China 11-20 June 2013

      The Goose Pagoda in Xian, Shaanxi Province and ……

         …… one of the most famous attractions for the whole of China, the Terracotta Warriors. The most imposing, is a pit of 6000 warriors who over 2000 years ago were individually made along with horses and weapons to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the after life

     

         Only 2000 soldiers have painstakingly been restored and …..

 

          ……placed back in the excavation pits where they now stand on view for thousands of visitors every day. A truly awe inspiring archaeological site discovered by a farmer digging a well in 1974 

     

                So our group of five couples pose for a photo……. no not in the real pit, just a mock up

 

             

                      
       Hua Shan is a spectacular mountain of granite plutons which have been upthrust to form near vertical cliffs rising on my estimate 800 to 1000 meters

                The cable car ride has got to be one of the best in the world climbing to 2160m above sea level. The view from the cabin attests to the steepness

             From the top the views and the walks along knife edge ridges were worth every bit of the $135 for two cable car tickets both up and down







                                             

The Longman Caves are another World Heritage Site. From AD494 to around AD700 over 100,000 images of Buddha were carved into the rock cliffs ranging in size from a few center meters to .......

          

...........one over 17 meters high

      Pingyao is claimed to be one of China’s best preserved walled ancient cities. Maybe we’re just getting, ‘ancient citied out’…. but we parked outside the walls and…..

      

                    ……spent two nights in a cheap guest house for wi-fi and AC. Neither worked well but the break from driving was good

              More spectacular was the Hanging Monastery near Datong. Built on the cliffs over a river so the monks could find solitude for peace and prayer.  Now the floors, all two meters wide of them echo to the sound of noisy tourists. But what a place to live!!

          Now the floors, all two meters wide of them echo to the sound of noisy tourists. But what a place to live!!

             China has made huge progress economically as we all know. Construction is happening everywhere with impressive expressways tunneling through mountains and bridging valleys, with high rise developments expanding cities and creating new ones. In Chongqing alone, I was told that there are around 3,800m2 of floor space being completed every day! 

              Development and factories provide jobs and a growing economy but…..

           …….one of the costs has been extreme pollution. It’s something that you can’t help but think that something has to change….. Development needs power and (brown) coal fired power stations seem to be the major culprit. This power plant is only a kilometer away and is barely visible

            One thing has taken a lot of getting used too. Our vehicles are viewed like something never seen before and always attract attention. In this case like so many times, cars pull up beside us and take photos. We respond by photographing them! 

           New expressways are user pay and tolls are heavy. Our China trip near to the end has cost us $340 in tolls

 The Yungang Caves near Datong are a series of Buddhist cave art built around 460AD and is now listed as a World Heritage site








Finally remnants of The Great Wall which we started to find as we approached Beijing from the west. Building started around 2,700 years ago and in this area consisted of rammed earth which appears to have been capped with rock. Over the years any worthwhile materials have been taken for other purposes

 

             Roadee jusssst fitted through the entrance gate to a fortified area of the wall where we camped for the night     

            All five Ozzie couples and their vehicles that travelled together for the China leg of our, ‘Long Drive’. Chinese restrictions on foreign vehicle travel means that to drive China you must submit entry and exit dates with an itinerary which can’t be deviated from. To make sure that we remain on course a guide travels with us which also has benefits for us. This arrangement cost money and is a good reason to share the cost by traveling with others

             Us and Roadee in front of the Great Wall

         Sheep, goats, cattle and even ducks are all Shepparded without dogs or fences just an occasional stone and a yell. Animals get used to it from birth and associate easily with people. Here these sheep were actually pushing their minder to get a move on!!