Warriors, Pandas, and Photos...Oh, My!

The Great Wall exhausted us, but there was no rest for the wicked. The next morning we were scheduled to leave for a three-day excursion to Xian and Chengdu, so off we went...

When we arrived in Xian, we booked a car for the day. It was the only option that was really feasible since we were only allowing ourselves 8 hours before flying on to Chengdu. Our driver, Lee, was sweet and moderately conservative in his driving. I think he was the only person I rode with in China who used an indicator.

Anyway, we were on a mission to see the Terracotta Warriors to their fullest extent. Emperor Qin had an entire army cast out of terracotta as part of his tomb around 210BC. Each warrior is life-sized and slightly different, so they really appear to be real people. Qin was buried with the army of warriors, but the overthrowing empire destroyed many of the warriors when it found the tomb. The tomb was only discovered in modern times in the 1970's when someone was drilling in the area.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are three buildings with separate pits. Archaeologists are still actively working in two of the pits. I found the largest one the most interesting. At one end, reassembled warriors and horses have been placed in formation. In the middle, archaeologists are clearly still recovering debris. At the far end, visitors can see the steps taken to reconstruct the warriors and horses. There are bins of hands, busts, heads, etc. along side parts of warriors with reconstruction material exposed. It was very cool, and the grounds have been beautifully laid out and maintained with local flora.

We made a quick stop in Xian and then dashed back to the airport to catch our flight to Chengdu.

In Chengdu, we stayed at a wicked cool hostel called the Loft. (Can you tell I just spent 10 days with a New Englander?) It's an old printing factory converted into three floors of rooms and a floor of common space. The way they integrated the indoor and outdoor spaces brought back fond memories of places like the cloud forest of Ecuador.

The Loft helped us accomplish our next mission: PANDAS! Early the next morning, we went to the breeding research station just outside Chengdu. The first hour was disappointing as all the pandas were sleeping. And then came feeding time! We happened to be in the area with 10-month old panda cubs when the keepers came out to wake them for feeding. I scored a front row, center stage spot for the "show." The pandas chased their keepers up and down slides and around the grounds. They practiced climbing trees and attempted to climb their keepers in the name of food. They were very, very cute. Unfortunately, Tracy and I were not able to handle the pandas as we'd been told. For some strange reason, there was no one at the area for petting despite the large amount of money we were willing to pay.

The next day, we went to the local plaza and Mao statue on our way to the airport. Tracy was truly the star for the day! She stepped up for me to take her picture by the statue, and suddenly a crowd formed. She had her picture taken with probably 20 people. One proud father even had his young son pose with her. She was a real trooper!

The Great Wall Experience

I'm having such a good time traveling that I'm lagging behind in updates. This overcast afternoon is my opportunity to redeem myself. Hopefully I'll get to cover all of China.

As soon as we arrived in Beijing, Tracy and I booked spots on a bus to the Great Wall. Since day one of trip planning, I have been adamant about wanting to see the unspoiled part of the Wall. So, we decided to hike from Jinshaling to Simatai. A 10K (6.2 miles) walk should be easy enough, right? It can't be that difficult if it's in a tour book. Sure, Amanda.

The mere detail of getting from Beijing to Jinshaling and Simatai to Beijing was interesting enough, but I'll talk about Chinese traffic in another post. Let's just say that I first suspected we might be in for more than we requested when the 90-minute bus ride we were expecting turned out to be nearly 4 hours.

Nonetheless, we were excited to arrive at the Wall! Tracy wisely "convinced" me to ride a gondola from the bus to the base of the Wall to conserve energy for the hike. By the time we got to the top, I was down right gitty! The parts of the Wall near the access points are in pretty good shape. These sections have been renovated and maintained over the years. The farther we got from Jinshaling, the worse the shape of the wall. It's still intimidating, but it is most definitely crumbling in sections. Interestingly enough, the terrain also became incredibly difficult after leaving the immediate Jinshaling area. The photos of this area are gorgeous, but reaching them proves a struggle to anyone who's not truly fit. One memorable section had three sections of 100+ steep, tiny steps each separated by a small watch house. A handful of local people were walking the Wall hoping to sell water and/or provide assistance to those who weren't prepared.

The Wall is every bit as amazing as your most imaginative dreams. Really. The analogy of it being a dragon along the mountains reigns true. It's tall - probably 15 feet (3 meters) - in most places. When standing on top, some places have tall walls while other areas have only the base remaining. At one point, we were standing there looked at the Great Wall as far as we could see in front and behind us without anyone else within sight. Talk about goosebumps! I feel privileged to have been able to experience it and hope that my pictures will say what I'm not able to articulate.

But wait - that's not all. By the time Tracy and I reached the end of our hike in the Simatai area, we were done. Pure exhaustion set in. And then we discovered the "flying foxes." For 35 RMB (less than $5), you could zipline from the Wall to the area where our bus back to the city was waiting. I hesitated, but wise Tracy convinced me that nothing would feel better than some good ol' fashioned wind in the face. Yes! It was fantastic! We each ziplined down the gully and across the river. It was a truly unique way to end a very special day!

Half-Way

Sadly, I'm half-way through my time in China. Tracy and I are having a GREAT time! I'll just give you the highlights for now.

We hiked 10k of the Great Wall on Tuesday. It was hot, humid, hazy, and very steep. I wouldn't trade that hike for the world, though. We earned our Great Wall experience with every step. Hopefully our pictures will show at least a fraction of the amazing sights on and around the Wall.

On Wednesday, we flew to Xian to see the Qin Terracotta Warriors. Again, what an experience! There were three pits of warriors, two of which are still in the process of being fully excavated. We'd been told that some people are disappointed by the size, and one of Tracy's friends told her it was "skippable." Hardly. We both thought they were REALLY fascinating.

On Thursday, we went to a panda breeding center. While we didn't get to hold a panda as expected, we did get to watch some cubs playing with their keepers. I'm looking forward to sharing my videos. Pandas are ADORABLE!

Last night we got our first look at Tienanmen Square when we happened upon China's version of the changing of the guard. We're headed there and the Forbidden City today.

I've gotten plenty of laughs over our stardom here. Tracy, in particular, is a popular photo subject. Last night we were both asked to be in family photos at the Mao photo outside the Forbidden City. Good times!

More later... :-)

Arrival

I arrived in Beijing without incident. I'm reunited with Tracy and safe. :-)

After a whopping two hours in Beijing, I can clearly see that natural selection has forced China's surviving population to push and shove their way to any and everything. Queuing seems like a lost art.

That's it for now. I can't promise frequent posts while I'm here, but I'll do my best to pass along my experience.

Trip Prep

I'm leaving tomorrow morning on a new adventure. (George will join me in a couple weeks.) I've weathered 2+ years in the non-profit world, the LSAT (twice!), law school applications, law school waiting games, and one glorious week of rest and relaxation. It's time to head abroad!

Any trip abroad demands at least a little bit of preparation. Over the past several weeks I've gone to San Francisco to get a visa for China, logged onto the Australian government's visa-granting website, purchased some comfortable clothing and bags, and read more pages of travel guides and travel magazines than I care to remember. It was just Tuesday, though, that I caught myself thinking in Spanish and carefully planning out some of the common phrases used when navigating a new city. This drew me to compare my subconscious to the ordinary cat or dog who somehow senses that its owner is about to leave it for a holiday away from home. My mind somehow learned that each time I've gone through the motions of preparing for a big trip in the past, I've ended up in a Spanish-speaking country where I've relied almost entirely on my second language skills for survival. Weird, but kind of interesting, huh?