Thursday, 22 September: Xi'an - Chongqing

  Phew! They really keep us moving - of course it's the only way to see everything we want to.  First on today's program was visit to a jade factory where we had a short lesson in the qualities of jade and saw people working on carvings, then had lots of time to shop.  Some people got terrific stuff but our money stayed in our wallets.  From there we went on to the Shaanxi History Museum which has relics and treasure from several dynasties that had an important presence in this province.  Really interesting, and gives a very good sense of how far ahead Chinese culture was a millennium ago. 

Next was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Temple, where Larry and several others made it to the top of the pagoda [ not as high as the CN Tower but maybe half ] while many of us lounged in a garden pavilion.  It's a Buddhist shrine, so there were candles, incense and statues, but the peace and stillness of the gardens were most welcome after our hectic touring.  

We moved along to another part of the same complex, making our way through construction debris and had a tour and lesson about the fashions and art of the Han dynasty and  a demonstration of calligraphy, followed of course by a shopping op.  Again, we bought none of the beautiful paintings available however but McNaughts did. 

 We ended our day with a visit to the ancient wall.   

It is high and wide and continuous around the central part of the city.  We walked little way, and enjoyed the view of all the construction underway.  

 

 

They're restoring many old buildings along the wall. It was explained to us that in China when your buy an apartment it's just a shell - no doors, windows, maybe no interior walls, no plumbing fixtures.  So people had obviously moved into one of these apartments before any of that was done.  My goodness!!   

 

The McNaughts and several others went cycling and did the whole circuit ( about 9 miles).  They said it was a rough ride.  Of course that wasn't the end of one day. 

We said goodbye to our local guide, Lily, at the airport and flew to Chongqing (pronouced Chong Ching) , getting into our hotel around 11:15 and receiving our luggage about midnight.  A tired bunch!!  Today's good news is that Betsy has no broken bones, but some serious soft tissue injuries.  By now her son should be with her to return her home.

Photos 22 Sep Xi'an - Chongqing