Xi’an is famous for the Terra Cotta Warriors, which is where we headed on Wednesday. My navigating put us on the wrong side of the tracks, literally, at the railway station to catch the bus. The 20 minute walking detour turned out to be interesting, through first the bicycle/moped repair district (shop after shop after shop of parts) and then the LED sign district. As we’ve mentioned before, everything in China is huge, so while it sounds simple to go to the train station and catch a bus, the train station is massive, making it very difficult to actually find the bus stop. We were ushered onto a bus by a pushy bus attendant before having time to figure out the number of the bus. Turns out it would have gotten us to the warriors eventually, but was a local that made lots of stops. Regardless, we didn’t know the number of the bus we had boarded, so we got off the first bus at a later stop and onto another bus we were certain would get us there. The man sitting next to me on the second bus tried to give me 1 yuan; I have absolutely no idea why.

The Terra Cotta Warriors were very impressive. The underground army was built as Emperor Qin’s mausoleum, around 200 BC. The statues themselves were much larger than I expected, life size of a large man. There are currently three pits open for viewing; the third houses the high ranking officers, the second consists of military forces including archers, war chariots, cavalrymen, and infantrymen, and the first, and most impressive, contains the main army. There is still a lot of work being done excavating the area.
            

Along the drive were orchards after orchards of pomegranate trees, with stand after stand of people selling just pomegranates. All the trees had plastic bags around the pomegranates, no idea why, have not had a chance to Google that one yet. I did buy a pomegranate, and it was good. They are always a lot of work for little reward. And what do they do with all those pomegranates? It seems like way to many just to eat. Hard to tell, but here’s a picture of small individual plastic bags over each pomegranate in the orchard.

For dinner we stopped at a restaurant back in Xi’an that advertised ‘welcomes foreigners’, but no one spoke any English. The only reason I mention dinner at all is because Ryan was putting rice on his plate from a bowl, and one of the waitresses decided he wasn’t doing it right, or was doing it too slowly, and came over with chopsticks and scooped rice on his plate for him. Between that and the man offering me money on the bus, it was an entertaining day.

Back at the hostel, we joined the dumpling making party along with a guy from Australia and two sisters from Sweden. Mikki from the hostel taught us how to make the dumplings, rolling the dough, stuffing (veggie ones with egg, chives, and spices for this evening), and then boiling in water. They were pretty delicious, and something easy enough to make at home. Maybe we will start an annual dumpling making party to celebrate Chinese New Year?
     

Side note: We figured out that the relatively horrid smell in Beijing was actually stinky tofu, a common street food! And boy does it stink.

Our late arrival in Xi’an was met warmly by the helpful staff at the hostel and a guy playing guitar in the cafe on the first floor. Our room had a nice king size bed, but was unfortunately not the cleanest. After a coffee and a beer in the cafe, we requested new bedding and proceeded to change the sheets on our bed. (No, this is not the part like the Bellagio).

Tuesday morning brought an early 6am departure for a trip to see pandas at the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center. This center rescues injured animals and also protects animals from extinction. Our tour guide was really good; he has been giving tours of the center for over four years, and has seen the animals come and go, and knew the pandas all by name. We saw two pandas in their indoor/outdoor living habitats, a four year old female YaYa and a similarly aged male Erla. Here are pictures of the two posing for us.
     

We also saw an older brown panda named Qizai, which means superstar. In addition to the pandas, the center houses golden monkeys, golden takin (meaning sheep-ox in Chinese), crested ibis, eagles, vultures, an owl, and small red pandas (whose name means small bear-cat in Chinese). This was a great tour, definitely more than we had expected.
     

After a nap, we walked out to the south gate of the Xi’an City Wall, built by the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, where we rented bikes to bike around the top of the wall.  We decided to go for the tandem (first time we’ve ever done it), and it was a blast! It was also definitely harder than expected, especially when Ryan is on the back seat. When I’m on the back, I could take pictures, re-arrange my backpack, basically do whatever, I would just help peddle. When Ryan was on the back, every time he pedaled it would totally throw off the balance, and I had to work hard to keep us not running into people.
            

We headed down to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda for dinner and the nightly water show. Craving some ‘normal’ food, Ryan walked into the KFC, but the menu was unrecognizable, so he wound up with Burger King instead. We had talked about the water show being like the Bellagio, totally kidding, but it was actually a whole lot like the Bellagio water show! The fountains turned different colors and swayed back and forth to the music. It was very funny.
     

Monday 9/23, after conceding defeat on my ATM card, we took public transportation back to the Beijing West Railway Station.  I ate a spicy chicken sandwich, two orders of fries, and 2 large gulps of an icy Coca Cola from the McDonald’s before realizing I should not be drinking anything with ice.  Hopefully that one does not come back and bite me.

Here’s a panoramic photo of the hectic train station before we passed through the gates onto the platform.  Newsflash: a lot of people live in China.

With Beijing in our rear view mirror and shrinking fast we finally started to relax.  Just 1100 km in 6 hours (187 mph).  Nicole nodded off while I set to work fixing our Picasa photo album timedate stamps from Japan.

Note: If you want to keep “date picture taken” tags correct relative to where you took them, you need to 1) set your camera time / timezone / daylight saving time correctly, 2) set your computer’s time correctly, and 3) make sure any friends you’re traveling with have done the same if you plan to import their pictures.  Somehow, Kelly’s camera was off by 13 hours, 35 minutes?  And somehow most of our pictures had been imported as duplicates even though the “exclude duplicates” option was set?

Our train ride was very smooth and smoke-free while in motion.  At each of the 8 stops or so along the way, everyone would step outside for a cigarette or two and let that smell carry into the cabin.  There is certainly a tobacco addiction problem in this country.  More so than what we’ve experienced in Europe and in Japan.  Everyone smokes everywhere.  The non-smoking signs in restaurants and subway stations are merely a suggestion.  The non-smoking hostels/hotel rooms seem to be rotated daily.

Some of the scenery along the ride:

Power Plants:

Rice fields:

Construction projects:

The construction projects tended to dominate the landscape.  It went like this: farmland – farmland – incomplete high rise apartment complex – farmland – farmland…  It was very eerie, reminiscent of frontier ghost towns.  Almost every construction project was about the same height, ranging from 4-20 buildings, and the same amount of incompleteness, although at least a few workers and cranes could always be spotted on them.  There were dozens and dozens of these clusters across the rural landscape.  It makes me wonder if much of the housing boom is just a front –> luring investors into grand plans of new cities full of people and marketplaces, just to fall short of being complete.  It could also be that these projects were all started at the same time (within the last 1-2 years) and are progressing well — hard to tell.

For now, I choose to view this rural landscape as being sprinkled with building carcasses.

I don’t think we passed this, but we may as well have: China’s Abandoned Disneyworld Knockoff

PS, Happy Birthday Grandpa!  I hope you enjoy the Corvette I sent you from Japan (picture of) – Maybe they can be picked up at the local Wu-Mart in Beijing too…

Sunday night in Beijing — we were fresh off a great Hot Pot experience, and back in the lobby of the hotel with $0 in our pockets.  Luckily, there was an ATM in the lobby.  I made several unsuccessful attempts at withdrawing money from my “Credit” account, thinking I was just trying to take out more than the ATM max amount;  Nicole successfully withdrew 800 RMB from her “Cheque” account.

I corrected my mistake and got 2000 RMB (~$320 USD).  We hung out on the lobby’s better wifi for a while before heading up to our room for the night.  About 30 minutes later as I was packing for our 10:05am train ride to Xi’An the next morning, I realized I did not take my debit card out of the ATM!  While we were in the lobby, we did not notice a lot of traffic or any ATM users, so I rushed down hoping it was still hanging out the machine.  It was not.  The front desk informed me that the ATM will “eat” the card if it sits there too long (a good thing), but that the ATM service folks could not be contacted until 9am the next morning, and then that they probably wouldn’t be out to retrieve the card until around noon.

American ATMs beep loudly, talk to you, flash lights in your eyes, and spit out your card early, or with the cash and receipt.  This ATM spits out the card last, without much fanfare.  I was so happy to have gotten my 2000 RMB, I did not think about the future withdrawals I’d have to make with my card :-\

The next morning, assuming that the ATM ate the card and it was not stolen, we find out that the ATM service was going to stop by at 10am.  We bite the bullet, take a taxi to the Beijing West Railway Station (the second largest in Asia) because we can’t change our tickets through the web or phone.  Rebooked on the 14:42 train for -4 RMB (to our relief because we were warned by the hotel it might cost up to 500 RMB (half the price of our tickets).

It’s now 10:05am.  We hightail it back to the hotel in another taxi (Apple Maps said it should take 24 minutes with traffic, it actually took nearly 1.5 hours in heavy traffic and a driver that was more interested in chatting on the phone and hocking lugis out the window than providing speedy customer service — by the way, this is an absolutely disgusting habit (which I admittedly used to have when I was a kid) that the locals partake in everywhere.  On the sidewalk, in the train station (indoors!!), in front of you, next to you, behind you, almost on your foot.  Yuck).

At the hotel, the ATM had already been serviced.  They aren’t allowed to hand over any found cards to the hotel staff, so they informed me that I must walk 5 minutes to the nearest Bank of China branch to retrieve it with my passport.  Once there, I’m told that they don’t have it yet.  The people that service the ATM machines take between 3 and 7 days to turn any found cards over to the nearest branch.

Epic Fail.

After a walk back to the hotel, in the cold rain I might add, I gave in to Nicole’s insistence that I just cancel the card and move onward, relying on her (much the same way that we relied on Kelly and Jason for cash in Hakone and Jogasaki).

Now we’re officially living out of 1 pocket instead of the hybrid 1-2 pocket.

Depending on the spending restrictions Nicole imposes on me (j/k), I may have a new card shipped to meet us…but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Thanks to Nicole for making us document all our card numbers and telephone numbers, as you need them in order to cancel them.

Our last night in Beijing, and the one checkbox left on our list was a real hot pot for dinner.  What’s a hot pot?  It’s like Shabu-shabu.  What’s Shabu-shabu?  It’s like fondue.  What’s fondue?  Eh, it’s like beer.  We set our targets on a chain that got great reviews on Trip Advisor: Haidilao.

A short 20 minute walk, 10 minute train ride, and 30 minute walk later, we find ourselves on a rather local side street where everyone was staring at us (this has been happening everywhere in China — we’re either the strange looking foreigners, or we’re the easy targets for locals peddling their wares).  We eventually found our restaurant next to this place:

There was a 1 hour wait, but they guided us upstairs, sat us down and started feeding us free munchies (puffed corn, puffed rice, bugles?, and sweet popcorn).  We could have gotten a free manicure if we had chosen.  Pass.  This place is apparently known for their impeccable service — if you can get over the language barrier I suppose.  Instead Nicole made friends with a Londoner who lived in Beijing, and her parents.  We find out what this hotpot thing is all about and get her to tell the wait staff that we don’t want anything spicy.  She probably saved our meal.

We ordered thinly sliced beef (a la shabu-shabu), mushrooms, and noodles, and carefully selected dipping sauces without nuts or spice (this left Nicole with soy sauce).

Then this guy stretched and tossed a noodle for us right at our table (kinda like light sticks at a night club)

We were running short on cash, and as we’ve already mentioned, even though everyone advertises their acceptance of credit cards no one actually takes them.  We count up 195 yuan in our name and start to get worried that we didn’t have enough for dinner and the subway home (4 yuan).  The bill comes in at exactly 191 Yuan — Phew!

This is by the way our most expensive meal thus far in China — at 0.16 USD to 1 yuan, a $30 meal is not bad, but still overpriced by Chinese standards.

Our last full day in Beijing we headed to the Temple of Heaven. By this point, all the temples were starting to look alike, probably because they all do; mostly red, with blue, green, and gold detailed painting, animals on the corners of the roofs. The Temple of Heaven has different architecture than the Forbidden City and Summer Palace, in that it is a circular building. This is where the emperors would go to pray for rain and a good harvest.

Ryan was done with walking and sites after the temple, so he headed back to the hotel to do some laundry, while I headed to the Drum and Bell Towers.
Ryan doing laundry:3, Nicole doing laundry:0
Do I have an awesome husband or what?

I exited the wrong subway exit (which I knew at the time) and promptly got lost in the winding hutongs, taking about a mile long detour. Luckily, I was able to pick up a baked sweet potato from a street vendor for sustenance.

The Drum and Bell Towers were both originally built for musical reasons and then used as timepieces. I arrived at the Drum Tower just about in time to climb the long staircase up, enjoy the views, and look at the time keeping pieces inside, before the hourly drum show started.
      

The climb up to the Bell Tower was similar to that of the Drum Tower, with not as much reward, as the only thing at the top is a big bell. Afterwards, I attended a fun tea tasting held in the bottom of the tower, where I learned that I really like Ginseng tea. The girl there was a bit pushy about me buying some tea, and didn’t quite understand when I kept telling her that I really do not have any room for tea in my bag.
     

Call me a spoiled American, but after three days, I was having a hard time handling the crazy area outside our hostel, so we switched to a Holiday Inn Express in a slightly cleaner part of the city. And ate at a French bakery for brunch . It was awesome. Yes, Kelly, even I go for the western food occasionally.

We headed off on the subway to the Summer Palace. The subway in Beijing is very easy to use, much easier in terms of buying tickets than in Japan actually, but not nearly as comprehensive. The newer subway stations are like the airport, white tiles, look clean enough to eat off the floors (though I wouldn’t recommend it). The subway stations also all have security checks with bag scanners, though it almost seems voluntary at times, and no one actually appears to be looking at the monitors.

The Summer Palace was built as a retreat for the Emperors. Now it is a hot spot for locals to head to on nice days, so it was crowded with locals and tour groups (mostly Chinese), like much of Beijing. There are lots of people everywhere, all the time; in the subways, on the roads, at the sites we have been visiting. We have found that people in Beijing tend to be a bit pushy. For example, Ryan was in line to check out at a convenience store, and the woman behind him physically pushed him out of the way to check out first. We have both encountered similar actions multiple times. There is absolutely no concept of a line. I have no idea how British tourists with all their queueing deal with it here. Ryan and I have quickly learned to push our way through. But I digress. Back to the Summer Palace . . .

Like the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace is huge, encompassing the entire Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill. Ryan and I climbed the hill for some great views and less people, and ran across some people playing instruments and singing in a pavilion.
     

We then headed up to the Tower of Buddhist Incense for additional good views of the palace, the lake, and Beijing.

Next up was the Olympic Park. (There was a pretty cool IBM building right next to it, see the photo below). This was also hopping with activity; actors and musicians performing in the Bird’s Nest, some X-Games like motorcycle event, an international book festival, and the Fifth Beijing Olympic Park Food Plaza. Of course we had to walk through the book festival (all books were in Chinese) and to the food plaza (a little bit like Taste of Chicago, but less variety).

     
      

Ryan got some fried shrimp. Then, since he had never had churros before, decided that this was the place to try them. Churros (called ‘Spanish fruit’ at the food festival) are really popular here. Other unexpectedly popular foods include roasted corn on the cob, baked sweet potatoes, and drinking yogurt served in jars.

Peking duck was on the menu for dinner. We lucked out because the restaurant right across the street from our hotel got great reviews on TripAdvisor. It was delicious!
     
     

Friday started at 7:30am with a pick-up in what appeared to be a 70′s era van for our trip to the Great Wall. The drive to the wall took us through parts of Beijing we had not yet seen, past lots of office buildings, high rises, some residential areas with apartments and Spanish style homes. At one point, the van stopped for a fireworks display in the street, celebrating what exactly we are not sure, but it was followed by a bunch of cars with similar decorations.

We visited the Mutianyu part of the Great Wall, the newest section built by the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s. There was a cable car available up to the wall, but you know us. Ryan and I hiked up to the 10th tower and then walked along the wall till about the 19th tower. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The wall is pretty amazing and offered some wonderful views. As Ryan wondered though, was the wall really needed? It seems like the mountains in this section would have been enough of a deterrent.
            

Ryan captured some of the interesting creatures found atop the towers.
            

The drive home was an adventure. Drivers here are absolutely crazy, and pretty much anything goes; driving on the sidewalks, driving on the wrong side of the road (at least until someone coming the other direction starts honking at you). And lots and lots of honking. Pedestrians also better watch out, cause they definitely get last priority. The cars here are very similar to in the U.S., fewer SUVs and pickups than in Texas, but many Audi A4s, Q5s, BMW X5s, 7 Series, and lots of VWs. They are definitely addicted to the American style of transportation.

After the long day at the wall, we grabbed some street food outside our hostel for dinner. We both tried some meatballs, egg soufflé like things, glazed fruit on a stick, and a fried starfish, though I later regretted eating most of it (no major sickness, just slight yucky feeling).
     

Breakfast was included with our room at the cafe next door. After sitting down, we noticed the food grade of the cafe, a “C”. Ryan decided to stick to the toast, while I ate the toast, eggs, and bacon, hoping not to regret it later. (Four days have since passed, and I’m feeling fine).

Ryan’s breakfast was at a Starbucks in a mall (clean, bright, like the airport). As we both noted, this is the first Starbucks we have been in where the coffee doesn’t taste the same. While the mall was very clean, the bathrooms in the mall were not. So far, most of the bathrooms we have encountered in China are relatively gross. But then again, we may have high standards.

Off to our intended destinations, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Whoever coined the phrase “Everything’s bigger in Texas” has obviously not been to Beijing. Both were massive and much larger than we had ever imagined. Workers were in the process of putting up bright flower arrangements in the square, and we just wandered around looking at the surrounding buildings and monuments. Beijing is full with beautiful flowers, both planted in the ground and arranged in the sculptures like in the square.

We then crossed under the street to the Forbidden City and were immediately taken aback by its scale upon entering. This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the courtyard in front of it. North of the Forbidden City is Jingshan Hill, providing nice views of the entire city on a clear day.
     

Ryan and I arrived in the Beijing airport midday on Wednesday after a great trip on the Dreamliner (see Ryan’s previous post). The Beijing airport is beautiful. Built for the 2008 Olympics, it is spacious and clean with white tiles and high ceilings.

Arriving at our lodging was a bit of a shock. The hostel itself was fine, sparse but clean, though I was a little put off by having to rent a towel. It is located in Nanluogu Xiang, one of the oldest hutongs in Beijing.  The street is full of shops and restaurants and street food, and close to major sites, which sounds ideal, but words cannot accurately describe the chaotic feeling.  It is very narrow, busy, crowded with pedestrians, bicycles, rickshaws, mopeds, the occasional car trying to make its way through, and noisy.  The dichotomy between the airport and the hutong, new vs old, and clean vs. not quite as clean feeling, is something we have found throughout our stay in Beijing.  Here is what the street outside our hostel looked like, and this wasn’t even busy!

We headed out to the Beijing tourist information center, stopping for some tasty coffee and pie on the way (green tea cheesecake for me and chocolate banana cake for Ryan). Funny thing, which we’ve subsequently found in other places; there was a sign on the door indicating they accept Discover Card, but they would actually only take cash. The overwhelming feeling from the hutong (and probably Dramamine) quickly dissipated once we had some nourishment.

With full stomachs, we wandered around some other hutongs, found the tourist information center and booked a day trip to the Great Wall, and walked around the bar/restaurant area near the lake.  Wild squash seems to grow all around Beijing, including on the rooftops of homes in the hutongs.