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Greetings! I am glad that you could join me in my travels to China! Follow me daily to see what adventures I and my fellow administrators from Pennsylvania are encountering as we travel through the countryside and cities of China.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Day 2 Blog

Sightseeing: The City Wall and South Gate Tower with a bicycle tour, The Museum of Forest of Steles, Hot Pot Lunch, the Big Goose Pagoda, The History Museum, a Dumpling Banquet and show.

After a most interesting breakfast, we set off to see the City Wall. Built by the Ming Dynasty, it is the only standing city wall I all of China. We first watched a demonstration and performance of Ming warriors and percussionists, then set out on bicycles to tour the entire city atop the wall. Connie and I decided to hop on a tandem bike, and by the time the entire 13 kilometer ride was over, we were again exhausted. Our bus was ready to take us to lunch, and we dined at a restaurant that specialized I hot pot meals. There were 6 of us at each table, and when the water in our pot boiled we took pieces of vegetables, meat, noodles, and even raw eggs and cooked them in our pot. Very interesting! I am trying to use my chopsticks whenever I can. After lunch we toured the Shaanxi Museum, known for it's artifacts from this province. The weather was warm, sunny (I think that was the sun), and the museum collection featured pieces that were prehistoric, as well as those from the Q'in, Tang and Han Dynasties. Beautiful! Some of us shopped, but most are waiting to go later when the prices will be cheaper!
We returned to the hotel for a brief rest, then went to the Tang Dynasty Theatre for dinner and a show. Dinner was the regional specialty, steamed dumplings. We had 20 different types, filled with pork, duck, chicken, tomatoes, walnuts, and other vegetables. Each kind was made to resemble what was inside! A few beers later, and some baby dumplings soup, which was supposed to bring you good luck if you got a dumplings in your bowl (I got none), the show began. It was a beautiful display of the music of the Tang Dynasty.. The costumes were spectacular!

Pictures to follow.

1 comment:

  1. Beth,
    Thank you for keeping us posted on your China trip! It sounds like quite an adventure and I'm looking foward to seeing some pictures.
    I'm sorry you didn't get a good luck dumpling in your soup, but did you at least get a good fortune cookie?
    Marge R

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