Greetings from China....

We just came back from our 2 week trip to Beijing and all the way down to Xi’an. We had a fabulous time. China really is an amazing place. It is so big and differences among different regions are quite obvious.

We spent 3 days in Beijing at the beginning of the trip. Beijing is a nice city, big but not intimidating. It is also clean, surprisingly enough. I guess labour is cheap in China so the city council can afford to pay labourers to keep it clean. There are lots of parks where people can relax and enjoy themselves. We didn’t experience any hassles at all being tourists in the city. Of course, we did all the touristy stuff, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace. They were all wonderful. Some places are under renovation in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. But most interesting places could be visited. We also climbed the Great Wall. The view was amazing. We were lucky to have a private car, driver, and guide. We couldn’t imagine us joining a tour group. We saw many during our trip and they were awful. Well, a big bus full of people, a tour guide speaking through a microphone, and having to walk around following a flag are not our scene. If anyone wants to visit China, I would recommend taking a private tour like us. We know a good tour agent that can organize the trip……no tips for me don’t worry J I have a few complaints regarding the food in the north. It’s not spicy enough. But it’s a good change I guess.

In Beijing we also saw a few performances, the Beijing Opera, Acrobatic Show, and Kungfu Show. They were all amazing. Roy had his face painted at the Beijing Opera. Well, the theater was having a 50 year anniversary and had a special program. An expat was supposed to come to have his face painted but he failed to come. We came early so Roy was asked to volunteer for a face painting. He was even interviewed for a special local TV program. The good thing about it was we had bought the cheapest tickets but got upgraded to first class. The first class is good. It is right in front and set like a dining area, with round tables and chairs. There are 6 people at each table. Food and drink are served during the show. We could see facial expressions of the performers clearly, which was wonderful. The acrobatic show was also amazing. But the highlight was the Kungfu Show, Legend of ChunYi. It was great. Before I thought it was just a martial arts show, and I wasn’t really interested. Tickets were quite expensive (for Chinese standards). But we were glad we saw it. The story line was good and the show was done professionally, including laser shows and amazing backgrounds. 

From Beijing we took a midnight train to Datong. Poor Roy… He’d been having “stomach problems” and couldn’t enjoy the trip. On the other hand I slept well on the train. Train tickets are very cheap in China, and the soft sleepers are good. We were picked up by our guide and a car was waiting for us. In Datong we went to see Yugang Caves which stretch for about 1 km and contain thousands of Buddhist statues. The older ones have similar styles to the Bamiyan Buddha that was blown up in Afghanistan. I’d never heard of the place before but it really is worth a visit. Datong itself is a nice old city. There are a few old Chinese temples in the city that we visited. It was once a capital in ancient China.

From Datong we went to Pingyao, another old city. This one is special as it is quite well-preserved and still has ancient walls surrounding the Old Town. Ping Yao was once the “Wall Street” of China, where the first banks were set up. The Old Town is one of major tourist attractions in China so many houses have been converted into guesthouses, restaurants, museums and souvenir shops. But still, we enjoyed wandering the streets. There are also a few old temples around Datong. Shanxi province is famous for its temples. We were “templed-out” by the time we caught the train to Xi’an. The train journey to Xi’an took more than 12 hours. It departed at 6 pm while it was still sunny. I enjoyed it. There were 2 other Chinese passengers who didn’t know each other in our bunker. We tried to communicate, Roy and I with our limited Chinese, the Chinese men with their limited English. Luckily I had a dictionary which was helpful. We managed to have a good conversation and lot of laughter.

Xi’an is a big modern city, the capital of Shaanxi province. It is located in the middle of China. Our tour guide kept emphasizing the fact that Xian has 2200 years of history. Some parts of the city walls are still intact and big drum and bell towers decorated the city. Some parts of the Old Town are also well-kept. We like the Moslem Quarter which is full of street food sellers, small restaurants, cafés and of course souvenir shops. We bought a couple of Chinese paintings and a mahjong set. The highlight of our visit to Xi’an is of course the Army of Terracotta Warriors. The army is housed where they were excavated and now enclosed in 3 large cover halls. The main one housed around 6000 terracotta figures of warriors and horses in a rectangular battle array (many still haven’t been excavated and the majority still haven’t been put together …apparently most were broken when they were discovered). It was amazing to see - each figure has different facial features and expressions. In an exhibition museum, there were a pair of bronze chariots and horses which were still well-preserved - really impressive. The tomb of the Emperor who is guarded by the Army still hasn’t been excavated, waiting for a new technology that will be able to preserve its valuable content.

From Xi’an we flew back to Beijing and spent 2 days to relax and do some shopping. We went to the famous Silk Alley where you can find fake branded goods at reasonable prices. They are not displaying Louis Vitton & Gucci goods openly because they just lost a law suit against those big companies, but they just show pictures of products available J. Roy bought a few clothes, a nice long jacket for winter, a pair of Doc Marten shoes, and a few shirts & jeans. I’ll do my shopping next time (actually I can shop anytime and anywhere as I have an Asian size… that’s Roy’s excuse for doing his). We had too much stuff to take back to site already. We did some shopping in Guiyang before we left for Beijing and left it at the hotel. On our last day in Beijing we went to the Lama Temple, the biggest Tibetan temple outside Tibet. It is cheery and colourful, very different from Chinese temples. 

From Beijing, we flew back to Guiyang and went back to site the following day. The trip wasn’t very smooth. Just like my first trip to site, it took a lot longer than usual. The second highway that we normally take was closed due to big landslides so we had to take the old road. The road was narrow and bumpy, but the scenery was beautiful. I didn’t mind doing it once (or twice). Then there was another landslide closer to the mine. This one was quite funny. A huge truck that was delivering part of the mill tried to get through the slide and got stuck. I’ve figured out that Chinese drivers are very impatient. Well, almost 11 hours since we left Guiyang, we got to site and found that the GM was having diner for the CEO and Chairman of the Board and we were invited. I would have rather slept but we went along anyway. It was quite a good night. The Chairman of the Board is Peter Cassidy, one of the Board Members for Lihir Gold. What a small world. Diner at the GM’s house is always the best. Food is excellent, and we don’t normally talk about work. 

This is the view around our site……

Well, that’s our first trip in China. In July we are going to Mongolia to visit my sister. And September seems to be Yunan. Anyone interested to join us? We are going on an 8 Day Yunnan Adventure tour with “Back Roads of China” website: http://www.backroadsofchina.com. Bye for now. Take care.

Love,

Evi & Roy