The Forbidden City, etc.

We began our day with a city bus ride to Tianemen Square and Mao's tomb.  The crowds were intense and spectacular, thousands of Chinese standing in the hot, hot sun for HOURS to see the embalmed remains of their illustrious leader. He died in 1978.

After maneuvering the crowd, we finally got to the entrance gate of the Imperial City. The architecture was superb Z's were the amazing crowds. It was so hot that any shady spot was filled to capacity. Vendors selling frozen bottles of water were everywhere! 

With audio guides around our necks we split up and toured the site.  Three hours in I had had enough history, noise, and claustrophobia was settling in. I headed for the west gate, exit, and a cold beer. 

I met up with the gang at the gate and together we spent the rest of the day wandering the city back to the hotel, pub hopping looking for air conditioning, cold drinks and a little lunch :-)

Oh, and then there was the live viper cooked to perfection in a delectable ginger and onion sauce. Yikes!

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Beijing-End of the Line

Four hours driving through lush, green mountains saw us descend onto the flat plains of the Beijing basin by early afternoon. Yikes, 20 million people!  Smog and TRAFFIC!  Just what was expected. AND...hot...105^!

We wound our way through the six ring roads eventually reaching the center of the city and our hotel-northwest of the Forbidden City. We will be here for three days before saying goodbye.  Parking Sura for the last time was interesting. We had the street blocked for 45 minutes. Lots of horn honking from the locals!

Tonight we attend an acrobatic show, tomorrow we tour the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace and visit Tianemen Square.  On Monday we have a free day and I plan to rent s bike and tour the humongs (alleyways of the old city), as well as the financial center with their amazing modern buildings.

A big farewell dinner is planned for tomorrow night!  John and ate hoping for a western steak house and bottle of really, really good wine. :-)

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Putio Zongchengzhi Temple

Upon our arrival in Chengdu the lads surprised us with a special visit to one of the Eight Outer Temples.

This one is a mMiniature of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It was huge and took a couple of hours to visit. Very NICE!

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The Great Wall

A relaxed morning was followed by a cable car ride to the top of the wall. We were part of maybe. Dizen others. It wad greAt. If we had waited until Beijing we'd have been among thousands and the experience much less rewarding.

By 9:30am it was already amazingly HOT!  I spent the better part of two hours wandering the ramparts and exploring the towers. Climbing up and down, and over and around in 100^ heat has its moments. The views were terrific with the smog of Beijing in the distance it was still blue skies with scattered clouds on the wall.

We met for lunch and then headed to Chengde where we will stay for two days and visit both the Imperial Summer Palace and gardens.

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To Jinshanling and the Great Wall

We had another beer and BBQ extravaganza last night at a street cafe where we ended up being the floor show. More of those special animal parts-well, it's an acquired taste. Haha. 

Hung over yet with smiles on our tired faces, we headed north where we will explore the awe inspiring Great Wall of China at Jinshanling. 

It was a full day drive with a couple of unexpected detours and 100+ heat. Six weeks ago we saw the western terminus of the wall.  Tomorrow we will visit the northern parts, an area most western tourists don't see when coming to China. 

It took 600kms to get here and we are now only a couple of hours north of Beijing. Our time together will soon be over.  It has been an amazing 14 weeks and for me there is more to come. 

Last night at dinner the lads let us know that they had decided to release Tao from his contract-too many mistakes and misinformation; too much lost time.   He's also just so darn hard to understand. He took the news hard and was more quiet than usual today. Being let go from a job in China is a bit different than back home. 

As I have mentioned in the past, it's too bad because he's a nice guy-just not cut out for this type of assignment. He will be with us until Beijing and will then be returning to his home in southern China. 

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Yungang Grottos

We woke to bright, beautiful, blue skies and clean, clear air (while it lasts).  It doesn't get much better than this in Datong-or anywhere else in China for that matter.  Good karma continues to follow us!

The historic city of Datong dates back nearly 2500 years. Across from the hotel were the massive walls of the (new) old city. In this case not restored but new, an attempt to resemble Xian. Once inside a real poverty site, soon to be demolished and replaced by high end shops and apartment buildings. Surrounding these magnificent walls ate beautiful gardens, parks and a modern rapidly developing city.  

The main attraction here is the Yungang Grottos, a UNESCO World Heritage complex of 21 caves containing over 50,000 statues, some of which are the oldest of their type in China. Looking at the rock art we were able to pick out influences from an amazing variety of different cultures, including Roman, Greek, Persian, and Indian. 
After circling the city trying to find a way out (as usual) we headed for cliffs. Once there we were treated to a magnificent tourist center with adjoining imperial temple complex. The grottos are awesome, touring each cave, being able to take photos, and enjoying a lot of free time. This site was more user friendly Nd less restricted than the Mogao caves. An absolutely spectacular day!

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Northward to Datong

We said goodbye to "Oscar" and his cree, exchanged smog for fog, and drove north, up, and out of the Wutai Shan valley. As we crested the summit it was refreshingly cool, foggy, and the outlines of the mountains looked like a Chinese watercolor. We passed through many villages, homes made of stone, and fresh, green fir forests.  

We crossed an agricultural valley and then up into another high mountain range. We could have jumped on the tollway at that point but the lads once again chose the road less traveled :-).

Weaving up and down, over and around, we reached our destination-the Hanging Monastery of Datong. It dates back over 1400 years, beautifully located right on the edge of a cliff. The monastery consists of over 40 different halls and is home to an impressive array of bronze, stone, clay and iron statues. 

We stopped for lunch before visiting the monastery. An assortment of local mushroom and potato dishes. Much better than last night where a lovely BBQ and noodle feast.was accompanied by the local "delicacy."  This time it belonged to a pig. What is this preoccupation with consuming animal sex organs!  :-)

The monastic site was unfortunately closed due to an impending rock slide. We were within 50 miles of the city and the air pollution was intense. So bad,photos were impossible. Google "Datong Hanging Monastery" to see what we did not!

Think thick fog, only it' s 75^. We reached the city of Datong an hour later. The temperature had dropped and It was raining. Ahhh!  Four million people and coal mining is their game. We enjoyed the balance of the afternoon. Tomorrow we visit the grottos. 

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1,000 steps and another Dragoman group

 We woke early and began our ascent to the temple. This site is considered the most revered in China and it takes 1,000 stone steps to get to the top. The climb was a lot easier than we thought. We passed by many pilgrims praying and bowing as they made each step. Some were in their 80's.

At the top the views were amazing. We took lots of photos before walking down the horse path on the other side.

At the bottom we had free time to wander the markets, have lunch, and take a nap.

In the afternoon we were joined by another Dragoman group that left Beijing a week ago in route to Istanbul. We all got together for dinner at the night market and spent time sharing stories.




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Wutai Shan

A grand sleep in and five star breakfast preceded a quick taxi back to the airport. I even had time for one more Starbucks before Sura and the gang got here. There was a welcome home party editing for me with balloons and streamers. 

Gifts were distributed and we headed for the sacred mountain Wutaishan. Located in Shanxi Province, it is believed to be the earthly abode of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, and for a thousand years it has been a focus of transnational pilgrimage for the Chinese, Tibetans, Mongols, and Manchus alike. This multi-culturalism, endemic of Himalayan art, is reflected in temple designs coming from Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. This includes paintings, sculptures. We will spend two days here exploring the mountain. 

We arrived just after noon and were processed through a gauntlet of ticket offices. The whole town and surrounding mountains and temples are a National Park!  The town is unashamedly a tourist mecca. One ticket for the entrance fee, one for the local bus ticket, one for the toliet access (just kidding...or am I), and then we boarded a transfer bus into town with Sura traveling behind. Talk about Brave New World!  Halfway there some fellow in a grey uniform and a name tag with just a number jumped onboard fit one more ticket check LOL!  And here's the kicker, those over sixty were free!  Yippee, a senior discount!

Our hotel host joined us to help with the silliness of getting into the town. Once all checked in we had lunch and laid out plans for the next two days.  Just gotta love the way the Chinese do certain things. Haha!

Globe Hopping

A little language confusion started the day. It took a few phone calls to get the hotel driver to understand which airport and in what city. Eventually all was settled and the drive took about two hours.   Once in Taijuan airport all went as smoothly as normal.  The $12 cup of Starbucks helped immensely!

A 2 1/2 flight got me to Ganzhou where I went through Chinese immigration without a hitch. Step One completed.

A short layover, two hours sitting in the plane on the runway, and then a 3 1/2 hour flight got me to Seoul around midnight. So much for my night on the town :-). Immigration and customs went smoothly. I raised a few eyebrows when asked how long I planned to stay. My answer of "just 12 hours" required an explanation.  Haha. I was surprised when he told me this happens often!

Couldn't get a room by the airport and it was so late that I decided to camp out in the terminal. Nice hard wooden benches!  Ugh!

I awoke at the crack of dawn, sore back and all. Ate at an American cafe. Cheese omelette and good coffee.  Bought some cigs for the lads, chocolate for the girls, and a tshirt for me. Gotta get the shirt!

Completed Step 3.  Officially out of Korea.  Boarded my first flight back to China landing in Shenyang International Airport.  When I finish this trip I will pretty much have seen most of China-and a lot of it from the air!

I'm LEGAL!  Step 4 done!  Now a two hour delay boarding, two more hours on the tarmack (sheesh) and it's on to Taiyuan, a shower, and a comfortable bed. I hook back up with Sura and the gang tomorrow morning. Yippee!





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Pingyao

We arrived inside the walls of the old city around 5pm. It is totally perfect and almost fully original with the exception of remodeled 1000 year old buildings into shops, hotels, and restaurant. A Chinese wonderland bloke going back on the past.

Instead of flying out for Seoul tonight my wonderful personal agent at Expedia Plus was able to pull a few strings. She rebooked my flights to tomorrow morning.

Now I only have an hour layover in Ganzhou and arrive in Seoul late evening. I will get a hotel room there fur the night, get to see a bit if the city, and then be back in Taiyuan the next evening 

Sura and the gang will pick me up at the airport there on the way further north. I only miss two days from the itinerary, get to see a bit of Pingyao after all, and save $200 USD.

I may stay Tao's execution. We'll see!

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