Tag: Xi’an

How to Walk a Bird

On By rrainefioreIn China, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yesterday was a travel day.  I decided not to walk the city wall.  I called mom and checked some emails instead.  We ate lunch and then flew to Chengdu and then dinner.  Spent some time walking around the city after dinner.  I found cheese flavored ice cream.  How does that happen?  Who thought that was a good idea?  Yes, I ate it.  It was sweet bland ice cream with a cheese after taste.  I cannot recommend it.

I didn’t see this, but some of the other people on the trip did so our guide explained it.  In Xian some people have birds for pets.  They take their birds for a walk in the morning.  They walk and swing the bird cage really high.  The bird then gets to fly in its cage (just trying to stay balanced).  This way, the bird gets exercise.  When the bird is ready to rest, they put them on the ground or hang the cage from a tree.  They cover the cages because they don’t want the birds to get scared or upset from seeing other birds or people.  Huh?  But if somehow two birds do see each other and they like each other, they will open the cage and let the birds visit and socialize with each other.  True story.

Fun fact: Chinese people cannot get social services outside of their home town without paying.  So children who live in rural areas cannot go to the city to attend school unless they pay extra.  Rural teachers don’t get paid enough so the teachers quit.  So, rural children don’t get good educations.  Sometimes the parents leave the home to work in the cities and the grandparents raise the children.  Ok, so that wasn’t really a fun fact, more like and interesting fact.

Today we went to see the Leshan Giant Buddha.  This involved a long drive to a boat dock.  We got on a boat and rode to a big Buddha carved into the rock.  It took 30 years to carve the head and shoulders, 30 years for the body and 30 for the legs. Then after lunch we went to a shopping area that was made to look like an ancient city, or it was an ancient city fixed up.  It was beautiful and fun shopping.  I bought something that looked like roti sai mai, (my favorite Thai dessert), but it was like fuzzy peanut butter.  There were people cleaning ears by sticking small brushes in your ear and then using metal tongs to vibrate the brushes.  I tried that.  Not sure my ears feel cleaner, but it was a unique experience.  The guy did a neck and shoulder massage after that was worth the price of admission.  For dinner we did hot pot. I think I’m not a fan of hot pot.  More walking around the city by night.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore

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Squash stuffed with rice
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Tiny paper red hearts from a wedding

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Scorpion on a Stick

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Warriors

On By rrainefioreIn China, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today we went to see the terra cotta warriors.  This is one of the things I most wanted to see in China.  There are over 8000 terra cotta warriors. A lot of them are still underground because we don’t have the technology to preserve them yet.  Most of the ones they uncovered had bright paint on them.  Within a short period of time, all the color oxidized and was gone. They are 2008 years old. Each warrior has a different face, the faces of the actual soldiers. Before the warriors we went to a shop where they make replica warriors.  They also made lacquer furniture.  The first thing we did in the morning was go to a local park, Xingqing Park.  Like the other parks, there are a lot of retired people exercising and playing games.  Apparently no tourists go to this park except with this tour group.  The people love to see the tourists and invite them in to join.  We did some tai chi, hacky sac, a fan dance and acupressure massage.  It was a lot of fun.  The Chinese people were quick to grab you and have you join in.  They loved taking photos with us too.

We had a dinner show tonight.  It was wonderful, with great costumes and quite a variety of dancing.

We have tomorrow morning off to do what we want.  I’m torn between going to see the drum and bell towers up close, walking along the city wall, and sleeping in.  When we got back to the hotel, one person asked me if I was going to the towers tonight.  Duh.  I could do that tonight and then the wall tomorrow.  We took a taxi from the hotel.  You couldn’t get very close to the bell tower, but you could get pretty close to the drum tower.  It was real pretty, all lit up.  Getting back proved more difficult.  We stood where a lot of taxis were coming by.  One stopped and a Chinese couple appeared from nowhere and took it.  Then the next one stopped and some Chinese people just jumped in front of us and took it.  This went on for quite a while.  Most taxis didn’t even stop.  Most that stopped, drove up to Chinese people instead of us.  Two taxis did stop.  When I handed them the address of the hotel, they both said no.  I finally decided a 40-minute walk lead by Google maps sounded like a great idea.  The guy I was with didn’t like the new plan, but he didn’t have much choice because he wasn’t any more successful at getting a taxi than I was.  We came to a smaller street.  As you looked down it, all you could see is small colored flashy lighted business signs.  It looked like a spy or kung fu movie where the hero escapes into a crowded back alley.  I decided this was the better path back.  It was.  We zig zagged through small restaurants, businesses, street vendors and alleys.  I liked seeing this side of the city.  I like getting a glimpse of how people actually live.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore

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Tai Chi in the park

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My fan dance buddy
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Group Picture with the Chinese

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Acupressure Exercise Class

 

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Drum and Bell

On By rrainefioreIn China, Travel, Uncategorized2 Comments

We got up early in the morning for our flight to Xi’an.  This is the oldest city in china (3000 years of written history).  When we landed it was raining.  But the plan for the day was a museum so that was the best day for it to rain.  Xi’an was the capital a long time ago so there are many treasures found around the city.  The museum had a lot of pottery and metal work from the different dynasties.  The people believe that they needed to be buried with their treasures for the afterlife, similar to the ancient Egyptians, but in China they buried them underground and built mountains on top.  Then I wondered, if we are digging up these treasures thousands of years later, are we ruining their afterlife?  Are they no longer rich and protected in the after life?

After the museum, we checked into the hotel.  My room was a suite.  I have separate living room from the bedroom.  I also had a king sized bed.  I just want to hang out in a robe in my room for a few days.  But, a girl has to eat.  Tonight we went out for a dumpling dinner.  The restaurant we went to is supposed to be famous for their dumplings.  It was near the center of town.  There are two towers there, the bell tower and the drum tower.  In ancient times, the walled city was gated and locked at night.  One toDwer housed bells (or drums, can’t remember which is which) that were rung in the morning to announce that the gates were opening so people that lived outside the city knew it was time to come in and do business.  At the end of the day, the drums were used to announce that the gates would be closing soon.  There were 18 different dumplings served at dinner.  They just kept coming.  Some of them were really delicious and some were not so much.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore

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