Fifty-Second Post From Türkiye: Xi'an, China!!

Xi'an

Our third and final stop in China was Xi'an, one of the most historic cities in China, and the capital of several dynasties, the most interesting of which, in my opinion, was the Tang (618-907 AD). As "Chang'an," the city dominated Inner Asia and was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, where a variety of ethnicities and religions from east and west (including Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Manichaeism) mingled.

The Walls
The walls around the old city are the most complete in China, having been preserved since they were re-constructed in the Ming era (14th century). Riding a bike around the walls (14km/8miles) is one of the great tourist activities in town. Unfortunately, it was not only humid the day we did the ride, but also 37 decrees Celsius/~98 Fahrenheit. As such, Trum enjoyed the first quarter of the ride, Merry enjoyed it until the halfway point, and I was doing good until the 3/4 mark. Each of us barely drug our bikes across the finish line, after we had stopped several times, at strategically placed snack shops, to buy water, Powerade, and other liquids.

Looking fresh at the beginning of the ride.

One of the many watch towers on the wall.

                                                                The Terracotta Army

The most famous site in and around Xi'an is the terracotta sculptures buried with China's first, megalomaniac emperor Qin Shi Huang (3rd century BCE). This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice. But, the enormous hangar built over the excavation was incredibly crowded that day...and incredibly hot.

Trum sweating like a fiend.

There are a few classes of body types (archers, charioteers, etc.), but each face is unique.

The Shaanxi History Museum

This museum houses artifacts from the glory days of the Tang Dynasty, demonstrating the ethnic and religious diversity of those times.

Probably some Sogdian Silk Road traders.

                                                              Big Wild Goose Pagoda

This tower was built in 652 AD to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back to China from India by the great Buddhist monk and traveler Xuanzang. He translated many of the Buddhist classics into Chinese.  

Merry took this picture of a Buddha image, even thought she wasn't supposed to!

The Great Mosque

Built during the Ming Dynasty, this is the largest mosque in China, and uses traditional Chinese architecture. 

A Pagoda-style Minaret

Arabic Inscription

The Prayer Hall

                                                                    The Muslim Quarter

The Great Mosque is located in the Muslim Quarter, where the Hui, or Chinese-speaking Muslims live.

A shadow puppet show 

The Monkey King

The Hui know how to run a bazaar and bargain. I have not had so much fun arguing over junk I didn't need in years.

Mickey Mao Watches

Trying to calculate a bargain

                                                   Tang Dynasty Culture and Dance Show

Our guide in Xi'an was a young woman named "Cassie." She was a young mother, and I think she thought of me as one of her kids. She was super excited about the culture show, which features music from the Tang era, and convinced us to go. It also included a dumpling feast, with dumplings shaped like what they contained (pork, duck, etc.).

Xi'an had a lot of good food, good shopping, and interesting history. Probably would've been better if we had not gone there in August, when we had to drink bottle after bottle of water just to keep from keeling over. 

Fifty-first Post From Türkiye: Lhasa, Tibet!!

Lhasa!

When Seven Years in Tibet came out in 1997 I made my then-girlfriend drive from Pocatello to Idaho Falls to go see it (must've been too exotic to be shown in Poky). I still enjoy watching it, in spite of Brad Pitt's Austrian accent, and it began my fascination with Tibetan Buddhism, history, and culture. The status of Tibet being a sensitive topic as far as China is concerned, means getting in requires extra red tape and extra hassle. When going to Tibet you also have to be concerned with acute mountain sickness (i.e. altitude sickness). At close to 12,000 feet, Lhasa is pretty high up there, but, somehow, I didn't expect to feel the altitude the way I did. But, the moment we walked off the plane, Merry and I felt like we had been beaten over the head with a sack of atmospheric pressure.

On the way we made a stop in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, swelteringly-humid panda country down near Burma.

We saw the fluffiest cotton ball clouds ever on the 'Roof of the World.'

Now, who rules Tibet?

Our local guide was a diminutive Tibetan lady, Pema. She met us at the airport and gave us traditional hadaks (silk scarves).

Our hotel was run by a Nepali family, and decorated in the Nepali style.

From the roof of our hotel we had a great view of the Barkhor area and the Potala Palace.

I turned 40 in Lhasa. Pretty cool.

The Potala Palace at Night

                                                        The Barkhor and Jokhang Temple

The Barkhor is in the old neighborhood of twisting streets and shops around Lhasa's main temple, the Jokhang. The Barkhor is actually a kora, a circuit along which pilgrims circumambulate (ALWAYS clockwise) around the temple. The Jokhang is the holiest temple in Tibet and houses an image of the Buddha brought to the country by the Nepalese wife of King Songtsen Gampo, the 6th-7th-century ruler who introduced Buddhism into Tibet. Our visit to the Jokhang happened to fall on a holy day, and the square in front of the temple was crowded with scads of pilgrims performing prostrations while we and Chinese tourists looked on.

The incense smoke boiling out of the burners on the square choked us, and was only pleasant compared to the overpowering scent of the candles in the temple filled with yak butter. 

The beautiful golden roof of the temple. I've never seen bluer skies in my life.

The beautiful, multicolored portico in the courtyard.

In the narrow, dark corridors of the temple I lost sight of Pema in the crush of supplicants, and near the Buddha image, I thought I was going to have to shield Trum from being trampled.  

Yak Butter Candles

Grumpy monk: two seconds after Merry took this she was warned not to take pics!

the Wheel of Dharma, and the deer recalling the Buddha's first sermon at the deer park in Sarnath, India.

                                                             Ani Tsankhung Nunnery

This is a famous Gelug (the Dalai Lama's sect) nunnery near the Barkhor. We got to see nuns chanting sutras, and printing them.  

Sera Monastery

The Sera is one of the "Three Seats," the most important Gelug monasteries/places of religious learning in Tibet. It hosts the famous monk debates, were monks publicly quiz one another on various matters of Buddhist learning.

One of the monks insisted that Trum needed the good luck/protection from evil, which this mark grants.

Who woulda thought it'd be my fate, smack dab in the middle of a monk debate?

Back in town, we walked the circuit of the Barkhor...very slowly. Anything but the slowest exertions on level ground taxed us beyond belief. We also had to take some mid-day naps, and drink lots and lots of water.

Potala Palace

The Potala Palace (begun in 1645) is the most prominent spot in the landscape of Lhasa. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas until the current/14th fled to India in 1959. By the by, one of our Chinese guides told us, in no uncertain terms, that the current Dalai Lama was a terrorist.

Merry decide to wait in the gardens at the foot of the palace rather than climb the steep stairs. She made a wise decision. Though the interior and its treasures were worth the work, the steps and ladders had my heart thumping thunderously. The clouds of incense inside also exacerbated Trum's asthma, and had him gasping for fresh air. During the tour, our guide pointed out places where Heinrich Harrer had tutored the 14th Dalai Lama, and was happy that I had read his book and seen the movie...even with Brad Pitt's accent.

Norbulingka

The Norbulingka was the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas from the 1780s. Mercifully, unlike the Potala, it is built on flat ground.

The 14th Dalai Lama lived in this building. We saw his wireless and other gifts that were brought over the mountains to him from India.

One of the stupas marking the old entrance to Lhasa.

Other than being ground into the dirt by the altitude, we had a good time in Lhasa. We were able to do a little shopping, and obtain some Tibetan curiosities. We also ate Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan food, including plenty o' yak. I had yak curry and a yak steak, and Truman had a yak burger. I've had yak in the states before, but it was way too gamy. This was excellent! Make the trip just for the yak!