China Post #30 LeShan Buddha

On our second day out of Chengdu we headed to see the LeShan Giant Buddha. The buddha was carved into the a high sandstone cliff over looking the confluence of two rivers that gave boaters loads of problems. To get to the buddha you start out by hiking up a trail with what else but some stairs. Along the way you pass numerous cavings of buddhas and other creatures such as this dragon behind my parents.

There is a sculpture of the sculptor, though I don't think the buddha was finished until after he had passed.
Here is a view of the confluence.
And the main attraction. The railing behind the head is about 8 feet high.
These are the stairs that you descend to get to the base of the buddha.
People milling about the buddhas feet, yes it is that big, 71 meters high.
Out past the buddha there are several other things to see including this bridge.
We had lunch at a little fishing village near the bridge and even though we asked for the food not spicy it was still pretty hot, after all this is Sichuan province where spicy food is king.

China Post #29 Pandas

After Xi'an we headed off to Chengdu. We had hopped to meet up with our friend Kenny Tse from Albuquerque who has since relocated to Chengdu, Intel has a Fab there as well as the one in Dalian, however he had already planned a vacation to Vietnam. We did however use a driver he recommended to get around which was great even if it was a tight fit with the five of us.

On the first day we headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Mom, Linda and Dylan in front of the entrance.

We hired a government guide who spoke english, all tour guides are certified by the government in China. A short way into our walk, we opted not to take the oversized golf carts this time, we came across this statue. Naturally mom wanted a picture with me and Linda a shot with Dylan in front of it.
In addition to Giant Pandas the Base houses a number of Red Pandas. Since the red panda is a more social creature it does not take as much space since they pretty much all hang out in the same enclosure.
The first pandas we really saw were two cubs with their grandmother, apparently mom hand been removed to prepare for mating.
A young cub trying to climb, turns out that the panda is a pretty good climber and spends a bit of time in trees at least when younger.
There are numerous panda enclosures since pandas are mostly solitary creatures as adults. Here is a large female snacking away.
The panda needs something ridiculous like 20 kilos of bamboo a day since they can only digest about 20% of what they consume.

We moved on to the adolescent pen where there were several pandas hanging out together just like middle school kids. Here is one tree testing.
Here they are getting ready to let the morning siesta begin.
Since the Giant Panda is from the mountains they do no like it when the temperature s over 25 degrees celsius (77 F) and are actually move in to air conditioned pens when things get too warm. One adult in fact was pacing near the entrance to her pen about the time we were leaving at about 10:30am.

Here is dad shooting some teenaged pandas. The females at this age can still be housed together.
Much of the Base is covered in bamboo that makes for nice sheltered walking paths.
Our guide, Dylan and Linda walking along through a bamboo tunnel. However the Giant Panda is a picky eater and will not eat the bamboo that grows on the base. Their food need to be shipped in from higher and cooler climate zones.

This will naturally be my mothers favorite stop of her trip to China. We all though it was a very worthwhile place to check out and it is amazing how close you can get to the animals. You do however need to go early and preferably not during the height of summer so that the pandas will be more active. We got to the Research Base at about 8am and it was great, it wasn't even too crowded.

China Post #28 Terracotta Army

On our second day in Xi'an we packed our bags and hired a car to take us out to the Terracotta Army and from there to the airport. Here is the family in front of the building that houses Pit #1 where the first soldiers were rediscovered in 1974 by a local farmer digging a well for water during a time of drought.

We hired an english speaking guide when we arrived at the park which was very worth while and about 150 yuan. Here is the first thing that you really see when entering Pit #1, the soldiers.
However it is difficult to miss just how big the building is that houses Pit #1.
230 meters by 70 meters wide or so. The place is huge, and at one time was filled with terracotta warriors in underground tunnels. The warriors in the front have been reassembled and stood in the proper location. While their comrades in arms are still in broken piles behind them. A closer view of some of the soldiers.
Here is a sideways view of the front line. You can also see the location of the well that was being dug on the right side of the shot.
At the back of the Pit #1 building, archeologists have set up the infirmary, where they bring the bits of broken soldiers to reassemble. Here a statue gets put back together and some casting.
Pit #3 is more of a headquarters. Here they are holding a meeting of sorts or ceremony.
Of the more than 6,000 soldiers only one has been found that did not need the be put back together. This is the "lucky" one, a kneeling archer.
The army was built by the first emperor of China for him to take into the after life and continue to rule. A late ruler came along and smashed the army with his own living one and burned the underground tunnels that housed the army, presumably so that the first emperor would not pose a threat to him when he made it to the after life.

So much history and an amazing sight. This was Linda's favorite thing she saw during her time with my parents in China.

China Post #27 Huashan

On Saturday we all took a taxi from the Sofitel to the Xi'an North train station which is pretty far out towards the airport. The train station is new at this point and the trains that run through it are pretty high speed. We caught a train to the town of Huashan that only took 45 minutes with a stop (the bus is supposed to take 2.5 hours). Along the way we went past lots of farming land, each plot seemed to have a little building on it for the workers to store tools in or rest when it is really hot.

Then a quick taxi ride to the visitors center near the base of the mountain. We then had to catch a park bus, since cars are not allowed in the park (similar to what Zion does during high season and what Yosemite has talked about doing), to get to the base of the cable cars and trail to the North Peak which is the lowest of the 5 peaks. Here is a map of the mountain and believe it or not, the the steepness is not exaggerated.
Here are some people heading up the stairs to the North Peak with the cable cars hanging above them.
And since it was a holiday weekend and we got a late start, here is the 2 hour long line that we had to wait in before getting on the cable car.
Since the line made countless switch backs to squeeze so many people into a small space (about 3,000 in 2 hours) we got to see several people many many times. These two were taking a lock engraved with their names up to lock to one of the chains along the route. They were also using it to lock themselves together in line by their purse straps, the man purse strikes again.
After taking the cable car up to the North Peak you hike along a stunning ridge line that finishes with this exposed stair case right along the backbone of the mountain.
Here is a shot looking back down along the ridge line. The steep stair case is visible in the lower portion of the photo.
All along the trail and steps where engraved locks with their red banners attached. There were certainly places that were more popular than others to leave the locks, such as this one where chains were hung down the rock face.
Eventually, with mom getting worried about having enough time to get back down to the cable car before they shut down for the night I made a run for the South Peak since I had heard about a really exposed path leading up to it. I was disappointed to find that the path was just steps and paved path the whole way. Then up on the summit, this was the set up.
You had a photographer to take your picture who then handed a card to another person that took it down to a flat area just below the summit. At the flat area was another person with a computer and a pretty big photo printer that would print your summit photo for you to take down.

Also on the summit was this little pond.
More locks
Here is Linda on the way down
Along the route in a couple of spots were these guys standing on the side singing for money.
I had not noticed on the way up but the general rule here is that children under 1.2 meters are free, but in this situation, under 1.5 meters was half price. We should have gotten some money back on Linda's cable car ticket since she was standing on the balls of her feet once she figured out what I was trying to get a picture of.
Anyway, word to the wise. Visit Huashan if you have the chance, it is incredible. Don't do it on a holiday weekend. Get an early start. The exposed trail might start from between the West and South Peaks and heads up towards the South Peak, so head to the West Peak then follow signs to the Cliffside Trail.

China Post #26 UFO and Xi'an Sofitel

My parents came out to China at the end of May and flew into Beijing where they meet up with XiaoWei, the same tour guide that took us around, for a few days. After that they flew to Dalian to see where we were staying. When they got in they were exhausted. We mostly took it easy and only made it out to do some shopping and walk over UFO hill, this time from the beach side. Down by where the road runs into the coastal road there are these huge dinosaur bones sculpted into the road cut.

By walking from the other side this time I got a closer view of the winged bull with rider.
We spent a bit of time up on top looking around and pointing out where things are located. Then we started down to inland side. Previously this plank path had been in terrible disrepair, now it was all shiny and new with a concrete base and engineered planks that should not rot like the logs and wood that they replaced.
I had not noticed it before, but around the pigeon ball the path had designs laid into it like at the Forbidden Palace garden.
This time as well, instead of a pond full of scum and trash there were fish and even a little turtle. There was still a bit of trash though.
On Friday we all left for Xi'an to go check out Huashan, one of the 5 sacred mountains and the Terracotta Army. We had been told by another expat that the Sofitel was very nice. Here are a few shots, the stairs leading up to the spa and fitness area,
The bed and teddy bear that they provided for Dylan, surprisingly he actually liked the crib,
and the lobby
OH and this sat out in front for much of the first day. It apparently belongs to a woman who does business in Xi'an regularly and has a room set aside for her when she is in town.
With the way people drive around here I can't imagine driving such a nice car.

Here is a shirt I saw a lady wearing one day while we were out.....?

China Post #25 Dylan and Yuna

On our first morning in China we meet a nice couple from Luxembourg, though they are French. Loic and Elody have a dughter that is a bit younger than Dylan, Yuna, that he plays with quite well. They also have a young son, Enak, that is fun to play with as well.

Here is a video of Dylan and Yuna playing together when we had them over for dinner while Loic was out of town.

China Post #24 Dylan Attacks

A week ago or so we had Linda's co-worker Avril and her husband Rusty over for dinner. Avril is the person that Linda is out here to mentor and Rusty also works for Intel. They seem like nice people and Dylan really took to them, so much so that he tried to corner Avril away from Rusty.

And yes, I forgot and shot it sideways.