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DINNER IS 20 KINDS OF DUMPLINGS
By Bob Van Leer
(BEIJING, CHINA, Oct. 14, 1991) - The emperors of China really knew how to live. This morning we took a tour of the Summer Palace and then stopped in Tiananmen Square to get a first hand look at this famous (or infamous) square.
The Summer Palace was just that, the summer residence of the emperor and his court. It is located in a 692 acre park, most of which is a large lake.
A summer palace on this site was built in 1888 by the Dowager Empress Ci Xi. The palace was destroyed by British and French troops during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 but restored in 1903.
The palace is not one building but a series of them connected by a 728 meter long Long Corridor elaborately decorated with more than 8000 paintings. The emperor even had a special theater at the palace for the Peking Opera to perform.
Splendid But Cold
The day was cold and overcast but the scenery was still splendid. We took a ride on a dragon boat on the lake to visit a temple on an island on the lake.
On the return we were dropped off at Tiananmen Square which is just a couple of blocks from our hotel. We have been passing the square daily but this is the first time we have stopped to walk it. Here is where the riots of June 4, 1989, occurred.
But today, instead of tanks, the square is filled with flowers. From the square we hired a pedicab to take us back to the hotel. It's a pleasant way to ride and we got the view from the point of the bicyclist.
Bicycles are a way of life here. We are told that there are 2 million bicycles in the city. In rush hours they are a flowing stream. Yesterday, when walking, we were stopped by a moving stream of bicycles a half a dozen wide. It took a couple of minutes to find a hole we could duck through.
Our bus took us to the airport for an evening flight to Xian, 684 miles and an hour and 40 minutes from Beijing. The flight was without incident but we were told our stay in Xian would be shortened because our plane flight from Xian to Guilin was canceled and we will have to go by train.
Plane Shortage
Their air transport system seems to have no backup planes. Our guidebook says Xian was once the largest city in the world. It is still in the upper tier with a population 5 million according to our hosts.
Excavations indicate it was inhabited at least 8000 years ago. It was the capital of China as far back as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1066-221 BC). The city was the start of the Great Silk Road. We had the privilege of visiting the terminus of the road, Istanbul, in 1987.
The morning started with a visit to the Banpo Museum. This is the site of the Neolithic community about 6000 BC, discovered accidentally in 1953. The village site has been covered over with a building so the architectural diggings are on display. It was a thriving little village.
Terra Cotta Warriors
From there we went to the burial site of the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (3rd century BC) discovered in 1974. This is the home of the terra cotta warriors.
This astonishing site is rapidly becomimg on of the most popular tourist stops in China. An army of life-sized terra cotta warriors have been standing guard by the tomb of the emperor for over 2000 years.
Three vaults, containing an estimated 8000 figures, have been identified so far. Two of the sites are open to the public. The whole site is now covered by a hangar-like building.
The figures are about 6 feet tall. The torsos are hollow with solid arms and legs. Each face is individually sculpted using soldiers as models. The first vault has been excavated. It is an incredible sight to look down on these long rows of silent warriors standing guard over a king who died 2000 years ago. Pictures of the site are not permitted and two of our party who tried got in major hassles with the guards.
We were told the burial of the terra cotta warriors was an improvement over earlier practices in which live people were buried to guard the emperor.
Wild Goose Pagoda
Since we were to be in Xian only one day we were kept busy sightseeing. Next stop was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist temple still in use even though it was built in 652.
A feature of the temple is a seven story, 210 feet high, pagoda built in 704. I climbed to the top of it and there was an excellent view of the city except for the heavy smog. In the gift shop at the pagoda I saw for sale the skin of a snow leopard, one of the most endangered animals. Their habitat is the Himalaya mountains. The price was high, about $16,000, but the sales lady indicated she would dicker.
Then we visited the Shaanxi Museum which our host said was China's finest. It truly had a fine collection but we had done too many museums in one day.
Dumpling Banquet
Dinner this evening was a local specialty, a dumpling banquet. Some of the now usual foods were served plus the dumplings. Small, about a half in in diameter, and filled with different mixtures of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables.
We were told that at least 20 different would be served. I lost count but there were at least that many. They were served one kind at a time cooked in bamboo steamers, the kind advertised on late night TV. They really do use the steamers.
Random observations about Xian - less signs in English. Fewer office workers and more people dressed in working clothes. After dinner we were taken to the railway station and there it was a wild scramble to get all of our people and luggage aboard before the train left. By now the amount of luggage is getting larger with great amounts of souvenir purchases.
We got aboard with all our people and, we hope, all of our luggage.
Our group had a sleeping car divided into compartments for four. Betty and I bunked with paul and Marie Creviere, a Wisconsin couple we first met on a tour of South Africa in 1986 and we have traveled with since to other places.
Paul and I took the upper bunks. It was about as comfortable as trains come except the john is a ceramic lined hole in the floor of the toilet. We were scheduled to spend two nights on the train. The trip was scheduled for more than 30 hours.
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