I have finally managed to go through my 1,000 plus photos and upload some (a lot!) to the photos section.  The photos can be found at: China 2017 Photos.  I have also added a few short video clips from the trip and these are found at a link on the photo page or HERE.  

Not too early of a morning today as we weren’t meeting our guide, Ling, until 9 am.  Got ready for the final day of sightseeing in a leisurely fashion and had some breakfast. We met Ling in the lobby and drove for almost an hour to the Terracotta Warrior site.  Lots of tourists as it’s Sunday.   We walked into the area and then down a garden path to the entrance – a bit of a walk!  They first pit was discovered in 1974, accidentally, when some farmers were digging a well.  One of the farmers, who is now in his eighties, apparently attends the site regularly to meet with tourists.   Unfortunately, he wasn’t there today but I did manage to get a book that he signed.  The first pit is the largest and is located in an airplane hangar type building.   The first section when you walk in is the army in battle formation.   The figures were reconstructed as there was originally a wooden roof over them, covered with dirt.   When the roof was burned by robbers, the dirt collapsed onto to army.  After the reconstructed figures there are some sections to be unearthed and since sections where they are reconstructing the pieces (terracotta “hospital”, as Ling described it).  Pit 1 was packed with tourists and groups and you had to be assertive if you wanted to take pictures or move.   My Canon Powershot SX720 with the 40x zoom worked well and I was able to get some pretty decent shots ?. After spending 40 minutes in Pit 1 (seems like a lot but you need it just to move around the pit and take a few photos) we stopped in the museum shop where I bought a couple of books.   Passed on the life-sized warrior replicas – not sure how many of those they sell… We then went to the museum building to see the bronze chariots recovered from a pit near the emperor’s tomb, which was 1/2 a mile or so away.  The chariots were less than life-sized but were still impressive.  Packed around the exhibit cases but I managed to get some okay shots.   One is a replica as the original is on loan to a museum in Shanghai. We then moved on to Pit 2 and Pit 3, which were discovered a couple of years later.   Pit 2 did not have much uncovered except for some broken up bits.  However the building housed 4 reconstructed different types of figures – a horseman, a general, an archer and a kneeling archer – all surrounded by the crowds.   Took a few photos and moved onto Pit 3.   Pit 3 had a small number of figures and they appeared to be higher ranking and it may have been a “headquarters” as they were mostly facing each other.   Not too many people here so we were able to get some decent photos.  We then headed out of the sight and to the little village nearby to have lunch in a farmer’s house turned restaurant for some tourists.   The food was great and different from that we’ve had previously.   Lots of dishes and even some caramel apple slices for dessert! After lunch we then headed back to the hotel, arriving around 3:30 or so – a longer day then expected.   Took a bit of a break in the hotel after saying goodbye to the others (we’d be leaving on different flights tomorrow).  Was feeling pretty lazy but managed to head out to the South Gate to take some photos.   Walked around for a bit as the sun was starting to go down.   There seemed to have been some kind of walk or run on the walk today as there were signs and lots of people with t- shirts. After taking some photos headed back to the hotel.   Wasn’t really hungry after the massive lunch so just bought a pack of chips in a not-very-appetizing sounding “Numb and Spicy Hotpot Flavour”. Packing and working on my final blog before heading to bed.   Will be posting more photos in an album on the photo page once I get home.   For some reason the mobile version only wants to let me add one photo at a time.   China has been great and I’ll definitely be back to explore some others areas!

The train arrived at Xi’an on time at 8:15.  I managed to sleep well and only got up once.  Spent the last 2 hours lounging around and looking out the window at the scenery – first some hills and then farmland.  The disembarking was easy and we made our way out of the station and met our Xi’an guide out front.  Lots of people around the station, which is located just at the city wall.   Walked a few blocks to our minibus, which took us to our hotel.  Had some breakfast at the hotel and a quick shower before meeting the guide for an orientation walk.  We walked to the Bell Tower and then through the bazaar and Muslim Quarter to the Grand Mosque.  We had a tour inside the mosque grounds, which were very peaceful and relaxing with gardens and various buildings.   We then carried on through the bazaar and its numerous stalls of various food and snacks.   We walked to the Drum Tower and then back around towards our hotel.   Some of us stopped for lunch at a handmade noodle shop.  I had some beef on noodles with a bit of spice, which was just right.    Then headed back to the hotel for a bit of z rest as I was feeling a bit tired.   Took a bit of a nap and then got up to head back out to the bazaar to get some souvenirs and take some night shots.  The bazaar was still packed with lots of people shopping and buying snacks.   Took some photos and headed back to the hotel for some rest.   

Tried to sleep in a bit today but ended getting up around 6 or so.   Got my stuff organized and had some breakfast.  Felt a bit lazy so lounged about the room before meeting some of the others for lunch.  Hung out in the restaurant and had a few beers with everyone as we waited for our final briefing about the trip to Xi’an.   Due to security issues, only passengers with tickets can enter the train station so our guide had to leave us at the door.   We managed to make it through security, to our lounge and gate and onto the train without any issues.  The journey is about 12 hours so we should be in Xi’an around 8:30 tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I’ll manage to get some sleep tonight!

Booked the city bike tour today so got to sleep in a bit before meeting at 9.  Had some breakfast and then, somewhat apprehensively met the others and our guide in the lobby for the bike tour.   While most of the streets in Beijing seem to have separated bike lanes, our tour was going to take us into the hulongs, which are a labyrinth of narrow, maze-like lanes, full of people, bikes, scooters and vehicles.  We took the subway north, changing 3 times to get to the stop near the Bell and Drum Towers.   We got our bikes and helmets and tested then out.   One of my brakes was loose and broken so they quickly replaced it.   Got ready and set out south, towards the Forbidden City. I was pretty shaky at first but managed to calm down by the time we reached the hill behind the Forbidden City.  We parked and locked our bikes.   They conveniently have a built in lock on the rear tire so it is super easy to park then safely.   We then headed into the pagoda park.  It is normally pretty quiet but there was a peony festival going on so it was busy but very festive and lively.   Tried out some ribbon twirling and headed up the hill to the pagoda.  There were some amazing views from the top of the city and the Forbidden City.  It definitely gave you a much better appreciation of just how large the Forbidden City is.  We walked back to our bikes and then headed into the hutongs.  The riding was surprisingly pleasant and not as chaotic as I expected.   The people are accustomed to bikes and multi users of the roads so it was pretty easy to get through.  We made a few stops for some history of some of the buildings.   We also stopped at a couple of schools our guide went to as a child.  We then carried on to a restaurant which specialises in liver and intestines.   Apparently the former U.S. vice president, Joe Biden, visited and tried the liver and intestine soup and the pork dumplings so we tried them as well.   I was the only one besides our guide that finished a bowl of the soup.   One other man got pretty close.  The dumplings were good – more like a steamed bun.  After lunch we carried on and ended up back near the Bell and Drum Towers.  We took some photos and then carried on to a lake, where the wealthy, including Jackie Chan, have houses.  We rode around the lake and some touristy hutong streets before heading back to the towers, where we returned our bikes.   We then walked/climbed up the Drum Tower.  At the top were a number of large drums.   The Drum and Bell Towers were used to report the time to the people.   At the top there was a street performer doing an act, which involved swallowing a large metal ball and the spitting it out. We were also lucky enough to get to experience the drumming.   Took a video, which I’ll post when I return home – quite entertaining.  We then returned to our hotel by subway by about 5.   Had a shower and then met some of the others in the coffee shop for a drink.   Tried some “Great Wall” local white wine – wouldn’t recommend it!  Tasted almost fortified but not.  Very odd taste.  A group of us then headed to the restaurant across the street for the final dinner for some that were leaving tomorrow and not doing the extension.   A nice dinner.   Sadly said goodbye to four of the others before calling it an early night.   Need to get a good sleep as we’ve got the overnight train to Xian tomorrow. 

Slept pretty well back in the “soft” bed in Beijing after the long day yesterday.   Had some fried eggs on rice for breakfast with some sausages and fried potatoes.   Tried the hawthorne juice today – kind of a floral citrus taste.   Met the group for our trip to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace.   We walked through a hutong, an old style neighborhood, on the way to Tiananmen Square.  Apparently there used to be thousands of hutongs in Beijing but now there are only around 900.   We made our way to the square, stopping to take some photos of the old city gates near the square.   We then made our way through the security and onto the square.   It is very large and imposing.  We took some photos of the square as well as the entrance to the Forbidden City, with the well known photo of Chairman Mao. Then we crossed over to the Forbidden City to tour through the massive grounds.  A lot of buildings and walking!  Lots of tourists in the two areas.  The Forbidden City was the home and workplace of the emperors. After the tour we headed back to the hotel  via the subway.  Back at the hotel we stopped for some lunch and a bit of a rest.   Tried some pizza for lunch and it was not bad.  Updated my blogs and got ready but didn’t manage to get much rest in before it was time to meet for the acrobatic show and dinner.  We walked to the show, which was very impressive and definitely worthwhile to see!  One of the acts included 6 motorcycles racing around in a cage ball! After the show most of us went to three goodbye dinner as tomorrow was a free day and some people had very early flights the next day so there would likely not be a group dinner.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a drink before heading to bed to rest up for the bike tour tomorrow. 

An earlier start today to avoid the potential rain forecasted later in the day.   Last day in the countryside so had to pack up before breakfast. This morning was very windy but they sky was blue so it didn’t look like rain.  Another good breakfast today – got some fried rice. After breakfast we brought our bags down and said goodbye to the homestay owner.   It was a very pleasant past 3 days so it was a bit sad to leave.   We bused back to where we ended yesterday and climbed up the wall to continue on from where we left off to the East Five Window tower, which was about 7 km, I believe.  It was a spectacular day for walking – blue sky with a nice breeze.   We walking the whole day along the wall so it was relatively easy going.   There were lots of steps up and down and a few sections with steep paved ramps, which were more challenging than the steps – would not want to do those bits in the rain.  The pace today was nice so there was plenty of time for photos.   It was difficult to go more than a few metres without wanting to take more photos.  Plus, this whole section was pretty empty.   Would definitely recommend heading out to this section instead of the tourist part closer to Beijing.  Once we made it to the East Five Window tower we descended from the wall down a large number of steps.   We got to the bus and headed to a place for lunch run by the lady that brought us the stuffed pancakes to the tower yesterday.   The lunch was good – lots of dishes. We then headed back towards the wall to visit a paper cutting studio.   We had a demonstration and then got to try our own – turned out not too bad.   I ended up buying a papercut to frame and hang on my wall.  After the papercut studio we got back on the bus to head back to Beijing, stopping in the way at the Olympic Village.  Took a quick walk around the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nursery Nest Stadium.    We then got back on the bus for the drive through Beijing rush hour to the hotel.  Took a quick break at the hotel to change before heading out to a hotpot dinner.   The hotpot was great with a spicy and a plain side with lots of beef, lamb and fish as well as vegetables.   We ordered the spicy side as “moderate” but probably should have stuck with the mild as the moderate was very spicy! After dinner we went back to the hotel for some sleep after a long day!

Another start at 7:20 for breakfast.   A nice breakfast today with fried eggs, vegetable pancake things, apples and cake things.   Got ready and we headed out at 8:10.   Took the bus to the starting point where we would walk through a small village.   Got a bit concerned when our guide warned us to avoid coming into contact with any of the dogs as they might have rabies!  We saw a few dogs, including one cute little black one, that didn’t appear to have rabies.   Still, no one touched the dogs.  We then climbed up a hill to a very old section of the wall built around 2000 years ago.   This section was made of earth and not stone.  We had a bit of a jaunt along this section, which was pretty narrow and crumbling.  We carried on and the wall changed into the more typical structure of bricks.   Today was the longest day but definitely the most enjoyable as most of the walking was on a nice flat section of the top of the wall.   We carried on along the “Flying Dragon” section for a long time, stopping periodically for breaks in the various towers.  In one tower our guide showed us the bricks where the builders stamped their mark (a former of quality control to tell whose section may be inferior). We stopped at the 24 window tower for lunch.   A local woman brought us hot cooked stuffed pancakes made of pork and vegetables.  It was very tasty but steaming hot, which was pretty impressive considering she took a motorcycle and then hiked about 30 minutes or so up a steep hill to the tower.  The views from the tower were amazing as we could see a large stretch of the morning’s hike as well as yesterday’s section off in the distance.  After lunch we hiked down from the wall as the wall carried on through a restricted military zone.  We hiked down a steep and sandy section through a forest and on through some corn fields.  We then wandered up and down through some farmland.   The weather was clouding over and a bit windy but pleasant for walking.  We descended into a valley to, as our guide referred, the “Tricky Man’s house”.  It was a farm where they sold cold drinks, ice cream and snacks and had a good bathroom.   Had an iced canned coffee and relaxed for a bit.  We then carried on up a steep hill back to the wall for about 35 minutes.   Got back on the wall at a very uncrowded tourist section and walked for a bit more.  This section was even more impressive as it was uncrowded and stretched out in both directions, making for some great photos! We then descended from the wall and wandered through a craft market near the wall, which apparently sold reasonably priced souvenirs.  We then stopped for coffee/ beer at a coffee shop before getting in the bus for the ride back to the hotel.  As we were walking back to the bus our guide mentioned that he had heard from the man in the coffee shop that the road to this section of the wall may be closed for 6 months or so next week for improvements and that we may be the last group for this company this year to get to see this section.   Very glad I chose these dates! Had time for a shower before dinner.   Dinner was great today – some pork and cabbage dumplings, which were more like steamed buns, some chicken, pork, fried rice and vegetables.  Feeling tired from the long day so back to the room after some chatting to pack and get to sleep.   Tomorrow is the last day on the wall.  Was thinking 5 days night be too much this morning but after today, I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Not too early of a start this morning – breakfast at 7:20.  After breakfast we took a short drive to where we would be walking.   Today’s walk to the wall was much easier than the last two days.    The weather was cloudier than yesterday but it seemed warm and a bit humid.   We hiked along and alongside a section of the wall that was destroyed by the Japanese during the Second World War and known as the Crouching Tiger section of the wall.   Today’s walk was also just a return walk but not too touristy.    Got back for lunch at 1:10, which was noodles today with a bunch of different dishes.   They chicken and beef were tasty.   We the had a bit of a rest until tai chi near the wall.  Had a shower and got ready for tai chi.  We walked to the tower area for our 70 minute lesson, which was more like follow the leader.   We practiced the steps of a 24 step routine in sections and then did the full routine to music beside the wall.  We were surprisingly quite coordinated and in sync! Then back to the hotel for our group meeting before dinner.   Dinner was quite good tonight – everyone seemed to like most of the food.  8 pm and was ready for bed.   A long day of hiking tomorrow so hopefully I sleep well tonight. 

Awoke to the homestay owners preparing breakfast for a group of mountaineers around 3 am.  Had a difficult time getting back to sleep due to the barking dogs and then the roosters.  Finally, the Chinese mountaineers showed up around 5:30 or so and were noisy eating breakfast.  We had a nice breakfast with some great egg, vegetable pancake things before getting in the bus to head to the trail – a few minutes from the homestay.   Hiked almost a thousand metres up to the wall on an okay trail.   It was a warm day today – close to 30 – so it was a pretty hot walk up.   Once on the wall we walked for a while on some crumbling sections.   Wasn’t too bad – just warm.   We then carried on towards the touristy section, meeting more and more tourists.   Finally, we got to a section where someone was selling tourist trinkets, water and cold beer!  Definitely a change from yesterday, where we only saw a couple of people.  We then carried on to the tourist section near a gondola.   Had to go down about 500 steep steps.   One of the girls in our group hurt her knee so some of us opted to join her and take the gondola down the last bit instead of doing an additional tourist infest area and 1000 steps, which aren’t a part of the wall.   Was definitively glad I did as the tourists were not enjoyable and the sun was getting to me. Had some lunch at the bottom and then we got in the bus for the 2.5 hour drive to our next homestay.   This place was in a nice village, which appeared to be modeled after a historic village.  Did a brief walk to a gate to watch the sunset over the Wall. Got back to the homestay and had a beer before dinner beside the river.  Had dinner and then a shower and to bed.