watch the “preview show.”

We were stuffed into a dark space-agey room. In the center was a large replica of the building enclosed in a round plexiglass casing. All the lights dimmed, the building started to spin then more things spun and laser lights flashed while cartoon fish and other cutesy animals swam around it. If you watched it long enough you began to feel like you were a cute fishy swimming dizzily around spinning building. The purpose the "preview show" was never clear but everything stopped spinning and flashing we waited a little while longer to get in the elevator that took us to the 97^th floor feeling a little dazed sick.

Once on the 97^th floor, where we could view the city almost as well as from the 100^th floor, we realized that we had to wait in another 1 hour line to take the special elevator up to our destination the 100^th floor. By this time we were invested, but I was so hungry (as it was 2pm) the my patience for Chinese people in general was gone and all I could think about was how I was beginning to hate being 97 floors in the sky. To avoid losing it I sucked on a few Altoids. By the time we got to the 100^th floor, took all our photos and did the appropriate ooo aaaah over the height and the newness of the place we immediately descended to the bottom and found the nearest bathroom – all the while wondering if it was worth it.

The toilets in the bathroom were more equipped and had more "cleaning" options than my local car wash. First of all the seat was heated, very nice. Then, off to the side of the bowl was a full panel of buttons offering you cleaning of your choice, TP was only required for drying. A stream of water would shoot up from inside the toilet, and depending on what you preferred, you could select front back or middle with complete adjustable options in both strength of stream, temperature levels, timer, on/off switch, etc. All three of us women took more than our usual time in the stall (see side photo for visual). It was only then that we decided that the 150 yuan and 3+ hours spent on the tower was worth it just for the bathroom and that perhaps that should be advertised as the grand finale. I’ve experience more diversity of toilet options in China than anywhere I’ve ever been. This was far cry from that open stall ditch I was using 2 weeks ago in public toilet down in Anhui province.

From there we ran around for another 2 hours essentially looking for a place to eat and finally (after I was near passing out from hunger) ended up in Chinese restaurant in the French Concession area of Shanghai (an area that the French developed back in the early 1900s). It was one of the best, and most relished, meals I’ve had since arriving here.

From there we made our way to Old Town and then to the Bund. The Bund is a section of downtown Shanghai on side of the river that features large business buildings built by all the foreign country occupiers of the late 1800s. Across the river is the modern architecture of Shanghai featuring its Pearl Tower and other bldgs that have been built in the last 15 years (see photo below). It was a wonderful night of wandering around old China, colonial era China and modern China. Several vendors along the Bund walk way managed to convince us to buy a few toy’ish items and other flashy wares. We finally made it home about 10:30pm exhausted and happy from a full day tour of Shanghai. I will be returning in November – there is more to see, do and buy, but I think that ascent in the tower was a once in my life time experience.

100 stories up above China. this is the top of the bldg with the big hole in the top ~ the Shanghai International Financial tower. it only took $15, 3 hours of pushy chinese lines and a few ear popping elevator rides to get there. by the time i arrived i was ready to pass out from hunger. so we got our requiste photos, awed over the height that we were at and zoomed down 100 floors in search of the nearest food.

mr. chang's sleepers

it is not uncommon to see people walking around in a full set of pajamas in Shanghai. the word on the street is that a nice set of pajamas is a sign of middle class affluence. aka - if you can afford real pajamas you have made it to the next level. thus we see - people are the same everywhere as far as showing off their status whether it be a nice set of plaids, or a benz.

shanghai nite scape

this is across the river from the bund in Shanghai. it seems very small in this photo

hun cun village

the day after we went to yellow mtn we ventured over to a family compound where the local Wang family has lived for over 600 years. from the air the compound looks like the shape of a water buffalo. now the family residents live in small houses individually owned and many operate little shops out of their living rooms - selling family heirlooms and bad pastries to all the tourists who come to gawk at them. below are some photos of the people.

laundry

doing laundry in the middle of the river. oh how i love a good maytag.

mr. wang

i don't know much about this fellow except he was selling the tourists something interesting and i couldn't resist taking his photo.

mrs. wang

her family has lived in the Hun Cun family compound for 100s of years. now she sells little toys out of her front yard. she was so cute and allowed me to take a photo since i had bought something.

baby head shaving

yep. he is shaving the baby's head. when he figured out that i had taken this photo i got a good loud chinese scolding.