Xi'an- Muslim Quarter and the Terracotta Warriors

The Bell Tower

Central Xi'an

The Muslim Quarter- we spent a lot of time eating delicious street food in this area.  The food was authentic Islamic-Chinese food.  Beef and mutton were included in most dishes and there were lots of homemade noodles and flat bread to be found.

A street vendor selling a traditional rice based dessert.

Zach trying the local fare. 

Our favorite bakery in Xi'an that we visited every night.  They had amazing almond twists that were delightful with milk tea.

Jeff making his selections at the local Rou Jia Mo (Chinese Hamburger) stand in a parking lot.

You select from the many different veggies and meats to fill your basket.  They fry everything separately and shove it into a fried flat-bread bun with lots of chilies and cumin.

 

Delicious!

The Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Warriors were sculpted for the funeral of the first Chinese Emperor of the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century BC. They were created to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The warriors were discovered by Chinese farmers digging a well in 1974.

Li River Cruise to Yangshuo, China

The Li River is known for its beautiful karst formations which have inspired Chinese artists for thousands of years.  We opted to take a bamboo raft down the Li River instead of the large tourist boat.  We were a bit concerned about our choice when our bamboo raft collided with another bamboo raft a few minutes into our cruise.  When we looked to our guide with concern, he happily informed us "shit happens all the time," and then sent us on our way.  This quote became our motto while traveling through the rest of China.

Bamboo rafts

Cormorant Fishing- traditional type of fishing in which a string is tied around a cormorant's (large seabird) throat to prevent him from swallowing large fish.  The cormorant is trained to bring the large fish back to his owner, but the small fish are able to be swallowed by the cormorant.  This type of fishing is only still practiced in very few parts of China and Japan.  You can see three cormorants sitting on the bamboo raft.

Happy Face Mountain!

Shelly & Shelly & Happy Face Mountain

In the end, the bamboo raft was an excellent choice.  We were able to get an intimate view of the beautiful scenery on the Li River.  

Bamboo rafts

Apparently Minnie Mouse has gone communist....

Guilin, China and the Spicy Noodles

We departed Guangzhou early in the morning for our next destination, Guilin.  Guilin is very popular among Chinese tourists, but not as popular with westerners.  We ended up eating at the same restaurant twice because it was the only place we could find with a picture menu.  For around 60 cents we received a large bowl of noodles.  When we went back for dinner, we mistakenly thought the hot chilies were bell peppers.  It was a painful, yet delicious, experience.  After we sweated and cried our way through a bowl of spicy noodles, we all ended our meal with a handful of Tums.

Zach and Shelly            Shelly and Jeff