May 21st-27th, 2012
Beijing and Xi'an, China
Terracotta Soldiers and Xi'an trip
 |
| The Ensleins as they arrive at the Beijing airport. What a wonderful sight! |
 |
| Mom and Mavis practicing saying "cheese" |
To the Great Wall at Mutianayu....
 |
| Cable car trip up to the top |
 |
| Mavis doing her part to keep the wall clean |
 |
| A snack stand on the wall. Who knew the Chinese liked Snickers?! |
 |
| I guess dying of a heat stroke when it's 90 degrees out is less of a concern than dying from a suntan or smog. |
 |
| Of course what goes down.... |
 |
| must also come back up.... |
 |
| Taking the toboggan ride back down the wall. |
 |
| I got yelled at by the people behind me (parents) for going too slow but a girl's gotta take pictures, right?! |
 |
| Time for a bathroom break. Should I pick the Western toilet or the squatty potty? Good thing the doors are marked with graphic demonstrations... |
 |
| Enjoying a well-deserved American beverage after the big hike in the 798 art district. |
 |
| Mavis was happy to be done too, she practiced her dragon imitations while Papa enjoyed his drink. |
Early morning stroll in the Temple of Heaven. Apparently it's common for Beijing's senior citizens to come to this park in the morning to dance, exercise, and sing. This morning was no exception.
 |
| A group exercising. The lady in the second row is clearly so worried about the sun that she's still wearing her motorcycle mask. |
 |
| Exercising on the outdoor exercise equipment. You can't tell from this picture but there isn't anyone under 60 in this picture. |
 |
| Dancing |
 |
| An elderly version of a tandem bicycle. A man in an automated wheelchair pulling his wife along in a non-automated one. It was attached by a chain in the middle. It was going fast, I had to run along the side of it to get this picture. |
Terracotta Soldiers and Xi'an trip
 |
| Terracotta Soldiers, one of three buildings. They were all buried standing up but the roof collapsed and dirt fell in on top of them. They were all broken when discovered so all the soldiers you see have been pieced back together and recreated from hundreds of smaller pieces. |
 |
| All these soldiers, buried in hopes that they would protect the emperor in his afterlife. |
 |
| Terracotta factory. Apparently people pay $800 U.S. dollars to have a terracotta soldier replication. |
 |
| And then get the head sculpted to match their own for just a few dollars more.... |
 |
| The farmer who discovered the Terracotta soldiers on his land while digging for a well. Since no one in China owns their land he didn't benefit financially from the discovery. As a gesture of their "gratitude" China gave him a job signing books in the gift shop 40 hours a week for the rest of his life. Hmm.... |
 |
| Making a handmade rug in the factory |
 |
| Bike riding on the Xi'an city wall. Thank you Nana and Papa for watching Mavis so we could do this! We both had forgotten how much we loved riding our bikes, it was such a treat to get to do this, and on a beautiful day! |
