Xi An Bell & Drum Tower Hotel Xi'an

... to discover that there are techniques used to create these warriors and the chariots that baffle current scientists. One is how they managed to combined silver and gold to create some necklaces. This place is just full of questions and there is still so much to unearth...one giant jigsaw (let alone the task of piecing together some of the broken warriors) that will take decades to full appreciate. Just means i'm gonna have to come back one day ;-)

... again. We wasn't impressed at all by this as he wanted to continue the whole way, what
is the point in walking for 7 hours and 20km to drop short at the last hurdle.

Conveniently we had a gentlemen and his wife follow us up the river, for about a mile,
encase we needed a lift. After some haggling we managed to get the raft all the way back to Xingping for Y100 which worked out to be an hour and 20 minutes ride. So split 4 ways it was not a bad price.

... to us earlier and decided to invite himself along. We found a good seat around the edge and waited for an hour for it to start. As soon as the fountains began their dance, hundreds of people crowded around us and stood in the way of our new 'friend' who was trying to take photos. He started shouting at them and ended up in an arguement with another western tourist. They were threatening to beat each other up and we slowly ...

... compact that Guangzhou. It's also just steeped in history-you feel it when you get there. When you enter the city from the airport, you go by a large memorial that commemorates the fact that Xi'an was the beginning (or end depending on where you are going) of the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between the West and China. Xi'an was the early capital of China too. You go into the center of the city through gates in the ancient walls with Guard Towers watching over the ...

... other people to come with us and told them we knew the bus routes etc). After a couple of days in Xian we set off to climb Hua Shan, a holy mountain 100km from Xian. Originally the mountain was occupied by Buddhist hermits who chipped out homes in the hard granite mountain face but now it is a tourist mecca with a cable car to the top. This is one of the most amazing mountains I have ever been on in my life. The climb did not start well as we got ...

Onward to glory! Or just another city I guess. We departed from Beijing today. Our destination, Xi'an. Ancient capital of god knows how many dynasties both major and minor, Xi'an, (or Changan, or Xianyang) also served as the eastern terminus of the great Silk Road. For long periods of history, it was not only the wealthiest city in China, but in the world. The ancient Japanese capital of ...

... A top television show host sat nearby us at the posh restaurant last night dressed in stylish jeans. So was everyone in the group we joined. Monte and I are on a new A330 jet from Shanghai to Xi'an, China's oldest city dating back to the Qin Dynasty of 200 B.C.. Perhaps we will find a different China there among the 7,000 terra cotta soldiers, horses, chariots and weaponry. But for now lunch on the flight is being served lunch, "Seafoo o pok?" Xi'an is ...