Over our spring break, Christina and I dropped in on our dear friend, Kelly, who happens to live in one of those far away and mystical lands: China! Unfortunately, Kelly was still working so she didn't travel with us as we explored some of the most amazing sites this country has to offer: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Soldiers!
Being the troopers we are, Christina and I headed first to the Great Wall of China. Well, to one of the many places where you can access the wall. I have to say, this was yet another item on my (ever-growing!) bucket list!!
Unfortunately, the weather was not really cooperating. Granted, it was only March, and Beijing is pretty darned far north! It makes me a little bit sad that these photos don't really reflect the awe that I felt when I was standing there.... You'll have to use the power of your own imagination and sense of wonder ~
The wall was cleverly built along a natural ridge, which helped to make it impassable.
Sort of fell in love with these gorgeous blossoms!!!
So, the wall is of course very, very long - but it is also built along a natural ridge which has it's ups and downs!!!!
The ups were the hard part!! ;)
But I made it, one step at a time :)
Luckily, there were towers at which one could stop and take in the view!
Not to say that I was always ready to hike up even more once I passed through the gates of one of the towers!!!!
That's right - I felt quite pleased with myself as I reached the highest point we could climb to (at this access point to the wall)
Christina caught my glee!
Hiking up was totally worth it, but I have to say, the speedy way down was awesome!!!!
Christina and I were so ready for lunch after all that hiking - and it all looked really good...
...until we looked closer!!!! eek!
But as all good and dauntless travelers, we continued exploring this entrancing country:
Ancient wonders and modern wonders ~ The Olympic stadium is really a work of art!
It was fun when Kelly wasn't working and could join us for a walk out in the fresh air... er, um, I mean, for a walk... outside! ;)
On this rainy day, we headed to Tiananmen Square
And the Forbidden City!
It was pretty crowded around the entrances where we could get a peek at the thrones. I had to "fight" my way to the front for this snapshot!
Pretty proud of myself!
The dragon and the phoenix were featured on the finials
Pretty intimidating, I know!
I absolutely loved this old tree ~
How about a ride in a rickshaw? We were even protected from the rain!!!
We saw lots of pretty doorways as we rode through Beijing ~
And here is a view of the Shichahai Lake ~
As we wandered around the Temple of Heaven (Doesn't that just sound amazing?!?!?!?! Yeah, I was there!!), I was smitten with the ceramic "gargoyles"
Making a wish ~
Look what we found! A hole in the wall!! Hahahaha!!!! - See what I did there? ;)
I wasn't the only one getting a bit punchy!!!!
We saw some beautiful art as we made our way around the city, but some of the most gorgeous pieces were here in the artists' shop at the temple - If only I had a gabazillion bucks!!!!!
I found it almost disconcerting, as we drove from one ancient building to another, to then spot a giant modern building!
In addition to the Great Wall, another bucket list item for me was a visit to Xi'an
Where we first explored atop the ancient wall of the city ~
But then we drove out of the city proper....
... where we knew we'd see something beautiful...
... and grand;
...to a place where I met the man who discovered one of this countries most impressive buried treasures.....
What an amazing sight! If you look closely, you'll notice that each soldier is unique (leading some to believe that they were actually modeled after his live soldiers!), and they were originally all painted in vibrant colors!
This is how many of them were actually discovered:
And they had to be carefully reconstructed (a process continuing even today)
You can also see that these unearthed soldiers are actually now protected by a building constructed over them.
And so many more lay, still buried and protected, because as soon as they are unearthed, their colors begin to fade
Nobody here but us terracotta soldiers of Qin Shi Huang....
Luckily, we were in for a really delicious meal on this day of touristing!!! Noodles!!!
Yup, he pulled and twisted and flung that dough until he had a spaghetti-like noodle a million miles long!!!!
This man is simply 'shaving' off chunks of dough into the boiling water!
Everything we tried was yummy!
After lunch we checked out the rest of the museum ~
Here is a long sculpture showing how the army was made:
We also got to look at some of the soldiers up-close and personal
See the color on his back??
They have even found carriages!
Another interesting find in Xi'an? The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda!!!
The life of Buddah - in jade!
Our last day in Xi'an came too soon....
Good bye, China!
Being the troopers we are, Christina and I headed first to the Great Wall of China. Well, to one of the many places where you can access the wall. I have to say, this was yet another item on my (ever-growing!) bucket list!!
Unfortunately, the weather was not really cooperating. Granted, it was only March, and Beijing is pretty darned far north! It makes me a little bit sad that these photos don't really reflect the awe that I felt when I was standing there.... You'll have to use the power of your own imagination and sense of wonder ~
The wall was cleverly built along a natural ridge, which helped to make it impassable.
Sort of fell in love with these gorgeous blossoms!!!
So, the wall is of course very, very long - but it is also built along a natural ridge which has it's ups and downs!!!!
The ups were the hard part!! ;)
But I made it, one step at a time :)
Luckily, there were towers at which one could stop and take in the view!
Not to say that I was always ready to hike up even more once I passed through the gates of one of the towers!!!!
That's right - I felt quite pleased with myself as I reached the highest point we could climb to (at this access point to the wall)
Christina caught my glee!
Hiking up was totally worth it, but I have to say, the speedy way down was awesome!!!!
Christina and I were so ready for lunch after all that hiking - and it all looked really good...
...until we looked closer!!!! eek!
But as all good and dauntless travelers, we continued exploring this entrancing country:
Ancient wonders and modern wonders ~ The Olympic stadium is really a work of art!
It was fun when Kelly wasn't working and could join us for a walk out in the fresh air... er, um, I mean, for a walk... outside! ;)
On this rainy day, we headed to Tiananmen Square
And the Forbidden City!
It was pretty crowded around the entrances where we could get a peek at the thrones. I had to "fight" my way to the front for this snapshot!
Pretty proud of myself!
The dragon and the phoenix were featured on the finials
Pretty intimidating, I know!
I absolutely loved this old tree ~
How about a ride in a rickshaw? We were even protected from the rain!!!
We saw lots of pretty doorways as we rode through Beijing ~
And here is a view of the Shichahai Lake ~
As we wandered around the Temple of Heaven (Doesn't that just sound amazing?!?!?!?! Yeah, I was there!!), I was smitten with the ceramic "gargoyles"
Making a wish ~
Look what we found! A hole in the wall!! Hahahaha!!!! - See what I did there? ;)
I wasn't the only one getting a bit punchy!!!!
We saw some beautiful art as we made our way around the city, but some of the most gorgeous pieces were here in the artists' shop at the temple - If only I had a gabazillion bucks!!!!!
I found it almost disconcerting, as we drove from one ancient building to another, to then spot a giant modern building!
In addition to the Great Wall, another bucket list item for me was a visit to Xi'an
Where we first explored atop the ancient wall of the city ~
But then we drove out of the city proper....
... where we knew we'd see something beautiful...
... and grand;
...to a place where I met the man who discovered one of this countries most impressive buried treasures.....
The Terracotta Army of the first emperor of China!!!
What an amazing sight! If you look closely, you'll notice that each soldier is unique (leading some to believe that they were actually modeled after his live soldiers!), and they were originally all painted in vibrant colors!
This is how many of them were actually discovered:
And they had to be carefully reconstructed (a process continuing even today)
You can also see that these unearthed soldiers are actually now protected by a building constructed over them.
And so many more lay, still buried and protected, because as soon as they are unearthed, their colors begin to fade
Nobody here but us terracotta soldiers of Qin Shi Huang....
Luckily, we were in for a really delicious meal on this day of touristing!!! Noodles!!!
Yup, he pulled and twisted and flung that dough until he had a spaghetti-like noodle a million miles long!!!!
This man is simply 'shaving' off chunks of dough into the boiling water!
Everything we tried was yummy!
After lunch we checked out the rest of the museum ~
Here is a long sculpture showing how the army was made:
We also got to look at some of the soldiers up-close and personal
They have even found carriages!
What a great day!
Another interesting find in Xi'an? The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda!!!
The life of Buddah - in jade!
Our last day in Xi'an came too soon....
Good bye, China!
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