Returned Home

Hello, Subscribers. I'm back in Los Angeles now. It was a memorably awesome trip. Unfortunately, there is a blog blackout during my trip to Beijing and Xi'an. I couldn't post blogs because I could not use Google products in China which is my Gmail and this blog. I'll try to update this blog and post them up. They may not be in the proper time sequence though but thank you for bearing with me.

The Great Wall of China

Its 12:30 pm and I just finished walking on the Great Wall of China. I can see the gigantic wall snake the mountain tops and off to the distance until it disappears in the Beijing haze. This is the Great Wall at Badaling in the outskirts of Beijing.

There are two routes. Going north is gradual climb that is easier but the very steep and harder climb is the southern route. Some parts were almost straight up. At certain points, I was made aware of all the Chinese food I have eaten. The walk ends after about 1 kilometer but it sure felt farther. I can see past the limit how they dilapidated the rest of the wall was but there is some restoration work going on. When I got back, my legs were tired. I also haggled for a souvenir refrigerator magnet. He wanted 50 yuan but I haggled it down to 30 yuan. I have officially climbed The Great Wall of China.

From 5 Days In Beijing

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is a place I have always wanted to go and visit.

Chairman Mao now graces the South Entrance Gate where we started our tour.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

The palace grounds look spectacular. I can almost imagine the formation of thousands of servants lined up in formations and bowing at the emperor.

From 5 Days In Beijing

It has many palaces and chambers. Each one was devoted to or for a specific purpose. So many visitors, I, myself, wanted to visit because of the movie "The Last Emperor."

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

This is one of many throne rooms where the Emperor held his courts.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

I think The Forbidden City needs more restoration and preservation. I saw some of the paint chipping and fading. And I don't think it can withstand so much foot traffic. Many of the stones are breaking or blackening up.

From 5 Days In Beijing

I'm glad to have seen it in-person in my lifetime.

Terra Cotta Army

This is it. A dream of mine. I remember watching a documentary of it as a child and thought I'd never be able see this because China was a closed communist country. But I never thought this day would come. I am standing in front of the most mysterious army in history. The Terra Cotta Army was commissioned by the first emperor of China.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

I am marveling at the vastness of the dig site. It's big and yet the work is still not completed. They are struggling to preserve the terra cotta figures. So many of them are broken and at the Dig Site 1, the restoration has been slowed because the housing of the dig site is not doing a good job preserving the site. The roofing leaks and so many visitors come that the atmosphere inside is damaging the figures.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

The dig site number 2 and number 3 are alot better built and helps with the preservation of its treasured terra cottas.

From 5 Days In Beijing

The figures are individually unique. They have varying heights and body shape. And each face is unique. They are so detailed that. You can see the details of the figure's soles of his shoes.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

The army was vandalized burned and buried after the emperor's death. It was forgotten and was discovered 50 years ago when a farmer was digging for a well to water his farm land.

From 5 Days In Beijing

Now Johnson & Johnson has plegded millions of dollars to fund the restoration and donated these dolls.

Arrived at Xi'an

Xi'an is an ancient city with a history as old as China itself. The first emperors first lived here. In the heart of Xi'an are the ancient city walls.

From 5 Days In Beijing

From 5 Days In Beijing

I saw lots of cars, wide roads, McDonald's and Starbucks it's a city moving towards modernization and embracing the western culture. We had our first chinese meal and check in the hotel.
We snuck out and walked around the city. It has dark roads only lighted by small shops that line the streets. Walking on the sidewalk is abit creepy. But people were going about their own business. We kept walking around the block until we reached a park.

From 5 Days In Beijing

It was the park near the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Later on we heard that we missed an hour light show that goes on at 8pm.

Leaving L. A.

I'm at the LAX and check in went pretty fast thanks to new my Delta Sky Miles card.  After checking-in, I flashed it at the steward if my card was good enough to get on the Delta line which cuts through the front of the security line which saved me about 45 mins standing in line.  And it worked.  Sweet!

I then decided to visit the Delta Sky Miles Club.  $50 for a club pass in which I can hang around the exclusive club.  But my flight leaves in 3 hours, so I decided to just hang out in McDonald's for brunch.  I'll try it next time when I can appreciate it more. 

But I recommend getting a frequent flyer card for less hassles at the airports.

Nihao!

Hello, friends. In a couple of weeks, I'll be going to Beijing by way of Tokyo.

I signed up for a tour package with my friend, Toshye. I'm going to have to read up on the destinations but I'm really excited to have the chance to see the Terra Cota Army and the Great Wall. I will start my preparation in the upcoming weeks and I want to blog about my trip so that I will never forget.

- Ian