XIAN

There were 98 people on the Xian/Beijing trip that consisted of a total of five nights and six days. I was on Bus B which really should have been called Bus A because our bus had the head tour guide and was the first to do anything and everything. We left Shanghai at 10:50 AM and I slept for the flight’s entirety. Compared to the intense city of Shanghai, Xian was much quieter and smaller. The airport was amongst agricultural fields and factories and about thirty minutes away from the actual city.

Before going to the hotel (it is a requirement that all hotels SAS use receive at least a four star ranking) we went to an art museum. Apart from seeing different Chinese art and styles we were taught calligraphy and got to practice it ourselves. Calligraphy apparently reflects the artist’s identity and personality. The characters are supposed to be delicate and created with extreme care. My characters reflected anything but delicacy. They were big and comprised from a lot of ink- if anyone wants to interpret my identity and personality from big, wide calligraphy strokes, let me know what you come up with. The one cool thing is that I got to keep my personal “I love you” calligraphy paper.

SAS divides up the rooms alphabetically but you are allowed to switch around rooms if you want. Jill and I made some switches so that we could room together. After having approximately twenty minutes to put down our stuff we were back on the buses heading for dinner at this famous dumpling restaurant. The restaurant was in the main heart of the city and by the Xian city wall. Everything was decorated and lit up for the Chinese New Year. People on the streets were setting off fireworks and illegal fire lanterns- I’m bringing one back to the US if anyone wants to set it off with me on the fourth of July. The dumpling factory consisted of bringing us any and every type of dumpling- chicken, spicy chicken, mushroom, veggie, pork, duck, walnut and then the seafood ones… I reported my eating success immediately to Jackie who was very happy to hear about it but kept urging me to try fish. One step at a time Jack, one step at a time.

After dinner we had the option of going back to the hotel on the buses or staying around the Xian city wall area and making our own way back. I was obviously asleep within the next forty minutes. A quick note about the hotel breakfast: they had both American and Chinese breakfast foods (French toast and noodles/dumplings) but more importantly they had those fried onion pancake things that are my favorite appetizer at the Xian restaurant in Beverly Hills. Needless to say I consumed a lot of them. We were on the bus by 8:00 and about to experience the most intensely packed day ever.

Stop 1: Xian City Wall

The city wall was cool because we were able to explore it on our own as opposed to solely trailing Jerry and Tony (our tour guides). We climbed up the wall, went into the watch towers, and I got to hit the huge gong to aware the Xian residents that invaders were coming. Chinese New Year is shortly followed by the Lantern Festival which is kind of like the Rose Parade in terms of lots of floats but instead there are lanterns. The Xian City wall had a lot of these lanterns which made the place very colorful and playful. The lanterns could be anything from flowers to tigers to mere decoration.

Stop 2: Muslim Mosque and Old Bazaar

We visited a Muslim mosque that was very close to the Xian city wall. In order to get to the mosque you have to pass through a bazaar that was like a mini version of the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem. Lots of street shops with lots of bargaining. It was pretty cold in Xian and since I lost one of my North Face gloves in Shanghai (that I would receive later on the boat’s lost and found :D), I bought a faux-north face pair at the bazaar for 30 Yuan or about $4. A lot of the shops were still closed up because of the New Year. The mosque itself was kind of small and consisted of one main temple and a large courtyard that was filled with praying Chinese Muslims. After the mosque we had about 20 minutes to explore the Bazaar more before going to the bus. My time was spent hastily purchasing a number four (chicken nuggets, medium fries, and coke) at McDonalds. You can never pass up McDonalds if you are unsure what the preordered Chinese lunch menu will consist of. This would be the first of about five McDonalds visits over the course of being in China.

Stop 3: Lunch

Lunch was good but more of the same. For that matter EVERY meal we would eat as part of the tour consisted of the same type of food- rice, noodle dish, different meats, soups, etc. Almost every restaurant had a lazy Susan table structure which is kind of annoying- by the time I received my picky eater chicken dish it had already gone passed everyone else at the table. That being said though I tried almost everything and liked a lot of it, I was never fully filled. Everyone always left meals still partially hungry. Snacks throughout the day were necessary. Oh, I also purchased my Chinese flag here!

Stop 4: Terra Cotta Warrior Exhibit

Apparently considered to be the eighth wonder of the world and one of the two things you have to see if you are in china (the other obviously being the great wall). The Terra Cotta Warriors were built during the first Qin Emperor’s reign and consisted of life size soldiers, horses, and chariots. Each statue is different than the next. Thus far three pits have been found that have the statues and estimates say that there are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, 520 horses, and 120 cavalry horses (thank you Wikipedia).

Jill and I strayed from the group; we were tired of following a large group around, and went through the pits and artifacts museum on our own. The soldiers were very cool- bigger than me and very real looking. The first pit was the biggest and had rows upon rows of statues that filled a football field sized room. Lots of pictures, in fact too many pictures, were taken. Pits two and three were much smaller, newly excavated, and had fewer statues. Additionally there was a museum that discussed the Terra Cotta history and displayed different artifacts that were used to build the soldiers and up close statues. We had over two hours at the museum and Jill and I were done with all three pits and the museum in about half the time.

One thing that I have yet to discuss is bathroom issues in China. I have learned how to properly squat and pee in a pothole that is literally on the ground. If we found a “western” style toilet it was a big deal. In addition unless you want to drip dry (which is gross) make sure you carry around tissue/toilet paper. Toilet paper is a rare commodity in public Chinese restrooms. Apart from my own toilet difficulties the Chinese children had a very interesting form of relieving themselves. Little kids in China, mostly 2-5 year olds, have slits in the back of their pants legs. Note that diapers are only worn in winter because they are too costly to purchase year round. That being said I witnessed many little kids popping squats ALL OVER China, including the museum’s grass exterior courtyard, and peeing left and right. Like I said, sanitary issues are viewed differently than at home. I may or may not have taken a picture of a kid dressed up in a tiger suit, mid-pee…

The Terra Cotta Warriors are definitely worth seeing because of what they are and their history however one must take into account that you are going to a museum. I’m not sure what I was expecting, possibly a more up close interaction with the statues, but I was not expecting a museum type exhibit. I wish I spent more time really looking at the warriors but at the time I rushed through the museum because my mentality was that seeing ten rows of statues was the same as seeing two hundred…which is kind of valid.

Stop 5: Xian Orphanage

This was the highlight of my trip to Xian and possibly China overall. We visited an orphanage that was home to I think around 120 orphans, and located in the rural countryside of Xian. I had never been to an orphanage before (which I think is strange) and was really excited to interact with the children. This orphanage was not necessarily for full-out orphans (though many were) but was actually for children whose parents were criminals and in jail for very serious crimes. Essentially they are orphans because their parents are locked up, which is horrible. We were taken on a tour of some of the rooms where the kids sleep- think Madeline but with smaller cots and rooms.

We were being taken to some other area of the orphanage when I saw a couple small boys looking at us. Some of us immediately headed over to try and interact with the children. It must have been very overwhelming for a small amount of kids to be invaded by 98 English speaking SASers. I took a picture of a little boy and at first he was definitely scared of me. I showed him his picture on my digital camera and his face lit up. He LOVED my camera. From that moment on we were inseparable for the remainder of the orphanage visit. He would grab my camera (I kept the safety strap around my hand) and point and shoot at anything. I’m not sure if he had ever seen a digital camera like this before but it definitely made his day and mine. To see him enjoying something that to me was so ordinary was amazing. I have no clue how old he is, my guess would be around four, and I do not know his name. Being able to give so much joy to this little boy was indescribable. It was also kind of cool that we were able to interact like this without speaking the same language yet alone speaking at all.

The children had a show planned for us so we all made our way to a small auditorium (my friend of course held my hand and sat on my lap for the show’s duration). The CD player was initially broken and our tour guide asked us to perform the piece that we had prepared for them (that piece was obviously a stalling maneuver and until that moment had never been discussed). About fifty of us awkwardly went on stage and improved twinkle twinkle little star, row row row your boat, if you’re happy and you know it, and the itsy bitsy spider. What I learned was that we will do just about anything to please children. I could tell that some of the older orphans were annoyed. I probably would be too if I was constantly bombarded with foreigners. The younger ones however were in heaven. The orphanage visit was not on our original itinerary but I am so happy I got to experience it. I had such an amazing experience with my new little friend and am pretty sure that I am capable of loving any child. I’m hoping to visit a lot more orphanages in the upcoming countries.

Stop 6: Hotel for 40 minutes… quick shower

Stop 7: Dinner and Tang Dynasty Culture Show

We had a set menu but this time we were each brought our own portions. We sat at smaller tables in giant theater where the culture show would take place. Instead of eating during the show, we ate prior to it. My table was situated right in front of the stage so I had the equivalent of a first row seat. The show consisted of lots of different music, mask sequences, warrior sequences, dances, and colors. I was thoroughly entertained and very impressed. After the show we headed back to the hotel and had a small hotel soiree followed by McDonald’s late night. As I said, McDonald’s was a staple of my Chinese diet, not because I did not like the Chinese food but because I never felt full. We were up and out of the hotel by 8 AM the next morning to catch our flight to Beijing.