Day 32 20/10/2014

The weather hadn't improved and feeling rather disappointed we abandoned our plans to climb Hua Shan.  Plan B was to stretch our legs and cycle around the city walls - c14km.  We headed out for breakfast and by the time we'd finished the rain had started.  Plan C was to visit the Great Mosque in the Muslim quarter which has an interesting blend of Chinese and Islamic architecture although despite being a working prayer hall did appear to be a bit run down.  Still raining we then headed to the Bell Tower now marooned on a traffic island.  We spend nearly half an hour mesmerised watching the chaotic traffic scenes below and amazed that we didn't  witness any accidents.  Going round the island in the same direction even seemed to be a challenge for some vehicles!  Despite the  forecast saying the weather was due to clear it still kept raining so we treated ourselves to a pizza in a French bakery and headed back to the hostel to chill out and also catch up with Paul before he headed off to Chengdu, home of the Giant Panda reserve.  We went out to a local restaurant recommended by one of the hostel staff in the evening.  The guy had kindly written the name down for us (no English sign).  It was three characters and despite wandering up and down the street it was on we couldn't find it.  The nearest we could find was a wedding shop.  Just a small example of the challenge the language brings for those who have no Mandarin.  All in all it's difficult to find much to recommend Xi'an for but it is the closest place to stay to visit the Warriors and had the weather been better Hua Shan is apparently more than worth the effort.  After spending three full days here we were ready to head off the following morning.

Day 31 19/10/2014

We had planned to head out to Hua Shan today, one of Taoism's five sacred mountains and previously home to hermits and sages.  The weather forecast was for rain and fog and given the mountain is apparently full of vertical climbs and knife blade ridges we decided that a visit to the Army of Terracotta Warriors was probably a better option.  We joined a group from the hostel and headed east to the site.  We had thought about going independently by local bus but hadn't seen any at the railway station where they apparently set off from.  Ironically we saw numerous on the way there so they must have picked up from somewhere in Xi'an.  It was good to meet other travellers including Paul from South London currently on a long term career break.  He was spending 3 months in the Far East and had already been to North Korea (just before they closed their boarder again).  It was fascinating to hear about his experiences there but guess it will be a while before it's open to visitors.  Seeing the army of warriors was fascinating.  We visited the smaller pits (3 & 2) first saving the largest and most impressive pit (1) to the end.  It was extremely busy with serious pushing and shoving but really was a fascinating and awe inspiring view of the warriors and their history.  It's one of the most famous archaeological finds in the world and contains over 6000 warriors, each one unique standing guard over the Emperor for more than two million years.  The Emperor apparently surrounded himself in a moat of mercury and his tomb is yet to be excavated.  One of the local peasants who apparently first found the site when drilling for water is actually brought out on show and available for book signing in the tourist shop!  After lunch we headed back passed very fertile farm lands.  The main crop looked to be pomegranates which were being sold at stalls along the roadside.   The fruit was individually wrapped on the trees to protect it from insects and the elements.  This can't be a quick job and we assumed an indication of how much each fruit is worth to the local farmer.  In the evening we walked to the South Gate and Xi'an reprieved itself a little bit with the wall and towers looking very attractive lit up against the night sky (very different to the grey sprawling mass you see from street level in the daytime).

Day 30 18/10/2014

Xi'an is another massive Chinese city with a population of c6.5 million people.  It was once the terminus of the Silk Road.  Today it's a metropolis of sky scrapers, noise (especially from mobile phone shops) and smog.  Despite its Ming era city wall being intact without the nearby warriors it's difficult to see what would attract visitors here.  After breakfast we headed to the train station to collect our tickets for our onward journey to Yichang.  It was organised chaos at the station and although hard to tell it certainly looked like there was money changing hands in exchange for a place at the front of the queue.  We queued for around 20 minutes and collection was straight forward swapping a reference number and passport check for two tickets.  After we headed south on the local bus (very different experience to the local buses in Japan) to visit the Big Goose Pagoda.  The Pagoda is Xi'an's most famous landmark and dominates the surrounding modern buildings.  It was built to house the Buddist sutras brought back from India in AD 652.  Craving a western style drink we popped into Starbucks for a mango smoothie on the way back to the hostel.  In the evening we headed to the Muslim Quarter, another throwback to Silk Road era.  The narrow lanes and alleys are full of shops and stalls selling everything from street food to tourist tat.  Some of the food smelt appealing although we weren't too sure of the contents.  We did treat ourselves to some small potatoes cooked in a tasty albeit rather fiery spice washed down with fresh pomegranate juice.  It was crazily busy with people on foot, bike, moped, tuk tuk and car.  We were relieved to come out unscathed!  On the way back we saw a man skinning a rabbit in the street near our hostel.  Didn't help Diane's willingness to be adventurous with the local dishes and we defaulted to chips and beer for supper.

Xi'an Day 29 17/10/2014

We headed back to the airport for our flight to Xi'an, home of the terracotta warriors.  The experience was relatively painless despite being the only westerners on the plane.  The flight was delayed setting off although we had no idea why due to the language barrier.  By the time we arrived in Xi'an it was dark and the bus drop off point which we thought was the main railway station turned out to be a random hotel somewhere within the city walls.  Having some limited Mandarin would really help in these types of situations.  Neither of us felt threatened in any way but it's just really uncomfortable being so disorientated and lost in an alien city, especially late at night and in the dark.  After wandering around a bit we decided that a taxi was the best option and managed to flag one down.  The driver was very helpful and (we think) phoned the hostel we were staying in to get directions as it was well hidden down a side street.  We probably paid over the odds for the fare (£5 instead of £2) but it was well worth it to deliver us to the door.  The hostel was buzzing and we dumped our bags in our room on the fourth floor.  There was no lift and we were both conscious of the size and weight of our bags as we dragged them up the stairs.  We ended the evening with what we thought was a well deserved beer toasting the fact that we'd arrived and looking forward to seeing what Xi'an has to offer.

Day 28 16/10/2014

After a late night out we took advantage of the opportunity for a long lie in and then spent the remainder of the morning doing admin and sorting out travel for the next few weeks.  The distances between cities in China are vast (think China think Europe) and we decided to opt to do one more internal flight to help maximise time (2 hrs on a plane versus 23 hrs on a rather slow train).  We then headed over on the metro to the Pudong financial district, across the Yangzi from the Bund.  We went up the highest building in Shanghai (the second highest in the world), the World Financial Centre and stopped at the 91st floor at the Park Hyatt to enjoy drinks and snacks overlooking the Bund and beyond.  The drinks were a bit pricey, especially when you're on a budget, at c£6.50 for one beer but we had great views despite the smog and managed to make them last until dusk.  At 6pm sharp the neon lights came on lighting up the skyline.  We headed back via the sightseeing tunnel which runs under the Bund.  A rather strange tourist attraction travelling on a small mono rail through 3D scenery.  Not sure what if anything it represented of Shanghai or China.  We had dinner in a busy restaurant in a shopping plaza, a common practice in China as it was in Japan and Russia, and then headed back to our apartment for our last night in Shanghai.  For all it's mystique and allure it's certainly not a city brimming with culture or attractions although great to experience.

Day 27 15/10/2014

We headed out and walked east along Nanjing Road and through one of the main shopping areas to The Bund, Shanghai's waterfront and seat of colonial power from the mid 19th century which includes many of the city's landmark hotels, banks and former trading houses.  We picked up lunch along the way, some form of stuffed savoury bread but not really sure what and sat in People's Square before popping into the bank of China to exchange our leftover roubles.  It was only on the way out that we realised we should have taken a number in order to be seen by the cashier (just like the deli counter at home!).  Perhaps the cold, stern greeting that we received was a response to this although not sure that is the reason for the copious amounts of paperwork just to change the money.  If you think banking is hard in the UK at least it comes with a smile.  When we reached the Bund we were amazed to see how much river traffic was on the Yangzi a combination of freight, tourist and ferries with no evident right of passage (a bit like the roads).  Most freight appeared to be coal which continues to be the source of c70% of China's power and the main contributor to it's horrendous pollution.  We'd clearly been lucky to escape this in Beijing but no quite so in Shanghai.  The smog at times was horrid and something we've never experienced before.  Having said that it didn't stop us from having a rather large ice cream (we're not on holiday - honest!).  In the evening we met up with Krys who Diane had worked with in the UK and is currently based in Shanghai.  We went to a lovely restaurant called Lost Heaven in the French Concession (recommended by our friend Dave).  The food was excellent with a range of traditional Chinese cuisine from Yunnan province.  It was great to catch up with Krys and to hear about daily life living and working in Shanghai and all that it entails.  Language is clearly a massive barrier but understanding the local customs, habits and traditions also plays a major part in integrating.  It was fascinating to hear Krys speak mandarin to the taxi driver - not that we understood any of it!

Shanghai Day 26 14/10/2014

The rain had stopped by the time we left Tokyo although it was still a bit windy and turbulent as we took off from Narita airport.  We missed out on an upgrade to first but did get moved to business class  which gave us a bit more leg room (although not really needed for Diane!).  As we got closer to China the volume of traffic in the ocean increased significantly giving a clear indication of the scale and importance of Shanghai's port and the gateway to the Yangzi river.  The plane had a camera on its nose with the images shown on the cabin screens.  Not sure either of us particularly liked seeing the runway speeding up towards us as we landed!  We headed into Shanghai on the shuttle bus.  The horizon was just a mass of sky rise buildings - I guess 23 million people need to live somewhere.  We'd decided to stay in an apartment for a few days thinking it would be good to have somewhere where we could just chill out and also get important things done like laundry.  At first it seemed real stark and quite isolated particularly after some of the small hostels we'd stayed in whilst in Japan.  It took a bit of time trying to track down somebody to check in with and then there was a lot of commotion with two Chinese girls who were clearly unhappy about something although the we'd got no idea what.  The apartment we were first given was tiny.  Simon complained in his best mandarin and we were moved to a much larger apartment with separate living and sleeping areas.  In the afternoon we headed out for a wander around Jing'an where we were staying.  The traffic is crazy.  Whatever the rules are for traffic lights was alien to us and trying to get across the road on a green man was life threatening.  If the bikes and mopeds didn't get you on the road they then tried on the pavement!  In lots of ways Shanghai is like any other big western city - on speed.  It's said that it typifies modern China and is unlike anywhere else in the country.  It's certainly very different to our experience of Beijing and it will be interesting to see how it compares to other cities that we're planning to visit.  Our apartment actually started to feel like our escape and it was good to get up to the 19th floor and shut out the noise and action from the streets below!