Beijing Blow Out- Last Stop.

Finally feeling the true exhaustion earned by moving cities every 2-3 days for 8 months, we decided to post up in Beijing for the final nine days of our trip and enjoy not having to repack the bags for a while. We took our time seeing the capital's sights and managed two day trips to the great wall, which definitely rates among the most memorable spectacles of the entire trip. Knowing that we'd soon be home Sue shopped until her bag bulged, then shopped some more until the extra bag (which was part of the shopping) also brimmed, though to be fair Graham did manage to add a few things to the pile.  We rode bikes around the city's wonderfully wide bike paths and down the culture rich hutong alley ways. The end of each day brought a feast of some tasty Chinese dishes, most frequently a plate of perfect dumplings from our favorite hole in the wall. Rough way to end a rough trip.

 Tianamen square, the largest public square in the world, on a smoggy day (which is most days in Beijing).

The moat in around the forbidden city in fall.

The Meridian gate and main entrance to the Forbidden city.

An aisle of vases at the Sunday "dirt" market.

One of the many many plates of dumplings consumed, on one occasion we ate at the same place for both lunch and dinner. Needless to say the restaurant owners soon recognized us and were happy to see walk in.

And then there was the wall. We made an effort to find the sections of the wall less frequented by the masses of tourists, meaning we had to take a subway public bus and then flag down a shared minivan taxi to reach our destination. So worth it.

For the second trip we ventured to an even more remote section. There were large signs posted saying that the section was closed to tourists, but all that really meant was fewer people, better scenery and an entry fee (collected by the locals vs the government) of 30 cents instead of $18. Yep we're in.

Placid Pingyao

We boarded yet another overnight train towards Pingyao, a relatively small town with a historical center that has looked much the same for centuries thanks to a car-free zone and a UNESCO effort to preserve many of the buildings.

Compared to the busy and tourist laden Xi’an we found Pingyao to be almost a ghost town, with many of the cities sites deserted and most of the side streets eerily quiet.  We explored ancient courtyards, strolled atop the city wall and ate some huge bowls of noodles from tiny street side hovels. 

Graham didn’t bump his head thanks to the excellent signage placed throughout the historical sites.

No clue on this one.

Coal delivery. The area around Pingyao is heavily mined for coal and the cities reliance on the resource was evident with many homes and restaurants keeping piles out back.

Fresh made noodles.

We had the walls to ourselves.

Stockpiles of corn spied from atop the wall.

Xi’An -2,200 Year Old Statues and Street Eats

Having long desired to see the famous Terracotta Warriors we headed to historical Xi’An, one of the four ancient capitals of China, it embodies more 3,100 years of history.  After a 17 hour train ride toward the center of China we were met with some cold, crisp, and clear autumn days. Perfect for some bike rides around 700 year old walls and wandering the single best “street food” neighborhood of our entire trip.

The Wall runs through and around the modern day city, encompassing some 14 kilometers.

Riding bikes on top of the wall with great views of the city.

An hour long bus ride out of the city brought us to the “Eighth Wonder of the World” (according to the Chinese government anyway….)

The warrior statues were buried in 210-209BC with Qin Shi Huang,  the first Emporer of China, in order to protect him in the afterlife. Perhaps even more amazing is that the army remained undiscovered until 1974 when some farmers stumbled upon it while digging for a well.

There are currently 3 pits in various stages of the pain staking slow excavation.

The level of detail was extraordinary, with individual facial features given to most of the warriors and even the smallest details, like soles on the shoes, carved on figures representing generals.

The three pits contain an estimated 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. Quite an impressive sight.

The “Muslim Quarter” in Xi’An home to a fantastic range of street food. We literally spent a whole day wandering the back alley ways and snacking.

The soup pots steaming in front of our favorite noodle shop.

Perfectly spiced Kebabs, fresh off the grill.

What might not have been so fresh was the meat….spotted this a few kebabs too late. I’m sure it was a refrigerated minivan, haha. Fortunately our stomachs seem to have developed a healthy resistance to the abuses we subject them to.

In the words of Sue “’It’s like a fried sweet potato cookie!” Precisely.