Most Feared in Xi’an

 China  No Responses »
Feb 072012
 

 

The green and orange or green and grey taxi …. The most fearsome predator on the streets of Xi’an!

As pedestrians, you have the least rights to any hard surfaces in China – you must give way to any bicycle ring, horn toot etc.  Next lowest are bicycles, next motorbikes, thence cars, taxis and buses. It is the once place I have ever seen a bus accelerate before the light turn green – he had his foot on the gas and his hand on the horn to get people out of the cross-walk.  You need to develop eyes in all corners of your head to watch for any vehicle.

 

This is a large sidewalk – with cars parked along both sides and a path between. Even here, the pedestrian is low-man.  Any wheeled vehicle can drive along that sidewalk and you must move!  Traffic is China is best described as a flow – lanes, signal lights, stop lights are all just taken as advice as you move with the flow of traffic. The red lanterns hang everywhere in celebration of the New Year.

 

The bicycle is still common but seems people increasingly use transit. The Shanghai metro is now the largest in the world and continuing rapid growth. Gas is a little over one Canadian dollar per liter in China – about the same as in Canada. The minimum wage in China is about 200 Canadian dollars per month. Needless to say, vehicles and gas are so far out of the range of ordinary citizens. I can’t help but think we are under-paying for our gas given our wealth.

Last full day in Beijing

 China  No Responses »
Jan 262012
 

 The New Year celebration continues here although the sound of fireworks is now mor occasional than continuous. It is quite a celebration compared to the one evening/day event at home. Even more interesting is the number of businesses that stay closed for a large part of this week. As busy as this country is, they have maybe a better respect for work/life balance than we do.  

As the days have gone by, the streets get busier and busier. In the first days after new year, people stay home and visit close family. As time goes by, more and more people are out and the streets are filled with vendors. 

We visited the Lama temple today.  It was quite busy with most people there for praying for the new year and some tourists like us.  The burning of incense is an important part of the prayer so there was much smoke and fire. 

Last full day in Beijing

 China  No Responses »
Jan 262012
 

The New Year celebration continues here although the sound of fireworks is now mor occasional than continuous. It is quite a celebration compared to the one evening/day event at home. Even more interesting is the number of businesses that stay closed for a large part of this week. As busy as this country is, they have maybe a better respect for work/life balance than we do.

As the days have gone by, the streets get busier and busier. In the first days after new year, people stay home and visit close family. As time goes by, more and more people are out and the streets are filled with vendors.

We visited the Lama temple today. It was quite busy with most people there for praying for the new year and some tourists like us. The burning of incense is an important part of the prayer so there was much smoke and fire.

Summer Palace

 China  No Responses »
Jan 252012
 

 We visited the Summer Palace in northwest Beijing today. It was a popular place today as it was sunny and just above zero. 

It really illustrates the power of the Emperor. There is a large man made lake along with a hill from the creation of the lake – all to create a summer retreat that would remind someone of their home in China. 

We were lucky to see some traditional and local New Year celebrations. There was a little fair set up along the road. A typical ring toss game becomes unique when you are tossing the rings over little cages holding birds, bunnies or hamsters. I think the little animal was the prize.

The bargain of the day is more difficult to choose today.  We had an excellent crepe filled with an egg, cracker and chili sauce mixture for 80 cents for our lunch.  Cooked to order by a street vendor.  But, the real buy was a trip of close to 40 km by subway for about 60 cents!

One more full day in Beijing and we move on. 

Great Wall Day

 China  No Responses »
Jan 242012
 

The day started cool and a bit breezy in Beijing – leading us to expect we would freeze on the Wall. We drove to the Mutianyu section of the wall – a bit farther but less touristy than the section typically visited. When we arrived, it was very windy in the valley. And cold!!

But, amazingly, the top of the wall had less wind and the sun and clear skies made for a gorgeous day. We walked for about 90 minutes on the wall. Up hill and down. Really very special.

We stopped at the Olympic grounds on the way back to the hotel … But everything would pale in comparison to the wall experience.

By the way, the fire crackers/works continue to be heard regularly. New Years is no one day event here!

 

Happy New Year

 China  No Responses »
Jan 232012
 

 After a night of indescribable firecrackers/works, we awoke to a New Years day that was mostly sunny. 

We visited the Bell and Drum towers. The drum tower was first built by Kubla Khan so these sites are very old. We then joined the locals exploring the shops and cafes of the Hou Hai district of Beijing. This district lies along three small lakes near the centre of Beijing. Today’s picture show the activity on the frozen lake.  One can rent a small sled with runners and then use ski poles to push yourself around the lake. A long trian of the sleds had formed. 

 

New Year’s Eve

 China  No Responses »
Jan 222012
 

 It is New Year’s Eve Day here today and there has been no break in the sound of fire works/crackers. From early this morning, the pop and bang has continued to celebrate the year of the dragon.

We visited the Temple of Heaven today. As we left the temple grounds, we stopped in a tea house for a tea ceremony. We tasted about 6 different teas and learned some of their properties. It was suggested I should consume the pu’er tea as it was good for losing weight and would help me.  I give that sales lady full marks for honesty!

Later, we stopped for the traditional meal of roast duck. It is a special event as they bring the whole duck to the table and then slice it for you. 

We walked down a major and modern shopping street this afternoon. A interesting contrast with capitalism thriving in a communist country. All the big names from Paris and New York are on the street. Gucci.  Armani.  Burberry.  All with the prices we see at home. 

The duck dinner is the bargain of the day. How can you go wrong having such a famous meal for about 10 dollars a person?

A Remarkably Cold Day

 China  No Responses »
Jan 212012
 

 As Canadians, we thought we were prepared for winter in China. Yesterday, our Canadian confidence was shivering in it’s boots.  Minus 10 with a good wind and about 3 hours outside walking through the Forbidden City had us chilled to the bone.

As the photo shows, we had a sunny, sunny day. A rare event, actually, with the air pollution that is common in Beijing.  The Emperor’s palaces of the  Forbidden City make up a hugely impressive site.  500+ years in existence and likely about 2 km long by 1 km wide, we only saw some of it in our 3 hours. 

The bargain of the day came at dinner. A 600 ml Nanjing beer for a little over a dollar.  It is still very reasonable to eat here. 

Travel to China

 China  No Responses »
Jan 202012
 

 A long days flight to Beijing.

The Rockies were spectacular with the clear skies under the Arctic ridge. The quality of the image is affected by the dirt on the airplane window. 

We arrived in Beijing at 4:30 local time. We had intended to use a taxi to come to our hotel but found the prices more than 5 times what they should be. So, we used the airport express train and then a taxi to our hotel.

I will post pictures tomorrow. Our hotel is 300 years old on a street that is 700 years old. Completely refurbished, it is heated by geothermal and solar energy. It is a courtyard hotel – all rooms face into one of two small courtyards. a very cool place.