Pingyao Hotel

... to find out what monstrous job could need all those shovels - even going as far as walking in line with them for several blocks, subjecting myself to their stares and more giggles - but the conversation goes no further. I've exhausted their English. <br> <br> It's cold here, everywhere. The old buildings lack any sort of insulation, and to their credit the Chinese like to conserve heat, so indoors is hardly warmer than out. I hadn't showered in three days because of the cold, so I ...

... tarjosivat myös sinertävää ankanmunaa, mutta kieltäydyin kohteliaasti tarjouksesta. Kiinalaiset napostelevat tiheään kananjalkoja, joiden katsominen pelkästään tekee pahaa.<br><br>Pingyao on yksi Kiinan parhaiten säilyneistä vanhoista kaupungeista, jota ympäröi muuri. Saavuimme pikkukaupunkiin aamun sarastaessa, jolloin se oli parhaimmillaan. Paikka oli kuitenkin nähty muutamassa tunnissa ja loppupäivä meni kickeriä ja biljardia pelaillen.<br>

Day 2 <br><br>We get to the beautiful old town of Pingyao around 11am after unsuccessfully trying to hitch 30km from the service station and taking a local bus instead. <br><br>There's this great hostel inside the old town called Yamen hostel - it's in the LP. I stayed here last time with Ilka although it's much warmer and less touristy than the May holidays last year. <br><br>The first day of hitchhiking in China was tough ...

... je anderhalf uur eerder ook al was, met een bellende taxichauffeur. En dan niks.. gewoon wachten. Nogmaals: ik haat wachten in het algemeen en ik haat wachten in het bijzonder als ik niet weet waarop ik wacht. Het liefst pak je zijn telefoon af, gooi je m (de telefoon en de chauffeur en het afgesproken maandsalaris) uit het raam en rij je zelf verder (niet dat dat opschiet, alle borden zijn in het Chinees en IK weet in ieder geval niet waar Pingyao ligt. (bovendien mag je als ...

... The ticket hall was a very good example of what the Chinese call "people mountain people sea". It would have taken an hour to barge our way to the ticket window to find out that there were no tickets available for a day or so. Or that was my fear anyway. So we fell back on the slightly ill advised plan B, aka minivan. Minivans and private cars often wait in car parks near stations. When they fill up with passengers for a particular destination, they leave. But you have to bargain for ...

... in the cool breezed that danced gracefully on the timeworn bluestones beneath our feet. The night was simply beautiful! I found out she was actually from Tiayuan City and her parents and brother still live there. She on the other hand was moved to her grand parents in Changsha City (Hunan Province) when she was fourteen and spent her entire school life ...

... back up to Beijing in time for the Olympics. Beers N Noodles toya¡&shy;..shane _______________________________________ __________________ The soundtrack to this entry was by The Doors The album was 'In Concert' _______________________________________ ___________________ Wang Family Courtyard House or Wang Jia Dayuan: Wang's Compound is located in Jingsheng Town, Lingshi County, 35 ...

We arrived at 7:20am. We were picked up by our transfer 'taxi' - see photo! Our initial perception on Ping Yao was a dirty, big, chaotic city like Datong. However, this image was soon dispelled once we had gone inside the old city wall. Motorised vehicles aren't allowed inside the central area inside the walls but our taxi got through somehow. The hustle and bustle of the city changed to quaint, old buildings with intricately carved wooden fronts ...

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... bit of an oddity, the town has somehow been spared the relentless modernisation that seems to have been plaguing China and is about 90% original Ming or Qing construction. Not so ornate as the temples in Beijing, but an actual proper city still surrounded by the original walls, it is fascinating just to walk about the streets. It feels like stepping back in time, or at least it would if the local authorities would do the decent thing and close the city to ...