We awoke, packed, and had breakfast in the lobby cafe and then checked out of the Four Seasons - an excellent hotel. We took a walk with our group through a local "commune" neighborhood one block from the hotel. David lived in one of these neighborhoods for 10 years while he was growing up. He never left the confines of this neighborhood. There was limited access to these communes for security purposes. They had services in the commune like food, hair cuts, etc. Several families typically lived in one room. They used a "honey pot" and the women were to clean them - it would be a huge embarrassment if the man had to clean the honey pot! They are now tearing down all of these communes to develop the land. The developer goes to the government and makes an offer and then the government negotiates (yeah, right) with the owners and they have to move. Whatever money the government has left after these negotiations stays with the government.
We loaded on the bus and headed to the Jade Buddha Temple. On the way a woman had a small girl by the hand walking down the sidewalk. The little girl obviously had to go to the bathroom, so she squatted the child down, pulled her pants down, and she peed right there on the street. I now understand many of the wet spots on the sidewalks as we have walked around. What where you step!
We got to the Jade Buddha Temple and David explained Buddhism to s - incense, the many statues, offerings, etc. We then went upstairs to see the Jade Buddha - a huge Buddha carved from a single piece of jade that had a yellowish - creamy color rather than green. He told us it is very rare.
We then drove to the Shanghai Museum and we each received an audio guide. Tim and I went thorugh the bronze, furniture, minority, jade, and statue galleries. We went to the museum store and I bought a T-shirt.
We then headed to the Pudong Shanghai International Airport for our 2 1/2 hour flight to Xian. We saw the bullet train along the way - it goes 420 km per hour and it only takes 7 minutes to get from Shanghai to the International Airport. We arrived at the airport just in time and walked right on the plane. In 10 minutes we were moving.
We arrived in Xian in late afternoon and were met by Ling, our local guide. We loaded on a bus and she took us to the Han Dynasty Museum where Emperor Hang Ling is entombed. They have excavated many of the burial plots around the emperor but not the emperor's yet as they want to be sure theyhave the technology to handle whatever they find inside. This experience was a "teaser" for tomorrow as these tombs had small miniature terra-cotta figures of people and animals. They buried THOUSANDS of these in the graves with the various people to assist in the afterlife. This all happened 2,000 years ago and the figurines were fascinating. It is interesting that the Egyptians were doing the same thing in a similar manner but neither knew of each other (that we know of).
Ling also told us about the role of the eunochs and concubines. The concubines were selected to "service the needs" of the emperor. The eunochs were selected at age 5 to guard the concubines and play other roles in the royal court. It was an honor for a family to have their son selected as an eunoch. They castrated the boys once selected and the family saved the boy's testacles so they could be buried with him once he died in hopes that he would be a man in the next life.
After the museum, we got back on the bus for the 45 minute ride to the Xian Shangri La Hotel - the only 5 star hotel in Xian. Xian is another large city with about 7 M people.
We had snacks and drinks in the Executive Lounge and shared stories with our travel companions. Then Tim and I went to the spa and I had a manicure, foot massage, and got my hair trimmed. They really pamper you and they do a lot of cross selling. My bill for all of the services I received was only $35. Tim had just the manicure and enjoyed it.
Thomas cut my hair and washed it after the cut. He washed it while I was sitting in the chair by putting shampoo at the very top and then pouring a small amount of water on the top and then gradually getting my full head soaped up. He didn't spill a drop. I've never had my hair shampooed like this. He then rinsed it at the sink and then had a woman come and give me a head and shoulder massage. This was all a part of cross-selling as she wanted to sell me a full massage - perhaps tomorrow.
We turned in early as tomorrow will be a full day with our visit to the Terra Cotta Soldiers - full size people and animals buried with other royalty from 2,000 years ago. Tim is so excited as this is the highlight for himon this trip.
Larry
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