21 October 2010 - Xi'an to Nanjing
Would be Facebook status: Jess Mah will always be aiming for the top bunk on an overnight train.
I'm updating this blog from our second overnight train trip - this time from Xi'an to Nanjing. I left off as we were about to take in Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing.
BEIJING, Oct 19 - The Square is bordered by the Chinese Natural History Museum, Chairman Mao's Musoleum, the Forbidden City and The Great Hall of the People. Even from 9am there were kilometres of people lined up from one end to see Mao's tomb - mainly Chinese in tour groups made conspicous by their leaders' flags and the groups matching caps or jackets. We gathered at the other end of the square near the flag pole for a history lesson from our guide about the Square, Mao, Sun Yetcheng and the Tian'anmen Square massacre - probably a very different historical recount from that which the Chinese tour groups were receiving.
It was a freezing cold day which made the concrete square appear even greyer, but we pushed through to the Forbidden City, passing through the walls of the Outer Imperial City and Inner imperial city first. Never thought my toque and gloves which I'd packed for London would have come in so handy so soon!
Inside the walls was just as swarming with people as outside, fantastic buildings but it's a shame that all their contents are in Taipei instead of in their original residence. After battling the crowds and exiting through the gardens crammed with twisted trees, boulders, pagodas and cast iron pots, we trekked up to the pagoda atop Jinshan Park for a view over the Forbidden City to the Square. Munching on bbq-ed yam on the way to keep the cold and hunger at bay.
We returned to our hotel via the artist's area of Beijing where the shops were crammed with calligraphy supplies and killed time before our train at our 'local' - a tiny hutong restaurant with 5 yuan long necks ($0.80AUD) and 10 yuan ($1.40AUD) for 10 steamed dumplings. Yum!
Never seen a train station like Beijing West - Grand Central in New York has nothing on it and I'm sure it's larger than many international airports. Packed with people is an understatement, but I see now why it was necessary to get there an hour and a half ahead of time as when the gates open and the crowd surges I guess it must be akin to running with the bulls. The train itself was fine, better than what I experienced in Vietnam and the food looked good - but I stuck to my pot noodles. The toilet left a lot to be desired, especially the next morning, but then, so does every toilet in China.
Xi'an was a much bigger city than I expected and we headed straight out of town to the Terracotta Warriors. Again, not quite what I expected in terms of display. The first pit of warriors is inside an huge aircraft hangar. Luckily we got there before the touts, shops and other tourists and were able to enjoy them in relative peace. Horses, cavalry, infantry, archers, all once brightly painted, carrying real bronze and chrome plated weapons, though now faded and cracked, still resonated of Emperor Qin's former glory and undoubtedly equally illustrious after-life.
The second and third pits were enclosed inside more museum-like structures, with relics on display such as teh bronze chariots and three complete, undamaged specimens of a standing archer, kneeling archer and general. A video probably 35 years old still plays to describe why the warriors came into being and how they were discovered by a farmer - who incidentally still man's his own bookstore inside the complex's gift shop.
Our afternoon in Xi'an was spent exploring the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the town centre. Each had a musical display by very disinterested, costumed locals bored of playing to tourists. I founda gorgeous little Chinese girl more interesting to take photos of as she played hide-and-seek with my camera.
We strolled to the Muslim quarter and ran the gammet of tourist stalls to the Great Mosque - which really doesn't look like a mosque at all. It's get in the traditional Chinese temple style but with more Arabic writing on the walls, archways and stones as opposed to the Chinese characters. The most peaceful religious building I've been to yet as the Chinese aren't interested in it and it is frequented only by a few Westerners and the worhshippers themselves.
On the way out I succombed to buying a few presents at the markets, including figner painted bookmarks by the local artist who sold them - something original at least. We weaved our way out of the quarter scowered the city for a watering hole - eventually finding one with 3 yuan long necks ($0.50 AUD) - the cheapest yet!
Later that evening we met our guide for dinner back in the Muslim quarter. This time the night markets were in full swing and a paved street became filled with stalls selling everything from those annoying wooden frog instruments to whistles, scarves, chopstick, jewellery and all manner of satayed food. We ate out on the street, in a car park actually, where each car space was replaced with tables and chairs by the local restaurants as the vehicles vacated. Perhaps 100 beef and lamb satay sticks later we ventured back to the market for some serious haggling. Also tried some of the local alcohol - potent as firewater - tastes dreadful but comes in a cool twisted clay bottle.
Our second day in Xi'an was spent cycling along the top of the city's wall - from the South Gate to the East, then North, West and back to the South gate. Really interesting way to see the city from the inside and out. A flat but bump cobble stoned ride.
Again we rambled through the artist's quarter past calligraphy stores, artists painting calligraphy on the side of the road, even a crippled without his left forearm grasping a tiny brush in his stub and painting the smalleset most intricate characters onto a fan. We got kind of lost amongst the hole-in-the-wall food places and the huge shopping malls until we eentually located the Bell tower and from there navigated back to our hotel.
Another long wait at an over-crowded train station awaitng in Xi'an....

NANJING, Oct 22 -
Would be Facebook status - Jess is dumplinged- out.
I'm now in Nanjing after about a 18hr train ride from Xian. That was long and very boring. Hardly slept because getting bottom bunk sucks. You hear all the snoring, the smell from the toilet and get the lights in your eyes. Even a sleeping pill didn't help and I spent much of the night listening to the snoring symphony around me.
In the morning, this old Chinese woman sharing the bunk bay with us had their sister and her husband join her and they attempted to have a conversation with us. They didn't understand when I said I was from Australia so I drew them a map. They were astounded that Kiri and I found it hot in the train and were wearing cargo shorts and singlets and they kept touching our bare arms and legs. I think they were saying I didn't look completely Western in my complexion but I didn't know how to say I was half Chinese - I am terrible at charades and those types of games so you can imagine how I tried to explain that in hand gestures. Anyway they took photos of us and smiled a lot. It was sweet.
Not much to report since cycling Xi'an's walls. It seems to always be foggy / cloudy in China's cities so its never as nice as when there'd be blue skies. And I've got a sore bum from the uncomfortable bike! Lots of Chinese gates, laterns adorning the top of the walls and a bizarre smattering of what looked like abandoned floats from a parade - felt like cycling through Lewis Carol's Wonderland for a while there.
Nanjing is quite a nice city with canals, parks, sky scrapers yet trees overaching the streets. It was that capital of the republic of China from around 1911 and was the site of "the rape of Nanjing" - a massacre over over 300,000 Chinese by the Japanese army. So we spent the afternoon at the Massacre Museum, which was a very well-laid out museum / memorial and a sobering experience. On a similar level to the Vietnam War Museum in Ho Chi Minh City or the Killing Fields in Cambodia - horrific, solemn reminders of human cruelty and the atrocities of war.
Tomorrow will be more exploring of Nanjing, probably Sun Yatsen's tomb (the founder of modern China) and various other historic sites given the city's significance as a former capital.

Stay tuned for the next updates and photos eventually.