July 5 in China

 What a day! We started our morning at the small white goose pagoda. It's in a park...a beautiful park (Josh, Erica, Thalia...it reminded me so much of Lumpini Park!). It was early, a little after 8 am, and there were groups of older people doing Tai Chi.  We walked all around the park, watching various groups. Within the park, we went to a class learning Chinese calligraphy and to learn about Chinese painting.

  They had their music playing...some just did movements, others used fans, ribbons, etc... As part of their routines. Many of our delegates joined in with a group. They didn't seem to mind...they were just as serious with or without our kids.

 Within the park, we went to a class learning Chinese calligraphy and to learn about Chinese painting.

First we watched a "master" paint a beautiful flower painting.

  Then he showed us how to paint bamboo...and we tried our hand at it. The brush used for painting and calligraphy is different than the brushes we usually use for painting. We were shown specifically how to hold it...and then our painting started.

  They then picked two people to win a prize for doing a good job. Our Madison was one of them! I think her prize was a brush....

We had time for a little shopping after that...the master wrote names on rice paper that he had painted flowers on....I think he sold a lot of them! 😉 there were a lot of paintings of peonies...and it's the Chinese national flower. It is a symbol of prosperity, harmony, happiness, and long life!
We were shown how the Chinese have balance in their paintings...the ying & yang...for example, paintings of mountains will often also have water...they balance each other out.

 Next we went to a shop where they make replicas of Terra cotta warriors...we tried our hand at that ! Again, the expert came around and picked 2 students who they thought did the best work. Our Zack was one of them!!! Again, we had a little time for shopping. A replica of a warrior was on my list...it's now fulfilled!

We rode the coach out to a different part of Xi'an for lunch. We had some really different foods..still delicious! After lunch, we met one of the farmers who discovered the Terra Cotta warriors! We couldn't take photos of him...but he was so interesting telling his story. Qin, or city guide, translated for us.

In 1974, the farmer (can't remember his name), and some other farmers were digging a well. Their farmland was dry...as they dug, when they got to about 3 meters deep, the earths color changed...they kept digging. Once they got to about 5 meters, they found the head of one...they saw the eyes, eyebrows, etc...and dug a bit more, finding an arm, leg... They thought they were digging into the remains of a temple. They thought all these parts were like trash, tossing them aside. They kept digging until they got to the bottom and saw bricks. He told us he was excited about that...thinking he had bricks to build a house!

I can't remember if he said how much later, but a General came to the village...and saw or was shown the discoveries. A lot of attention came to it...and then it was discovered that it was an entire army!

He was given 30 yuan for the discovery (30 yuan is worth about a little less than $5)...and the government took his land away. The village hated him for disrupting their village! I didn't understand exactly what he's doing these days...he said he's now seen a lot of celebrities...he was asked how it is to be a farmer in China. He said it doesn't matter if you're a farmer, that the most important thing is to give a valuable contribution to society!

 Next stop...the Terra cotta warriors!

There are 3 pits...1, 2, and 3. Pit 1. Has 6,000 warriors! Many are restored...some are in the process, and some are still being excavated. They were fascinating to see. We also saw the hole the farmer was digging for his well.

Pit 2 has about 2000, mostly in parts. Pit 3 has 68...excavations are still going on, so no telling how many they'll find. If you don't know about the warriors, I would suggest googling it...it's too much to write here, but I think I they're fascinating!

 

 

We came back to the hotel and had an hour to freshen up before leaving for the Shaanxi. Grand Opera House. Oh my!!! Most of us dressed up in something nicer...this place was amazing! We started with a dumpling banquet. There were fish dumplings in the shape of a fish...some I. The shape of an owl...They were the only two shaped differently...but we had pork dumplings (several kinds), sweet potato dumplings, cabbage dumplings...plus all other kinds of delicious food!

 

Today is Bella's 16th birthday...and so before the performance, happy birthday started playing and the whole opera house was Singing happy birthday to her. They brought her a cake that they ended up dividing 30+ ways! How special it was!

Then it was an amazing performance of music and dance representative of the Tang Dynasty. Every time the curtain opened, we were in awe...the sets, the costumes... Definitely a great cultural experience in Xi'an!

 We're getting up at 4:30 am...having a box breakfast in the lobby, leaving the hotel at 5:30 and heading to the airport to fly to Guilin!

I have no idea what wifi will be... But I will definitely try to keep you posted,

Time is flying by...and we're definitely enjoying the ride!

~Judy