Olympic Park

These pictures do not properly give justice to the amazing stadium built for the 2008 Olympics and they looked even more impressive at night but I was unable to get any good shots.

Back in Beijing at the Summer Palace

Arriving back in Beijing after a trip on the train we didn't waste any time to go and tour the Summer Palace located just outside of Beijing.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda & Shaanxi History Museum

Located in Xi'an is a Buddhist Pagoda called the Big Wild Goose Pagoda which was built to hold statues that were brought to China from India translator and traveller Xuanzang.







Nearby the pagoda is the Shaanxi History Museum which holds an amazing amount of historical artifacts for the entire country of China.



There is no special story behind this statue but I just liked its form:

Wolong Temple & Stele Forest

We still have classes while we are in Xi'an but in the afternoon we were able to travel to the Wolong Buddhist Temple in the city. Outside the temple area there were several people sitting around playing cards. You will notice that only the men are actually playing cards - apparently they don't really let the women play with them - but I saw women set up playing their own games.



Prior to entering the temple were shops set up outside in a market area selling incense and candles to burn inside the temple.





Entrance to the temple:













It was very quiet and peaceful within the temple walls and a nice break from the noisy, busy streets outside in the city.

After the temple we headed over to the Stele Forest is famous for its numerous historic inscriptions and stoneworks. The museum contained thousands of stone tablets from throughout the years which highlighted the change in the character styles.



There were just rooms and rooms of tablets set-up like the ones below.





Back out walking around the city we passed by a beauty shop where women were getting their done with these contraptions.

Night Out in Xi'an

We enjoyed a cultural show (although very touristy) at the Tang Dynasty Theatre. There were several different dancing, musical, and acrobatic acts.











After the show we walked about the city and caught a great shot of the Drum Tower illuminated at night. The small things in the air behind the Drum Tower are kites being flown by vendors around the area.

Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army

Located east of the city is the famous Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. Before seeing the real warriors, we stopped at a terracotta factory to learn how the army was made.


Got to love the silly things they set up for tourists!



The craft shop of terracotta had other artisans there as well including women hand weaving rugs.



It was amazing to watch and I had to admire how they were able to creates such beautiful designs one small row at a time.



The complex to see the warriors is quite large and each site that has been uncovered has been covered by structures like the one here:



Inside the largest uncovered area:







Each warrior was different from the next - they were not all made from the same mold. You can see the attention to detail as each face, hands, body shape, height, and dress were all completely unique.





The army actually protects a massive underground city built for the emperor Qin Shi Huang. We toured the site of a mausoleum in his honor and a small scale version of the city as they believe it is laid out but it was very dark in the rooms and my pictures did not turn out well.

Xi'an Day 1

Xi'an is the ancient capital of China which is famous for, among other attractions, its well preserved city wall surround the main city center. Our hotel was outside the wall located near the universities. To start our day we took a walk over to a public park which used to be the grounds of the Tang Dynasty Xing Qing Palace.





This girl seemed to be having a great time at the park...





That evening we took a taxi to see the Bell and Drum Towers located at the heart of the city.









The big white pipe looking thing is actually a telescope that a guy moves around the city so that people can then pay to look through. He seemed to attract a lot of attention and business.