Saturday; Xi'an: Terracotta Soldiers
This was another busy day. First we went up onto the city wall at the South Gate of Xi'an.

Then we headed out to the Historical Museum. Lots of artifacts, old important stuff, but we went fast and it was hard to absorb. Everything was referenced to the various Dynasties, which I didn't have a good timeline for.

Then to a lacquer factory. Basically a sales pitch and, presumably a commission for the local guides. I bought a couple of 'silk' ties, one with pandas and another with dragons.

Next, lunch at a walk up restaurant for a Chinese style meal. On the floor below there was a wedding banquet in progress and I took a photo of the bride on her cell phone.

We drove about an hour to the west to the site of the Terracotta Soldiers site.

Pit one was immense with more than seven thousand figures. The president of Peru was hot on our tail, touring the site himself, so we were rushed out so he could have the place to himself.

On to the second and third pits, the first of which had several well-preserved figures representing higher-ranking officers, and a charioteer. The last contained the bronze chariots and four figures, a General, an archer, a kneeling archer and an infantryman.

The farmer who, in the 1970s, had stumbled on the ancient artifacts while digging a well has become a celebrity of sorts and he was on hand to sign my book. Of course he charges a Yuan for each photo. A Chinese guy nearby snickered and told me that the humble old farmer is now one of the richest men in the country.

Back to the city and a quick turnaround before getting back on the bus for a dumpling feast. 18 courses of dumplings.

A culinary high point, so far, for me.

Outside, the Bell Tower pagoda was lit up and people were flying kites. I got a night photo of the scene. We had about an hour to pack and get the bags out by ten PM in preparation for an early morning flight to Beijing. Interestingly enough, the airport designation for Beijing is PEK, a holdover from the old translation.

Sunday - Leaving Xi';an arrive Bejing

Off early to the airport, taking secondary roads to avoid traffic. On the streets on Xi'an we could see people on the way to work or walking to do their daily morning exercises. A nice flight through the rain and haze to Beijing. As was the general experience with domestic flights in China, the bags took a beating, but turned up at the carousel fairly quickly. Our roll suitcase lost a wheel, which exacerbated the long trip to the bus.

We met our pretty and well informed Beijing guide, Ada and struck out for a temple just outside of town. Lots of tourists, not much interesting to be seen.

Everyone who passes has to touch the head of the lion for good luck, or longevity or something like that. Superstition and symbolism are everywhere.

Then to Tiananmen Square. We drove through the gold district, the expensive shopping area for the city and along the embassy row.

At Tiananmen, we diverted to a lunch in the History museum, then into the square for kite flying.

In the square we had some free time and wandered around. We noticed Chinese people were posing for their photos with us in the background. Then a few of the less shy ones asked us to stand with them. The square is a popular domestic tourist attraction, with people from all over China joining us Western tourists.

Both Mary posed many times with Chinese tourists while in the square. We were also approached by a couple of students from Mongolia who were studying in Beijing and we had a nice conversation before our wandering time ended.

The kite flying was less successful, as strings fell on hapless pedestrians and kites crashed to the ground.

A short time later the police drove up and barked something to me that I though might mean to move to another part of the square. After some more barking and pantomime, we pulled the kite down altogether and that seemed to make them happy. Someone explained that they were saying that "kite flying in Tiananmen Square is forbidden today."

It was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, I learned later, and the police were understandably tense.

To the Forbidden City next. First through the gate with Mao's photo. Then into the second gate and courtyard where the famous iconic scene of the city came into view.

The first palace is where the Emperor conducted most business.

There are two more official palaces behind it. This is considered the front city where the work of the government was conducted. Behind that, but still within the walls, are the living quarters in the back city. In addition to the Emperor and his family, the back city housed the concubines (or temptresses as one guidebook describes them), eunuchs, officials etc.

Much renovation in preparation for the crowds coming to the city for the Olympics in 2008.

We exited through the North Gate onto the bus and we drove to the Temple of Heaven. This is a park with some historical significance, but mostly it was a nice walk and a chance to mingle with Chinese people.

People were singing, playing traditional instruments or just relaxing. Some good photos.

A long afternoon and a long day. We still hadn't been to the hotel to check in. Next stop was a restaurant for Peking Duck.

The restaurant was well known and the duck was very tasty. Ding ding hou. But there were many courses beforehand and I was about ready to burst by the time we got out of there.

Finally at the hotel and ready to check in. On member of the group fell and split her lip on the wet stone coming in but it turned out all right. I went out later for a cigar in the rain.

It was our anniversary and April, the tour guide, sent beautiful flowers to our room.

I was up most of the night with diarrhea and chills, which didn't bode, well for the morning trip to the Great Wall.