Well today I hit it, my first year anniversary. I’ve officially been in China for 1 year.

As I reflect back on the year I can hardly believe it is already over. As a kid years seemed to crawl by at an unbearably slow rate, now they seem to fly by. As I look forward to another year in China I know this one will only go by faster.

I have my list of regrets and accomplishments. I hope to add to the accomplishments and reduce the regrets as my second year gets underway. I know I’ve made the goal before but this year I’m serious, I will not go home until I can carry on a fluent conversation in Chinese.

I always scoffed at those who lived in a country for more than six months without trying to learn the language. I have become the worst offender and am determined to change that this year. I can do it! I can no longer hide behind the excuse of settling in. With a full year under my belt the big surprises are gone. There is plenty of room for the little ones which will inevitably come but I can turn my focus to Chinese and the culture and way from day to day living.

I’d just like to say Thank You to my family for all they support they have given me over the year and continue to give. I could not be here without all your constant love, support and of course Skype calls.

I’m no longer the newbie! I’m officially a Sophomore!

After what seems like an eternity of travel both in the last two weeks and especially today I’m home again. I can once again sit on the computer for hours on end and stress over lesson plans for classes in will be teaching in less than 48 hours.

As a quick cap, the trip was amazing. Tibet was truly a once in a life time experience and well Dali and Lijiang are just the top cities in China in my opinion. So if I all of a sudden vanish from Weifang, DON’T come looking for my in Dail I’ll never leave it again.

My hopes are to have the trip posted by cities and in the next few days. I have over 1000 photos to sort through so give me some latitude on this one.

When we returned to Lhasa from Shigaze we return to the same hotel but new rooms. Our new room had a better view of the neighbors. We couldn’t exactly figure out what they were laying out in the sun but it was interesting to watch nonetheless.

View our our window. What are the neighbors doing?

Our final night in Lhasa we returned to the Snowflake Restaurant and I had a delicious Indian Chicken Masala. Oh how I miss good Indian food.

Katie and I did some last min shopping and I barely managed to stay within the my ridiculously generous budget. I had had no inclination to buy souvenirs as I was proud of the 1 backpack and 1 side bag I’d managed to pack everything in. Needless to say I ended up having to check a bag each flight after Tibet.

Ride to the Airport

Early the next morning we were headed to the airport for our departing flights. I must admit the view was spectacular as the early morning clouds had yet to lift.  

 I really wish I could take panoramic pictures on my camera. So many of the other point and shoots have it these days but I can’t find it if I do.

The mountains were beautiful in the morning, even if they were brown.

As beautiful as the scenery was it did not make up for the horrible airport that followed. Flying into an airport you really don’t get the feel of it. But spend several hours waiting to depart and you get your fill. There was no particular incident that claimed my dislike just the overall experience and lack of airport conveniences. I understand the relinquishing of liquids at security but does that call for the deprivation of all liquids once in the gate area. It took us over an hour to locate the Y10 half bottles for sale at the information desk. Really the information desk!? There were no snacks to be found and well it was a Chinese airport which just means aggravation from the start.

The only upside to our airport experience for the day is the following!

I can officially say I've been to Shang-Ri-La!

I even have a picture of the layover ticket to prove it!

After our lovely but rather short trip to Shang-Ri-La we caught a continuing flight to Kunming to catch our connecting flight to Lijiang.

Ladders to Heaven

 The ladders are painted in correspondence to prayers to Buddha. They are painted to invite Buddha to descend from heaven. 

Vendors at every stop

Tibetan Water Funeral

  It is tradition to dispose of the dead by, Marvin’s words not mine, cutting the body into pieces and throwing it into the river. 

Tibetan Villages along the highway

  We took the scenic route to Shigaze, it was about seven hours. Fortunately the road has been paved in the last few years which sped up the trip. The scenery was intriguing and the views spectacular. I enjoyed seeing the traditional homes and villages along the roadside. 

The biggest tourist trap yet

  The Tibetans have capitalized on tourism and every tourist stop is packed with rather pushy vendors. This stop did offer some unique photo opportunities. This stop was a scenic view of the Yangzhuoyong Holy Lake. 

Picture on a Yak Y10

Tibetan Prayer Flags strung across the

Tibet Prayer Pile, okay I can't really remember what these were, but they are suppose to bring good fortune to those who build it.

According to Yahoo Answers...this is a chorten.

Yangzhuoyong Holy Lake

The rock piles covered the lakeside

A glacier covered mountain - between the lake and Shigaze

    This was the highest elevation we encountered on our trip – 16,568ft. My headache is Lhasa had disappeared but as I stepped off the bus and walked around it returned once again. 

Traditional Nomad Tents

Religion is a prominent part of daily life in Tibet

An ancient fortress nestled amongest the hills.

The reflection was spectacular!

   Once we had descended again into the valley I began snapping pictures out my window without really looking. As I reviewed my shots later I found this one. I wish I had been paying attention so I could have centered it a little better. I was shocked at the reflection. 

Traditional Homes along the roadside

I never tired of the clear blue sky

More homes

The colors were all vibrant

Dried Yak Chips covered the outside of the walls, insulation?

Itinerary: 

Tashilhunpo  Monastery, founded in 1447, was once inhabited by over 4,000 monks.Today,only600 remain there .This monastery is one of the few that weathered the stormy seas of the Cultural Revolution relatively unscathed. 

It is the home of the Yellow-Hat-Panchen Lamas and one of the most beautiful remaining ensembles of Tibetan architecture. The Grand Hall contains the tomb(containing more than 85kg gold lots of jewels ) of the

My first glimpses of Tibet

The view was spectacular and I lucked out with a window

 Our new tour guide met us at the airport. He welcomed us to Tibet giving each person I white scarf. After our welcome he quickly gave us the rundown on altitude sickness. Prior to Tibet I’ve never been one for health warnings honestly. I’m young, healthy why not be careless when it comes to travel. I’ve some how managed to escape contracting any disease or parasites before, goodness knows how I’ve tried to contract a tapeworm. So why did Marvin’s current health speech peak my interest? Well let me give it to you roughly and you decide.

Everyone will experience altitude sickness. The degree will vary but be prepared for the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath

Dizziness

Headache

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Achy ALL over

Those who have the flu or a serious cold should not go to Tibet as their symptoms will only get worse and require immediate evacuation.

If you experience any of the previous symptoms to an uncomfortable degree you should contact your guide and medical attention will be sought for. If any water accumulates in your lungs you must be evacuated immediately. At this altitude it could be deadly in a matter of hours. (Okay, that was the clincher)

How to avoid increasing symptoms:

Do not shower for the first day and a half (If you get cold your body is unable to warm up again)

No alcohol (that was tough)

First day rest, don’t do anything strenuous or physical.

HYDRATE

Eat little

No greasy foods

Not only did I listen to the medical warnings, I took notes. I made it out alive with only a few set backs.

The airport is an hour and a half outside of the city. Marvin was a very insightful tour guide. The ride in was filled with history and culture. It was absolutely wonderful. Once we got to our hotel, my headache and dizziness had peaked, I decided to rest up for the afternoon as advised.

About 5 o’clock the gang assembled and decided to hit the town. Our hotel was in an amazing location. We were a block from the heart of the City. The Jokhang Temple is in the middle of town surrounded by a huge market. Together we explored the surrounding area and took in the clean glorious air.

Pilgrims circling the Jokhang Temple

 There are three main pilgrim routes in Lhasa. The smallest is the walk around the Jokhang Temple. The pilgrims circle the temple clockwise chanting the Buddhist mantras and rotating prayer wheels.

Central Lhasa

 The streets surrounding the temple are filled with vendors. Each stall has an abundance of wares for sale. Beautiful jewelry (my favorite of course), clothing, trinkets and various cultural objects.

Nothing beats a water fight on a hot afternoon.

It didn’t take long before we were tired. Adjusting to the altitude was not as easy as I’d anticipated. Even after a four hour nap, two hours of browsing the stalls felt like a marathon. We found a shady bench along the street and enjoyed the water fight out of the line of fire, or so we thought. The little girl was having a go at her neighbor. It seemed like an ongoing battle as he always managed to get out of the line of fire at the last min. Her mother didn’t seem that worried as ou can tell.

Potato Yak soup, delicious

 Day Two:

The first day we arrived and took it easy in hopes of accumulating to the altitude. Day two was the day of stairs. We began the morning with a trip to the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Lhasa. The buildings were spectacular.

Most of the buildings throughout Tibet still follow the traditional style

The doors throughout Tibet were fascinating

Mastiffs are the mascots of Tibet

The theater and entertainment area at the Summer Palace

The Summer Palace for the Dali Lama

The summer palace was beautifully decorated throughout

 After visiting the summer palace we went to a factory to look at Buddha Stones. It is a cylinder shaped stone that has been uniquly carved from a bicolored stone with a unique pattern. I will try and add a picture later. In the same factory we were able to see the making of traditional Tibetan rugs.

Traditional Tibetan Rugs

The Potala Palace

I just couldn't get over how clean and blue the sky was

The stairs were never ending

Katie was the official step counter. She tallied our ascent at 366 steps in total. Now you may look at that and think not so bad but 366 steps at 11,800 ft is quite an accomplishment in my opinion.

The traditional Window designs were fascinating

Don't forget your Umbrellas

For those who remember my post on the Chinese attachment to umbrellas I have to give them this one, I’ve never felt the sun so strong in all my life.

Open Market

We finished the afternoon with a trip to the Jokhang Temple. This temple houses a statue of the original Buddha. It was brought to Tibet as a dowry for the princess who married the King who united Tibet.

Potala Palace - Evening

 When I get home ask me about this evening and what happens when you try to set your bag down in the square.

For every one’s protection and the ability to keep up this blog I’m going to turn off the comments for the following few posts.

We took a day trip to see the Le Shan Buddha. The drive to Le Shan was beautiful. The countryside in the Southwest is so different from Shandong. It is lush and green with various crops.

Tea Fields covered the hills

The river often floods

The Leshan Giant Buddhawas built during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. It is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world and at the time of its construction was the tallest statue in the world.

The largest Buddha in the world

The Leshan Buddha has been greatly affected by the pollution caused by the unchecked industry in the area.

Stairs asecnding the mountain

The Gang

 On the trip we met two couples who have been teaching English for the past year in China. Sue and her husband taught in Xi’an.

The gang and Sue Wood

My two week escape around Southwest China started in the ancient city of Xi’an.    

We left Weifang Wednesday morning and took the train to Qingdao. Katie wanted to hit up Jimo one final time and with to objections we all tagged along.  I ended up purchasing 3 more pearl necklaces. We caught a taxi to the airport and had a rather pleasant even more surprising, rather long conversation with the taxi driver. Between the three of us, Katie, Thomas and I we understood about 85% of what was said.    

Our plane to Xi’an landed early evening and we caught the shuttle into town. We soon found our hostel which was conveniently located at the south gate, great location for taxi drop off, Nan Men 南门 is easy to say and remember. We tried to find the large antique market but must have missed it as we ended up wandering narrow alleys with less than pleasant aromas.    

We turned in for the night and soon discovered why the room was so cheap. NO AC. We had figured booking the basement would be cooler but we hadn’t taken into account we were next to the laundry and boiler rooms. To keep things pleasant lets just say I’ll be more than happy to pay the extra 25 kuai a night next time.    

As usual I had my activities for the day booked solid and started early.    

First stop: Small Wild Goose Pagoda -    

Small Wild Goose Pagoda Bell Tower

 The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, is one of two significant pagodas in the city of Xi’an. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built between 707–709, during the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (r 705–710). The pagoda stood 45 m (147 ft) until the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake. The earthquake shook the pagoda and damaged it so that it now stands at a height of 43 m (141 ft) with fifteen levels of tiers.  The pagoda has a brick frame built around a hollow interior, and its square base and shape reflect the building style of other pagodas from the era.    

During the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda stood across a street from its mother temple, the Dajianfu Temple. Pilgrims brought sacred Buddhist writings to the temple and pagoda from India, as the temple was one of the main centers in Chang’an for translating Buddhist texts. The temple was older than the pagoda. The temple was originally called the Daxianfusi or Great Monastery of Offered Blessings by Zhongzong, until it was renamed Dajianfusi by Empress Wu Zetian in 690.  (wikipedia.org)    

Small Goose Pagoda

Memorial Steele with in the Temple Compound

After visiting the Small Wild Goose Pagoda we went to the Shaanxi Museum. It was a beautiful collection of artifacts collected throughout the province. Shaanxi Province is known for its neolithic cultures and long history of settlement. We got a preview of the Terra-cotta warriors and many magnificent bronzes.    

Before heading back into town we stopped at a small Temple mentioned in my guide book. It was a peaceful experience. The temple was under going major renovations but we came during lunch as there was no one working at the time. It is always amazing how even though we were in the middle of a busy neighborhood the grounds were peaceful.  

Major renovations were underway at this small temple.

 We headed to the Muslim corner for lunch and an afternoon of sites. First we strolled through the shopping streets as we mede our wat to the Great Mosque.  

The back market streets, aka Tourist traps

The old town shopping area had an upbeat thriving atmostphere that was a pleasure to stroll through.

^{The Great Mosque – Xi’an}

Although it was Muslim there was a strong Chinese influence

After visiting the mosque we continued to wander through the Muslim Quarter looking for a place to eat. The Muslim food is the pride of Xi’an and we were not about to pass that chance up. 

Umm, should someone say something?

We decided on fresh pulled noodles in a spicy broth. Yumm 

Fresh pulled noodles, nothing beats food from Xijiang - Uyghur people

We spent the evening roaming the town and turned in early for a good night’s rest, or atleast as good as one can get when sweating like a pig.   

Friday was the Terra Cotta Warriors. We had gotten directions from the hostel on how to take a bus out to save money. We left in what we thought would be plenty of time but well nothing ever goes as planned. We finally reached the Train Station and ran like crazy to the bus area. We spotted our bus and made a mad dash to the door. What a relief, we made it with two mins to spare, no exaggeration. I was horrified to discover had we missed it we would of had to wait an hour for the next. We settled in for the hour out to the site. It was well worth all the hassle and worry.    

Pit 1 - Infantry & Calvary

The Terracotta Army is the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. The figures vary in height (183–195 cm – 6 ft–6 ft 5in), according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. (wikipedia.org)      

Each are distinct and spectacular in its own right

Excavation and remodeling is still underway and will continue to be so for years to come.

The work done is phenomenal.

 The opportunity to see this piece of Art History was truly spectacular. No slide can ever compare with the opportunity to see it first hand.     

The site of the well

Pit 2

The world famous "Archer"

Pit 3 - Command Headquarters

After a long morning at the Terra Cotta Warriors we decided to take a leisurely bike ride around the city wall. Well for the other three it was leisurely, I was just grateful I made it.   

Xi'an City Wall - Restored obviously

9km once around

For the record I’ve never claimed to be athletic. You rented the bikes for 1½ hours, for 20kuai after that each additional 10min was 5 kuai I was more than happy to pay the extra but as we were all on the same ticket I wouldn’t put it past the Chinese to charge everyone for my lack of athleticism. So the last thirty mins was a made push to avoid paying everyones late fee. I did it, and true to their character not one of them made me feel bad for falling behind.    

Xi’an was a wonderful city. We lucked out with beautiful weather; it had remained in the 80’s each day with cloud cover. We had be worried as Victoria had gone the week before and the weather had not dropped below 95 the entire time. I happily have crossed off yet another item from my bucket list! 

Okay really just off to see Western China but hey to most here that is the extent of the world. I’ll be away from a computer for the next 15 days so no guilt trips for not updating!

June 30: Qingdao → Xi’an

July3: Xi’an → Chengdu

July 4: Leshan

July 5: Chendu → Lahasa

July 6: Lahasa

July 7: Shigaze

July 8: Lahasa

July 9: Lahasa → Lijiang

July 10: Lijiang

July 11: Lijiang → Dali

July 12: Dali

July 13: Dali – Qingdao

So after the 15th you may all start badgering me to update my blog but not a day before!

Sunday we drove to Yentai. The tour guide had scheduled a tour of the Wine Museum. I opted out and went to the Municipal Museum with a few others instead.

The drive from Penglai to Yentai was rather interesting. It is a wine area and as you pass the vineyards every so often you see a French Chateau, no joke. I wish I had gotten a picture to prove it. The Chinese love to imitate that’s for sure. It was so random, rundown cinder block homes, dusty vineyards, yup French Chateau!

Yentai has a very modern feel

The Community Center

The Temple of the Sea Goddess

The oldest Buddha statue I've seen so far

The old Yentai Hutongs

The trip was short and sweet. I would like to return to Yentai as there seems to be much more to see. There is a mountain to the south that is famous for its temples and pagodas. I have a few students from Yentai and hope to return this summer.