We left Bejing this morning and flew to Xian. We have learned that the Chinese do not know about personal space. For instance if you are driving and you leave a safe distance between car in front of you, they will cut in front of you. Same things goes for standing in line. If you leave space between you and the person in front of you they will cut in line. So as we waited for our plane at Bejing airport to board and we watched people line up while others cut in line where there was space. Being polite Americans we walked to the back of the line.
There is no zone boarding here. You get in line and get on. Quietly and quickly you store your things and sit down. None of the chatter we are used to on American planes. The ride took just an hour and 40 minutes. But it took 40 minutes after boarding to take off. And can you believe it, we were served a hot meal along with a bottle of water and then later hot tea. No charge. The plane was new, clean and plenty of leg room.
My first impressions of Xian, like Bejing, is that everything is a minute old. Since 1990 that had been a concerted effort to move China forward. Tall, tall buildings everywhere you look and sleek and elegant architecture. Xian is a more beautiful city than Bejing. But don't tall anyone I said that. It has a softness to it that I did not find in Beijing. Flowers for one are beautifully planted in the center of the city. Bejing has beautiful parks as well but thete is something about Xian that appeals to me more for its warmth and beauty
Xian is where the silk road began. Still intact is the 9 mile city wall. We walked up to the wall today. Thete were people renting bicycles and rising the entire wall. I even spotted someone in a Siesta Key beach t-shirt. Others were jogging and still others were just enjoying the beautiful Vistas of the city.
Last night we wandered into the Muslim quarter. Think walking street with food vendors and shopping stalls and literally hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder enjoying the smells and sounds. There was a noodle stand where a man was rolling a giant noodle like throwing pizza dough. Fried squid on a stick as well as octopus. Barry and I plan on doing dinner there tomorrow.
Did I mention how hot it is here. 100 degrees -103. My socks in my sneakers were soaked with sweat. I have never sweated so much in my life
The day was completed with a Tai Chi class, Chinese calligraphy class and a dinner show of traditional dances from Tang dynasty. On to the Terracotta Warriors tomorrow
There is no zone boarding here. You get in line and get on. Quietly and quickly you store your things and sit down. None of the chatter we are used to on American planes. The ride took just an hour and 40 minutes. But it took 40 minutes after boarding to take off. And can you believe it, we were served a hot meal along with a bottle of water and then later hot tea. No charge. The plane was new, clean and plenty of leg room.
My first impressions of Xian, like Bejing, is that everything is a minute old. Since 1990 that had been a concerted effort to move China forward. Tall, tall buildings everywhere you look and sleek and elegant architecture. Xian is a more beautiful city than Bejing. But don't tall anyone I said that. It has a softness to it that I did not find in Beijing. Flowers for one are beautifully planted in the center of the city. Bejing has beautiful parks as well but thete is something about Xian that appeals to me more for its warmth and beauty
Xian is where the silk road began. Still intact is the 9 mile city wall. We walked up to the wall today. Thete were people renting bicycles and rising the entire wall. I even spotted someone in a Siesta Key beach t-shirt. Others were jogging and still others were just enjoying the beautiful Vistas of the city.
Last night we wandered into the Muslim quarter. Think walking street with food vendors and shopping stalls and literally hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder enjoying the smells and sounds. There was a noodle stand where a man was rolling a giant noodle like throwing pizza dough. Fried squid on a stick as well as octopus. Barry and I plan on doing dinner there tomorrow.
Did I mention how hot it is here. 100 degrees -103. My socks in my sneakers were soaked with sweat. I have never sweated so much in my life
The day was completed with a Tai Chi class, Chinese calligraphy class and a dinner show of traditional dances from Tang dynasty. On to the Terracotta Warriors tomorrow
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