Where are we now? Zhenzhou to destinations uncertain.

The day began with a museum visit. The Henan museum focuses on archeology and has a large collection of ding and dui (cookinng vessels), porcelain, scrolls, and very early musical instruments including an ancient carved bone flute. The stop wasn't long enough for such a fascinating view of history but we whisked through three of the four floors.

 

With time to kill we were left at a mall for shopping and lunch. Well mall prices are dearer than Australia but we had some tasty Vietnamese food for lunch!

We thought we were going to Suzhou next - but we ended up in Hangzou.

Checking in for our short flight to Shanghai we were told we couldn't be seated together, oh well, it was only 90 minutes and I could use the time to catch up on my diary. So I offered to swap seats with Matt, he could have my window in one row and I'd have his middle in another. Lucky me, the person in the aisle either didn't exist or didn't show up so I got two seats! Then another couple of hours in a bus and a late diner. No one will be surprised that things on sticks made another appearance.

 

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

 Today we took an optional trip to the Shaolin Temple, and were relieved to have a later start after a series of late nights and early mornings. First stop was about an hour from our hotel where we watched some school children practising their moves. The school had a large function centre and many trippers were stopping there for lunch before proceeding to the temple.

En route our guide told us that the poor air quality which was causing a lot of coughing and wheezing amongst the group was caused by dust from Mongolia.

Fantastic demonstration of kung fu including fighting, sword swallowing, and weapons use, followed by a visit to the Buddhist temple complex and the pagoda forrest.

Another beautiful place. I keep being surprised by the amount of green space and how clean everything is (except the spitting). We arrived back at the hotel in good time for find our own dinner.

Only a block or so from the hotel we enjoyed a selection of things on sticks assisted by google translate and new friends at the next table who were also keen to share their rice liquor aka fire water! 

Terracotta Walrus

 It was perhaps unfortunate that our lovely guide pronounced warriors as walruses because most of us spent the morning perplexed about what sea creatures had to do with archaeology. It was a very hot day with high air pollution which started with a visit to the Reproduction Factory. A very interesting explanation of how the originals were made and how the reproductions copied them.  All the heads were removable so while the statues themselves were mass produced, the heads and faces and their helms and hairstyles are unique to each figure.

You could even try a uniform on for size.

The coach then took us to a beautiful park where we negotiated our way past hoards of touts to visit the archaeology site. Originally discovered in 1974 by local farmers the size of the site was astonishing. 

The largest pit (pit 1) contained 100s of models of infantry soliders, supposed to be modeled on real life members of the army and destined to accompany the first Qin (pronounced Chin as in China) Emperor into the afterlife. It was very hot, dark, and crowded as we made our way through the crowds. I was surprised that I can see the remnants of colour on many of my photos as I had understood that the colour had disappeared as the models were exposed to the air.

Next up was pit 3, the command centre. Here you can find the generals and officers.

Finally, pit 2 where the horses, remnants of chariots, as well as cavalrymen. Still a work in progress with much still unexcavated, it's also where the first aid takes place on the statues.

As we were leaving the park we had the opportunity to meet one of the farmers who made the original discovery. They were happy to shake hands and be photographed.

One of the most amazing stops on our visit, something I really didn't appreciate the size and scale of  - as well as the artistry - until I saw it in person.

Another fast train, this time only a bit over 2 hours before we arrived in Zhengzhou. Unfortunately our hotel was another hour away on the bus but this gave us a head start for the next days plans.

Doctor doctor!

 Our final day in Beijing featured a visit to a Traditional Chinese Medicine facility where we were told about the importance of keeping the humours balanced and how the doctors could diagnose underlying health conditions simply by looking at your hands, your tongue and taking your pulse. Prescriptions were offered but I decided to take mine home with me rather than getting it filled. We were also offered massages which were very welcome after yesterday's exertions.

We then had some free time to wander around the shopping district and find our own lunch before joining a fast train to Xi'an. Not so thrilled about high end malls we wandered back towards the Forbidden City and the Hutong area.

We found noodles which were very tasty. The bowl was presented to us with all the component parts on display - sadly I wasn't quick enough to get a photo before the chef tossed together ready for us to enjoy.

I still am not sure what sort of shelter was in the gardens but we saw some interesting art installations on the way back to rejoin the group and head to the station.

The train is huge - we are in carriage 14 and there are several more behind us. The train is currently travelling over 300km an hour. Staff come through regularly mopping the floor and selling warm and hot drinks, snacks, and checking on passenger welfare.