Days 7 & 8 Xian to Dunhuang

 Sunday June 15, End of Day 6 - Night Life in Xian

We spent our last night in Xian at a cultural dinner theater where we enjoyed song and dance with performers dressed in lavish costumes representative of the Tang Dynasty.

Our meal as promised consisted of 30 different types of dumplings with shapes symbolizing the stuffing of each. Our favorite was the duck dumpling, and of course, these dumplings were in the shape of little ducks.

After dinner and the performance, we walked back into the ancient walled city of Xian where the city was alive with people strolling and shopping on a warm summer evening. The walls, guard towers and gate were lit up with lights adding a magical aura to the city where the Silk Road ended for eat bound travelers, and is the beginning of the Silk Road for west bound travelers.


















WE BEGIN THE SILK ROAD,THANKFULLY NOT BY CAMEL

Days 7 & 8 Train from Xian to Dunhuang (dune wong)

Monday, June 16

We boarded our west bound train at 1030 am. Our 4 berth room consisted of 2 upper and 2 lower berths. A small table extended into the aisle from the window covered with a white brocade table cloth, red silk rose in a glass bud vase, and stainless steel thermal water pot. At each end of our car there was a toilet. The front of the car had a western seat toilet and the backend of the car had an eastern squat toilet. There was also one 3 sink washroom and a boiling water dispenser....all the comforts of Silk Road travel by rail. There was a dining car as well, but we had brought our own noodle bowls, so we only needed the boiling water.

We traveled many miles before we left the city of Xian. The suburbs with high rise apartments and cranes raising even more apartments stretched out for as far as the eye could see, and finally gave way to farm fields in valleys where mountains began to rise up and were etched with active and remnant terraces for gardens, crops, and erosion control growth. As the mountains rose into cone shapes like a Chinese hat our train either snaked along a large river or plowed through numerous tunnels that had been dug through the mountains. Evidence was everywhere that the Chinese are industrious people, building bridges, more elevated rails for high speed trains, and roads.

 Once we had passed through the mountains and mountainous valleys, the land flattened out and where there was still water, cultivated land and small family compounds became more prevalent. Adobe type structures with walls and very slight pagoda one sided sloped roofs predominated. The major cities where our train would stop to pickup and unload passengers were densely populated with high rise apartments, but the farther we traveled from Xian, the housing looked less attractive and more industrialized. We passed massive industrial complexes that were mining or refining petroleum and gas products.

While the scenery passed us by and the land grew drier and sandier, we read, chatted, and played cards.

Tuesday, June 17, Day 8 Gobi Desert

I woke up early this morning and took advantage of the quiet time to freshen up in the washroom. The scenery changed dramatically from dry farming to desert lands. We had entered the beginning of the Gobi desert. The desert is dryer than the Australian outback and there is nothing here to burn, just sand and a thin layer of black coal ash. Huge wind farms have been built to capture the desert winds, and solar farms to capture the desert sun. The sky is hazy here most of the time.

We checked into our hotel at 10:00 am in Dunhuang, a green oasis of a city about 3,000 feet elevation intersecting the Gobi and Tengery Deserts, had one hour to freshen up, go to the ATM, and buy some lunch to take with us on a three hour drive through the desert out to the Yardang National Geological Park. Along the way both coming and going we will be seeing many sights including remnants of the Great Wall, As we drive there is a green fence that runs endlessly through the desert to keep the wild camels protected. Our day guide estimates there are 100 camels. Seems like a lot of fence to protect 100 camels, when the seas are being fished to extinction.

A yardang is similar to a sandstone hoodoo found in Bryce National Park. After having been a lake 70,000,000 years ago, the sandstone has been eroded by cold moist temperatures in the winter and sandblasting by the winds. Using your imagination or that of others, we could see the guarding Gate Lion and the sphinx.

Our next stop was the earliest attempt of building the Great Wall in the Gobi desert by Han Dynasty in 169 BCE. It is made from mud, sand, mortar and reeds. Some of it still stands, most has collapsed and been reclaimed by the desert.

Our last stop of the day was the castle or west gate of the silk wall, a place where Marco Polo most likely crossed through on his way to Xian. Very exciting to see.

After our National Park stops headed back to Dunhuang with a stop with a short hike through the sand dunes to Crescent Spring Lake, a place where Silk Road travelers could drink sweet .

Shades of Sand

Water in the desert. We have just returned to our hotel to wash the San from our feet and will be meeting in the lobby in at 8:30, 15 minutes from now to go to the night market and have some dinner.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's

Day 6 - Xian Terracotta Warriors

Warriors Rising

End of Day 5, June 14, 2014

Between the time we returned from the Great Wall and the time we boarded our overnight train to Xian, we hung out in our hotel lobby.  We were  hot and sweaty from our Great Wall walk, but had already checked out of our rooms earlier that morning.  Russ and I had bath wipes with us so we took advantage of the hotel lobby restroom to clean up and change clothes before boarding the train at 8:45 pm.

The train was made up for an overnight.  We shared a very tidy and nicely decorated 4 bunk room with Paul and Rachel from our group.

Upper and Lower Bunks, Small Space for Four People and Our Luggage

By the time we got our gear stowed, I was definitely ready to crash.  Our car was the second one on the train behind the engine which was thankfully electric and very quiet in that respect, but not quiet from the horn that blasted a every street crossing, which seemed to punctuate the quiet every other minute.  Despite a sleeping pill and earplugs, my night was not an easy one.   Russ on the other hand said it was the best night sleep he had since we left home.  Oh well, it's about the experience!

I was the first one up at 5:30 and took advantage of a quiet and clean washroom to ready myself for the day.  I made myself a cup of coffee with my cup, Starbucks Via  packet of Columbian roast, and boiling water dispenser at the end of our train car, and returned to  our compartment where everyone except for Paul had awakened.  For another hour we sat quietly watching the scenery pass.  It  was very foggy/smoggy in the early morning.

By 8:30, we  had successfully disembarked from the train and registered in our hotel.  We had an hour to shower and cleanup before heading to the World Heritage sight of the Terracotta Warriors.  

Day 5 - Another check on the bucket list

From our Silk Road Dossier " The glittering city of fabled wealth at the end of the Silk Road or the 'Golden Journey', as travelled by Marco Polo. The extraordinary buried army of some 6,000 life sized terracotta figures must be seen to be believed. We then board the train for the journey to Dunhuang."

We met our guide Linda who took us out to the World Heritage sight, via a stop at the terracotta factory where replica, full size,s half size, and quarter size terracotta figures our made to be used in movies, museums, and private homes and gardens.

Original Warriors Were Colorfully Painted.  Pigment however does not last when exposed to air.

Unlike the original figures that were made by hand, the ones at the factory are casted for mass production.  After our tour, we headed out to the Heritage sight, but had lunch first.  Many of the farmers that were displaced by this massive archaeological  site, now have nearby homes where they prepare meals for small groups.

We had a terrific lunch, with some specialties we have not seen elsewhere,  very long flat noodles, marinated crunch potatoes julienne, and sweet potatoes carmelized in a sticky, peanut brittle type sauce.

After lunch, we took a couple of hours to explore the site.  First we saw a short movie explaining the origins of the soldiers over a 38 year period in 200 BCE, their destruction during a rebellion by factions trying to  gain control after the Emperor's death, their discovery 2,000 years later by some farmers digging a well in 1974, and the archeological pits still being excavated, and figures being put back together.

Most of the warriors looked like this before being pieced back together.  An Amazing Puzzle!

Head dress, armor, facial expressions, tell from what province a warrior came.

Our biggest surprise was the immense size of the dig and the utter destruction of the figures.  Only a small portion of the estimated 6,000 figures have been excavated and pieced back together.  When originally found the figures are colorfully painted, but very quickly oxidize losing their coloring when exposed to the air.  Consequently, until the scientists can figure out how to expose the next part of the dig without jeopardizing the coloring, most of the dig is still covered.

The figures and the immensity are staggering, and have been coined the eighth wonder of the world.  This is really a highlight for us as was the great wall.  When I can post the pictures, I know you will enjoy them.

We are headed back to our hotel to relax, attend a special dumpling dinner where we will sample 30 different types of dumplings.  The contents of the dumpling are known only by the distinctive shape in which they are made.  Afterwards, we will be attending a cultural, Han Dynasty performance at the theater.

We leave in the morning at 9:30 for a 23 hour train trip to Dunhuang.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Xian

Day 5 - Check the Great Wall off the Bucket List

End of Day 4 - Meeting up with our tour group

After resting in the cool of our hotel room for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, it was time to meet up with our tour group at 5::00 p.m.  Our guide is a young woman from Russia, Katya.  She does not speak Chinese, but she does speak the language of the Krygkys, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Russians.  She will serve as our escort through all of the countries and troubleshoots our daily needs and logistics.  Katya/Sundowners arranges for local guides at each of the cities to which we will tour.

Our tour group consists of Russ and I, and three others from Australia (Paul and Rachel, ER Physician and Teacher respectively in Alice Springs), and Ben (mining geologist in a gold mine in Perth).  We are a very small group.  After short introductions, we walked into a section of Beijing where Katya had arranged with a Chinese friend, Alice and her husband Charlie to prepare a meal for us at their tea house.   Alice used to work in an antique shop, but as antiques became scarce, her boss started to pass off artifacts claiming them to be antiques.  She could not in good conscience, continue to work for someone dishonest.   

She and her husband opened a Tea Shop on a small street that caters primarily to local people, not tourists like us..  Her husband is an excellent cook, and served us a lovely meal.  After dinner, Alice introduced us to many teas and we got to sample each as she told us what their benefits were and stories behind the ceremonies.  The evening was relaxed, delightful, and interesting.

We returned to our hotel and retired to our rooms to pack and ready ourselves for hotel checkout,  a hike on the Great Wall in the morning and early afternoon and our train trip to Xian in the evening.

Day 5 - Great Wall

Up by 5:30, breakfast at 6:45, checkout 7:45..  We met our day guide Jerry.  He speaks excellent English which he learned in China, and to listen to him, you would probably not guess that he was Chinese.  He is fluent and has hardly an accent.  Very impressive.  By 8:00 a.m., we were on our way to the section of Great Wall that is about 2 hours out of Beijing Mutianju.  First Lady, Michele Obama and daughters, were to this section of the wall a few weeks ago when they were in touring in China.  

Great Wall Snakes Over the Mountain Tops

We rode a cable care to the mid section of the visible wall that snaked over hills, through valleys and over steep mountains in both directions as far as one could see.  The Wall is a masterpiece.  Truly worth a visit!  Hard The car we rode up on had  a sign on it saying that President Clinton had ridden in this same car when he was here.  We are following in some fine footsteps.

Today is Saturday and the  place had a lot of people, mostly local and some American student groups out for a walk on the Great Wall.  The real crush will begin in July when the Chinese school year  ends in June.  We purchased round trip tram tickets.The wall in the mountains are not as tall as the ones in the flat lands.  Jerry explained that the walls only had to be high enough to stop the Mongol horses.  The temperature is in the low 90's today, so it warm and there is little shade on the wall with the exception of the periodic guard houses.  

The five of us and Jerry walked a section of the wall, just long enough to wake up my blisters from our Thursday Wall walk, take some photos, return to the bottom in a cable car, and walk back down through the tourist vendors, before going to a lunch at a local restaurant of Chinese chestnut chicken, carmelized eggplant, stir-fried green beans, and fried rice. Best food yet.

We are now on the trip back to Beijing, and like everyone else except for the driver, I am going to close my eyes for a little siesta before we return to the hotel and our train trip.

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs

Day 4 - Forbidden City, imperial Palace

One of Many Palace Halls

Friday, June 13, 2014.

 A pall of haze hung over the city at dawn. The sun shone orange red. When we left the hotel at 7:30, the air temperature was already warm. Our goal today was to visit the Forbidden City, historical imperial palace of the Emperor and then if we were still game we wanted to go to the summer palace.

I can't begin to describe the vastness of the Forbidden city. It is surrounded by a huge moat and there are numerous grand halls each flanked by gates, walls, verandas, terraces, and massive parade grounds. The palace grounds seemed to go on forever. We were exploring for several hours. By the time lunch rolled around, we were hot, sweaty, and not interested in anything more for the day.

Forbidden City Gardens and Moat

Sculpted Sea Staircase

Bronze Age Artifacts

Empress's Courtyard

After a lunch break at a Starbucks, we headed back to the hotel where we are enjoying the air conditioning and watching World Cup soccer, BBC News, and golf in our room. We clocked in another 6 miles on the pedometer. In the early evening we will meet up with our Silk Road Odyssey Tour Group. We checkout tomorrow and take an overnight train to Xian after some local touring in Beijing.

All is Well With the Worrall Travel R's

Day 3 - Where the Great Wall Begins

June 12, 2014

We were up at 4:45 this morning and in the lobby for pickup by 5:30.  We had arranged a trip on the bullet train from Beijing to  Shanhaiguan.  We were met by a young woman Tracy and a driver who transported to the train station.  The young man driver smiled at us and gleefully told Tracy that he had seen us walking around the day before!  Imagine that in a city of 2,000 million people.  We must have been more of a novelty that we thought.

The Beijing train station is very grand and modern. We (Russ, I, and our guide) threaded our way past the ticket checker and passed through security screening (xray belts for bags, and wanding of our bodies).  I thought at first we were stepping a scale and they were weighing us, but I think it was a metal box that was checking our shoes, or perhaps it was weighing us. Not altogether sure.

As we got on the escalator going up to the second floor, a nicely dress woman with rolling bag and hands full with fan, purse, and other bag stepped on before us.  We were a few steps behind.  Before the rising steps had leveled out, the woman got tripped up and fell down on the escalator, rolling back down as the the escalator ascended.  I thought I was going to be bowled over as I was next in line.  Fortunately, as I did not have any luggage on this day trip, I was able to help break her roll.  The escalator was stopped.  I helped to her feet and gather her belongings.  A safety officer was now right be me and took over.  Fortunately, other than her pride, the woman appeared unwounded by the nasty fall, not even a run in her stockings.  Amazing.

Our guide positioned us in the correct waiting area and gave us last minute instructions be fore she left us on our own.  She told us to get in line early as it would be crowded.  It was wonderful having a guide take us to the correct waiting area and explain the Chinese on the ticket.  We were to board car 15 and look for reserved seats 7D and 7F.

It was now 6:15.  Russ decided to get an orange juice at the McDonalds restaurant back down the hall way.  About 2 minutes after he left, there was an announcement of which I did not understand except that the entire hall of people stood up and started queuing for the turn styles. I  gathered up my day pack and Russ's and headed for the turn style, hoping Russ would return before I had to step aside and let the throng of people behind engulfed me.  There were a mass of people in front of me and an even bigger mass behind.  We weren't moving.  Fortunately, Russ was quite distinctive returning towering above most of the Chinese people behind me.  I opened up our red and white Canadian umbrella so that he could find me.  In no time he was at my side, just as the line began to move.

We negotiated our way through a long thin entrance gate which will present a bit of a problem for us if we come this way again with our luggage on Saturday night headed for Xian.  Russ usually carries his second bag cross wise over his rolling bag which will be too wide.  My two rolling bags one in each hand will not trail through as they too will be too wide.  Now I know why many of the Chinese have the slim line spinner bags.  We have a few days to think about how we will manage our entrance.  We boarded the train D29 at 6:30, and the train departed promptly at 7:00 a.m.   We are in a nicely appointed, 2nd class car with air conditioning.

Our train is currently traveling at 120 miles per hour on a smooth, quiet rail.  Smartly dressed rail attendants (young women) checked our tickets and worked the snack area.  Russ took a walk to see if he could get a cup of coffee for me.  He came back with a a little cup and a packet of instant powder that looked like a mixture of coffee and milk.  At the front of each car there is a hot water.

There is a single young Chinese man sitting in the seats across from us.  He filled his large noodle bowl with the hot water and proceeded to slurp out his breakfast.  A little bit later, he pulled out a little jar with some water and some little swimming red and black fish.  He took the jar to the hot water tap and filled it to the top and shook it.  Some of the fish dropped immediately to the bottom. Some still swam.  He shook it a few times and stowed the jar in the seat pocket in front of him while he took of his shoes, laid down and took a nap.  I think this may be his mid-morning  protein break.  Probably better than a Red Bull.   Poor little fish.

In a little while we will be getting of the train and will be met by our day guide will meet us and will be taken to Jiaoshan to the first mountain peak of the Great Wall from Shanhaiguan.   This will be our first peek of the Great Wall.  This section of the wall was built during the reign of Emperor Hongwu (1328-1398) of the Ming Dynasty, and extends about 1500 meters.  We will take a chair lift to the top and hike down the precipitous stretch.  Hopefully it will prove less exciting than this morning's escalator incidence.

On Our Way Back to Beijing

It is 6:30 and we are on the train heading back to Beijing, drinking beer and eating pretzels.  

We arrived in ShenHaiGuan at 9:34 and were met by our guide Steven and a driver.  Steven works part time for the tour company.  He lived in the US for five years and spoke excellent English.  He now owns and operates an import-export company, but enjoys working part-time when his schedule permits as a tour guide.  I think too, he needs the money.

China is an expensive place to live and the customs of the country dictate huge financial reciprocity to friends and family to help pay for weddings, funerals, and graduation parties.  In the next two months Steven has been invited to three weddings.  As a guest, he is expected to pay the grooms father, between 500-1000 yuan or approximately $90-$250 dollars (twice that much if the father is your superior (boss).  Many people are invited to the wedding and the proceeds from guests usually exceed the  wedding expense, so the father of the groom comes out ahead financially, but then in turn must reciprocate back to all of his family and friends as they finance their celebrations.  The brides father apparently does not receive any of the celebration money.  Guests do not bring gifts to the couple, only money to the groom's fatther.

Wedding Couple - Great Wall Portrait

Steven has one son who is 8 years old. China is a one-child only country.  Couples with more than one child are financially punished.   Recently China has  loosened it's restrictions to allow two single children to marry and produce two children.  It is children's unwritten cultural tradition to be raised by their grandparents while the parents work.  Since there are two sets of grandparents, each grandparent set with a single adult child, then gets to raise a grandchild (day time child care).  Multi-generational families are becoming a historic relic as young people move away from home.  Aging parents and grandparents do not have family to take care of or care for them in their old age.  The government is trying to develop some viable alternatives to elder care.   I am not sure that relaxing the 1 child per family rule is going to take care of extended family reinforcement.

At any rate learning from our guide about Chinese traditions in addition to seeing the Great Wall in three different places made for a wonderful day.  

Stop number 1 was the Great Wall raising high upon the mountain.  We took a tram to the tope and hiked down the wall.  What a thrill!  This is the oldest section of the wall and  although it is quite steep, is still in excellent original condition.  This part of the wall was designed to stop Mongol invaders.

A Steep Climb

Stop number 2 was a buffet, bar-b-que, all you could eat lunch.  We tried the Peking duck, along with dumplings and numerous other dishes.  We brought raw meat to our table and grilled it right at the table.  We even tried Chinese white wine.....whoooeeee, like white whisky...very strong.  One sip did it for me.

Stop number 3 was the First Pass Under Heaven.  The Great Wall actually begins at the sea and works its way up the mountainside (stop 1).  Before it reaches the mountain as a single it works its way around a city compound with five gates.  The First Pass Under Heaven or the first gate comes up from the sea.  Passer throughs came past the moat, and through one gate into a large courtyard with an exit gate.  If you were friendly, you were let into the walled city.  If you were not, both gates were closed and  you were captured in the courtyard.  Soldiers standing on top of the wall used the  unfriendly passer throughs as target practice, and they never made it to the inner gates.

Good Luck Holding a Child

Stop number 4 was where the Great Wall begins, 20 meters into the sea.  This part of the wall was designed to stop Japanese invaders and those who would come by sea.  It was invigorating to feel the cool sea air and smell the sea.  The wall is in a calm and protected bay, infrequently disturbed by storms.

Stop number 5 was the Temple of the Sea God.  This is actually a Buddhist temple in addition to a tribute to a more ancient God of the Sea that provided fish and sea creatures to eat.

Stop number 6 was a quick stop in a reconstructed ancient city that was lovely with traditional architecture.

The day was great and we survived the steep hike down the wall although, I did get a blister on my left foot which I have already cleaned and bandaided with our trusty little hiking first aid kit.  Now we are on the last leg of our journey.  The sun has gone down and we are gliding back to Beijing.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs.