Last day! Shortly after waking up, we were off to the Xi'an city wall. When we got there, we saw that it was an extremely well built, and huge, wall. There, we took some group pictures, like the one in this post, and explored for awhile. Then, we went to a Buddhist pagoda and explored that area for a while too. Then, we went and had lunch at yet another restaurant. After lunch, we returned to the old section of Xi'an and went to the drum tower, where we watched a short shoe of drum music. Then, we were given the rest of the day as free time. We used this time to check out the bell tower, where we watched a bell music show, and then we went shopping in a local market area and grocery area, where we got to try some Chinese food. Then, since we were having trouble getting a taxi to the planned restaurant, we ate our last meal at McDonalds. I'm personally excited to go home, but at the same time don't want to go.
-Matthew
We saw a Chinese cultural dance performance tonight. I think everyone really loved it. I know I did.
We had a dumpling feast tonight. The dumplings were shaped like the filling. For example, fish, pork (needs some imagination), and duck. There were many, many others.
Here they are. Thousands of them. And they're all unique.
We traveled to our final city, Xi'an, home of the terracotta warriors. This is one of the farmers who discovered the warriors while he was digging a well in the 1970's. He was a farmer, and the government took the land (technically, it already belonged to the government. All land in China belongs to the governmen.) and did not compensate him. Instead they allow him to work in the visitor center and sign autographs. At the time he found the warriors, he did not know how to write, even his name. But now he signs his name many times a day.
We visited this ancient river town. Beautiful. We took a boat trip down the canals and walked along the narrow streets.
We took a river cruise to see Shanghai's skyline at night.
I'm pretty sure I've gained 5 pounds. These are the remains left after a typical meal.
We saw how silk is produced. Fascinatingly simple process. Basically, they just unravel the silkworm cocoons. You can't see the silk thread here (too thin), but you can see the cocoons in the water and the spools of thread on top.
This is Joy. She is our guide and is with us where ever we go. She is very pleasant, funny, and we are all grateful that she is part of the group. She holds the flower, or sometimes a flag, so we can find her in a crowd.
