We started at Tian'anmen Square,
which is one big square. It was all done up for 1 Oct, their
4th of July.
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Next to the square is the Forbidden
City, home of the emperors. Notice the building's isolation,
they were all afraid of evildoers, of which there were
plenty.
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This is the summer palace. It's a
man made lake which accounts for the hill. They do things in
a big way.
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The Temple of Heaven is a big
wooden structure used to pray for a good
harvest.
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The wall is THIS
BIG.
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We visited a kindergarten class,
handed out some crayons and listened to Jingle Bells and
Itsy Bitsy Spider in Chinese, worth the trip in and of
itself.
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This is the entrance to a Hutong
courtyard. The Hutong's are the older neighborhoods and are
disappearing in the Beijing building frenzy.
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Some of the courtyards, while
small, are quite pleasant
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This is in Xi'an, the ancient
capital of China. This is the western gate of the city wall.
This was the starting point of the silk road.
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This is the main force of the Terra
Cotta Warriors. There are 3 pits, one infantry, one archers
and cavalry and one headquarters. They were intended to
protect the emperor in his afterlife underground. His tomb
is a couple of miles away and has not been explored yet. So
far the warriors seem to be doing their
job.
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When originally built they were
painted, but exposure to the air quickly faded the bright
colors. Excavations have stopped until a better method can
be found to preserve the site.
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From Xi'an to the southern city of
Guilin, we took a cruise on the Li river. It's noted for its
limestone hills and fabulous
scenery.
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Doing a little fishing, if the
water buffalo doesn't ruin it.
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So they were selling samples of
snake wine and, well, it seemed like a good idea. Believe it
or not, it's horrible.
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