China Day 9

Quieter day today. In spite of our guides assurance that the hotel had a western breakfast option we found no such offerings- just lots of vegetable and rice offerings. No cereals, fruit juice or bacon/sausages etc. There was bread and a toaster but no butter or spreads! Robyn used her translater to ask for butter and out came a tiny bowl of apricot jam! We also asked for tea and out came glasses of hot water with leaves floating I them.

After breakfast we were taken on quite an interesting walk along the banks of the Yellow River. There is a beautifully landscaped park right along the town reach with magnificent willow trees, gardens, cycleway etc. First stop was the first iron bridge built in China, now pedestrian only. We then went to the statue of the "Mother River" as the  Yellow River is considered the life-giver of the whole of China. Next was an ancient water wheel which was used for both irrigation and also connected to stone grinding wheels - an extraordinary piece of ancient engineering.

Lunch was held at the Lanchau Noodle museum and of course involved the famous Lanchau Beef Noodles - absolutely delicious.

After lunch we again crossed the river and, as is the thing these days, climbed huge stairways up to the White Pagoda on top of the mountain - great views of Lanchau.

Taken then to the (again massive) railway station and said goodbye to David Our guide and Mr Lee our driver. Had a two hour wait for the very fast train to take us to our next destination - Xinsing. Amazing people control - you waiting a boarding station a bit like airport and then through the checking station, down to the platform where you line up in marked que lines and the train stops with the carriage door exactly where you stand. Very regimented but that's the way everything is done here.

China Day 8

The theme of today was undoubtedly "climbing". Our first stop was an hour's drive with not much traffic. Daxiang mountain where the temples and giant Buddha were built circa 400ad is a high Ridge with buildings along the top of the Ridge leading up to a the giant Buddha of 23 metres high carved into the rock. Getting to the top was quite challenging - 1127 steps! Along the way we're temples to different people such as the first great doctor and carpenter in the Chinese culture. The giant Buddha was awe-inspiring. Took quite a long time to complete the whole circuit and then off for one of our best lunches yet - Peking Duck which was just beautiful.

2 hour trip to the next site - Lashao Temple - also known as the Great Buddha Cliff (is there a theme emerging here?) Which again involved serious climbing of huge stairways but the end justified the means. This is the tallest rock Buddha in China at over 42 metres high - spectacular - and the mountains around it are like you've never seen. Hope to get some photos on Facebook later. You just walk around amazed at what sights are before you. This is not just touring, it is experiencing sights you can just not compare to any previous experience.

It was then a 3 hour drive on a 6 lane expressway to reach Lanzou,  a city of 12 million with massive traffic issues. We are staying just near the Yellow River which we will explore tomorrow.

Lanzou noodles are apparently on the menu!

China Day 7

Occasionally something really special comes along and today was such a day. It didn't start off too well. Our hotel does not have breakfast so they give us a voucher for two nearby cafes - one traditional Chinese and the other sort of fast food Chinese. Couldn't find anything like a normal breakfast at the first so tried the second - not much better. Elizabeth had eggs with buns and I had pumpkin soup neither of which was at all appetising. The coffee and tea were both undrinkable!

Our driver and guide picked us up at 8 and we drove for about half an hour to a massive facility where we caught a bus which took us to another interchange where we cought a smaller bus which again let us off at a large parking area. These were huge complexes with check-in facilities - David Our guide said that this site receives about 50 000 visitors per day, thus the size. All the ticketing processes I China are amazing - they all require firstly a copy of your passport and from then on you pass through each section via face recognition based on your passport photo. It takes a fraction of a second to process you so all very quick and simple.

We then had to walk up a very steep, long road to eventually arrive at a level open area and when you look back the Daxiang Mountain which is a huge (1000 ft high) sandstone cliff into which giant figures of Buddha etc have been carved and then coated with render for protection then painted, although most of the colouring has weathered. Scattered across the cliff face are numerous (hundreds) of caves which also include Buddha statues with many supplementary figures. All this is accessed via steps and platforms clinging to the side of this vertical cliff! And yes, we had to scale these steps and view all the caves which also had amazing murals painted on the ceilings. 

This had to be the most extraordinary site we've ever visited. Sorry no picturres possible on th blog but check out "Maijishan Grottoes" and check it out. Amazing falls short of adequate description.

After another wonderful lunch we visited the Fuxi Temple in Tianshui. Again a beautiful complex.

One of those "special" tourist happenings - as we were leaving via a huge town square we noticed some women dancing  with silk ribbons and singing to an orchestra of Chinese instruments so went over. Also got some photos of guys playing "foot badminton" nearby. Very friendly crowd again an Robyn was invited to join the dancers - they seem to love her grey hair! That went on for quite a while but we had a. Great time interacting with the crowd and some of the kids.

Back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. EXHAUSTED!

China Day 6

After breakfast we drove to the Western Gate of the Xizn wall and walked on the immense wall up to the Southern Gate. Disappointed in that the Chinese regulations do not allow people over 60 to ride bikes on the wall! The massive wall is still in wonderful  condition and encircles the whole of the ancient city.

We then walked to the Muslin quarter which was again an incredible experience. The streets were lined with an extraordinary number and variety of  food shops with Muslim culture foods- pastries, sheep's heads, goats hoofs, etc. We arranged to meet Tim Topper for lunch and had a great time with him.

Final visit in Xian was to the mausoleum of Emperor Hanglangling which is like a mini version of the terracotta warriors. It is underground and the figures, horses, chariots are all in smaller scale. The museum is set upsoyouwalkover the excavation pits on glass panels - quite an experience.

Off to the station to catch another very fast train to Tianshui - a city of only about 3 million. This is where the real silk road section of our trip starts and we are off the tourist track well and truly. We've had an amazing reception from the locals- very friendly, want to take photos of us, very helpful and lots of "hello" and "welcome" calls. We feel like celebrities. 

Another lovely meal - select your ingredients a bit like hotpot but then they cook it all and bring it to your a bowl. Again, so friendly and helpful. The owner even took a video of us!

China Day 5

When do you run out of words for superlatives? An extraordinary morning today. Early start and drove in drizzling rain to the site of the Terracotta Warriors. Most people have at least seen pictures of these amazing pieces of antiquity (27 BC) but the reality is an incredible experience. Ellen our guide prepared us for the crowd but as we had arrived at opening time it was OK for most of the visit. Pictures will go on Facebook- we took hundreds - but the detail in each warrior is extraordinary. No two are the same in size, features, hair etc. They accurately reflect the range of soldiers in roles and ranks. They were originally finished in colours. By the time we emerged from the last pavilion (there are 3) the crowd had mushroomed to thousands. There is a whole shopping complex surrounding the display. Amazing! 

Another trad Chinese lunch - again, beautiful but we're starting to crave a coffee and donut or perhaps a steak?

Off to the Buddhist sector of Xian with beautiful pavilions, artwork, bellflower, drum tower, and 7 story pagoda.

We then walked down the 2 km town mall with massive fountains, statues, decorations etc. Again, the scaleis way beyond our normal experience.

China Day 4

This country is literally mind-blowing. The scale of their infrastructure and commercial/housing development is beyond comprehension. 

Today we had an early start and headed through the standard heavy traffic to a specially preserved section of old Beijing next to a huge lake. Middle age shops and houses in narrow streets known as a Hutong where we had great fun enjoying a rickshaw ride. On to the Summer palace of which there used to be 5 where the Emporers would spend the hotter months along with their whole family, government officials etc. Again, magnificent structures, beautiful grounds, artwork. Huge crowd of local tourists. 

Lunch near the railway station and then (thankfully with Kai's help) we boarded the train for Xian where we arrived 4 hours later having covered the equivalent of Maryborough  to Sydney in that time - 350kmph! Beautiful train ride but the most uncomfortable seats I've ever experienced.

On the way we passed by huge settlements with new high rise, massive freeways, new trainlines etc - the amount of development is awe-inspiring.  Interestingly a number of coal and nuclear power stations along with some solar and wind. One station we stopped in we were at platform 27 and they kept on going well beyond that!

Quite late dinner tonight at a little Cafe down from our hotel - three beautiful share dishes plus rice for 45 W which is about A$ 9.

The scale of things here is beyond anything else in the world.

China Day 3

Here's a hint for anyone who has considered going to China but just hasn't got around to it - don't delay, get yourself going and get here asap. In just a couple of days we're judging it as one of the absolute top tourist experiences. Today we were taken to the Ming Dynasry buried grounds - a huge area at the base of the mountains to the North of Beijing set aside for the buried of most of the Ming Emperors. Each has his own set of buildings leading up to the buriel mound under which is located the grand buried palace 22metres under ground level. The approach buildings are magnificent, based on those in the Forbidden City. Mind-blowing architecture and building techniques.

Another great traditional lunch and we were off to the Great Wall which again is unlike anything you've seen and exceeding expectations. 6000 km long from the sea in the East to the Wesrern borders - an unbelievable feature of construction.

Back through the incredible Beijing traffic and home about 6. Found a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel and had yet another beautiful meal.

Apologies for no blog photos - I haven't been able to download pictures from my camera to the tablet. Seems I have to use a card reader so will try to purchase one soon and get some photos attached, 

Last Beijing day tomorrow  - car hire a very fast train at 2 for a 4 hour trip to Xian.