Author Archives: pmichael

Day 6 – Guilin City Tour and Evening Cruise

We left Xi’an in the morning and flew to Guilin for what would be a relaxing two-day stay. After visiting Beijing with over 21 million people and Xi’an with over 10 million people, Guilin with its population of approximately 800,000 felt small. Rebuilt after its destruction by the Japanese during WWII, Guilin is known for its canal system and the surrounding picturesque limestone mountains. We had a chance to stop and take a stroll in the Two Rivers & Four Lakes Scenic Area before checking into the Shangri-La Hotel.
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Two Rivers & Four Lakes Scenic Area, Guilin


Four #1 Scholars

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The Shangri-La Hotel has gardens and (believe it or not) a mini-zoo with ostriches, peacocks, ducks, chickens, pigeons, pheasants and Australian black swans. The ostriches and peacocks appeared annoyed that I hadn’t brought any food.

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Mini-Zoo, Shangri-la Hotel, Guilin

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After a buffet dinner in the U Bar in the hotel, we went on an evening cruise in the Two Rivers & Four Lake Scenic Area to see the illuminated urban landscape, including several pavilions with live performances by musicians, dancers and acrobats.

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Evening Cruise, Two Rivers & Four Lakes Scenic Area, Guilin


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Day 5 – Terracotta Warriors and the Ancient Xi’an City Wall

Today was the day most (if not all) of us were waiting for. We got an early morning start and visited Pit #1 at the Terracotta Warriors site. There are approximately 8,000 life-size figures with individualized facial features that were discovered in three pits and are believed to have depicted actual people living at the time the figures were made. Other findings at the site include jade decorated armor, bronze water birds, musician and acrobat figures and shell money. There are ongoing efforts to restore the damaged figures, but some remain headless since the original faces cannot be recreated.

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Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum


Kneeling Archer

Officer

No. 1 Bronze Chariot and Horses
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After lunch at the Qin Restaurant of Real Love, a Tang Dynasty-themed restaurant, we walked the ancient Xi’an city wall. It is the most complete ancient city wall in China and is a popular place for cycling and walking.
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Ancient City Wall in Xi’an


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Day 4 – Han Yan Ling Underground Mausoleum and Museum

This morning we left Beijing and flew to Xi’an. We visited the Han Yan Ling Underground Mausoleum and Museum, which in my opinion was the best visit on the tour so far as there were way fewer people and much more to see. The mausoleum/museum, the joint tomb of Emperor Liu Qi of the Han Dynasty and Empress Wang, has an amazing collection of artifacts. While some are in display cases, others have been left for viewing in the excavation site. Visitors can actually walk over the excavation site on glass floors, allowing you to see directly into it.
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Han Yan Ling Underground Mausoleum and Museum

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We stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel for the next two nights. The photos below show the view of downtown Xi’an from my room and the hotel entrance as well as a lobby poster describing the historic landmarks in Xi’an. This evening I enjoyed an American-style dinner (complete with Australian beef and wine and selections from the salad and dessert bars) in the hotel’s Yi Cafe.


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Day 3 – Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Temple of Heaven

The beautiful weather continued on this busy, active, and very crowded day that started early at Tiananmen Square. China’s National Holiday was one week away, and a mega-sized floral display had already been set up. Security forces, while relatively unobtrusive, were definitely visible.

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Tiananmen Square

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The Forbidden City (open only to imperial family members and invited officials during dynastic times – thus its name) turned out to be an unexpected challenge. There were many stairs with no railings and a huge crush of people, and tripping and falling were a constant concern. It was a bit of a disappointment as this was an exterior tour only; there are no interior tours because of the excessive numbers of tourists. A multi-course lunch at Lost Heaven, located in the former U.S. Embassy and specializing in Yunnan cuisine, was a much welcome break.

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Forbidden City

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After lunch, we visited the Temple of Heaven complex, which is now a public park. We had a tai chi demonstration and were invited to try some of the moves ourselves.

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Temple of Heaven Complex

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On the way back to the hotel, some of our group chose to do some shopping at the Pearl Market (aka Hongqiao Market), but the rest of us, still adjusting to the 12-hour time change, decided to catch up on some much-needed sleep. We had another great dinner in Brasserie 1893, a French restaurant, in our hotel.

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Pearl Market, Beijing


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Day 2 – Great Wall and Beijing Hutong

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Our adventures in China began today with a walk on the Great Wall in the Badaling Section. The air pollution that was noticeable in the city yesterday was gone this morning, probably due to the strong winds, and we had blue skies and great weather throughout the day. Our local Beijing guide gave us a cultural overview of China on our bus ride. She talked about China’s desire to modernize and keep up with the West, the educational system and the pressure on children to succeed, the desire of young people to learn English and move to the cities for jobs and away from farming (which is unprofitable), China’s pride in (and economic boost from) hosting the Olympics, the loss of old Beijing with the destruction of the hutongs and their replacement with high-rises, and the history of the Great Wall.

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Entrance of the Waldorf Astoria in Beijing

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The Great Wall, built during different dynasties, is over 13,000 miles long. On our arrival at the Badaling Section, which is the most popular with visitors, we had a choice of taking the easier walk or the more difficult walk, and naturally I chose the more difficult one! I actually went a good distance (about 3/4 of the way up) before the height of the steps became somewhat intimidating, so I decided to stop where I was at and told my fellow travelers to go on. While waiting for their return, I had plenty of time to enjoy the view.

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Views from the Great Wall

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After our visit to the Wall, we had a family-style Cantonese lunch with numerous dishes at the Commune By The Great Wall, a contemporary style hotel.

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Commune By The Great Wall

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After lunch, we visited one of Beijing’s hutong areas and had a cycle rickshaw tour around the neighborhood. A local family graciously invited us into their home.

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Touring a Beijing Hutong by Cycle Rickshaw and On Foot

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Dinner was on our own this evening, and I joined some of our group for dinner at TRB Bites at the Courtyard, which is near the East gate of the Forbidden City. We had a five-course dinner consisting of small plates of European-style cuisine; the food and service were excellent. To get a sense of the menus, see this review: TRB Bites at the Courtyard

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