Terra Cotta Army, Pandas and a Buddha

We've covered a lot of territory and have seen some amazing things since my last entry! I'm going to backtrack a little and write on Xi'An, then our time so far in Chengdu. I posted the video clip of Mom dancing because I couldn't hold onto material like that without sharing immediately!

Xi'An remained cloudy/polluted the entire time we were there and Chengdu has been no different. We haven't seen the sun since we left Beijing. We went to the highlight of Xi'An, the terra cotta army warriors, which were discovered by some peasants digging a well in the mid-70's. It's a massive (56.2 sq km) tomb built for the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty back in the 1300's. It was incredible to see it in person....way more impressive than the pictures I have seen. The level of detail and advanced production methods of the pottery, weaponry, etc. that were buried with the emperor show how advanced the Chinese were so long ago. I commented to Mom while walking around the museum that if I could have seen and experienced stuff like this when I was younger, I might have studied archaeology or anthropology because it is all so fascinating to me now. Mom, my constant source of encouragement, reminded me that I was still young and could still go back to school to study it. I contemplated this as we continued around the park and realized one very important thing: I hate getting dirt under my nails. So much for archaeology!

We rented bikes on our first day in Chengdu. It's known for being a more 'safe' area within China for tourists to bike. After two near misses and hearing Mom gasp, laugh and scream from behind me...I started to doubt the tour books! It was very adventurous, stressful and fun! We rode to The People's Park (see video in post below!). The Chinese love to perform, dance and sing in the parks....they're making up for lost time after being forbidden to have fun in public for so long. We saw at least 5 performances around the park and at least 50 couples waltzing the afternoon away. Very cool. We sat in the famous tea house in the park where Mom got a head massage and I got my ears cleaned (picture). They stuck long, thin wires into my ears with dandelion-type cotton things on the end. Then, they vibrated the wire with some kind of metal tong...it was a very different sensation and I'm glad that when the guy finished, I could still hear!

Monday was action packed. We woke up early to watch the Super Bowl. I was super excited to be able to watch it, although there were no commercials and it was all in Chinese! So happy for Hank A. that he finally got to see the Saints win a Super Bowl! We spent 5.5 hours round trip on a mini-road trip to Le Shan to see the world's largest Buddha Monday afternoon. It is 71 m high and carved into the side of a mountain. Wearing our ever-so-fashionable state required bright orange life vests, we braved the river (where the Dadu, Minjiang and Qingyi converge) to view the massive structure. It was definitely worth the time in the buses, not only to see the structure but to see some of the country side in the Sichuan province. Monday evening we went to a famous hot pot restaurant here in Chengdu. Hotpot consists of a lot of meats and vegetables that you cook in boiling, flavored water (think there's some oil in it too?!). I ordered spicy flavored hot pot...Mom, smartly, did not. Sichuan is known for it's spicy food, and I love for food to make me sweat. I was chugging beer like I was at a frat party trying to prevent the peppers from numbing my mouth completely. There was a deep burning sensation in my stomach for several hours after dinner last night....luckily, I didn't get sick!

Today we went to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center. I have never seen a panda before, and I am officially in love with them. They are very active in the morning when they wake up. We saw two cubs and at least 12 older pandas. They were rolling around, pulling down bamboo shoots and eating constantly. I could have stayed all day to watch them...such adorable personalities! Like all the other 7 year old boys in the Research Center, I wore my panda hat the whole time in order to attract the pandas to me. I swear I caught one or two of them staring at me like I was a really strange looking panda (the pandas that is, not the 7 year olds!)!

Bargaining Watch: Mom - paid 25 RMB for one red paper cutting. Jamie - paid 10 RMB for 3 red paper cuttings. I'm winning! ;)

The following is contributed by Pat Barden (aka Mom. aka China Jazzercise Queen):

Ni Hao! The pandas were sooo adorable! Watching them eating bamboo leaves, climbing on their platforms, even just sleeping was one of the neatest things I've ever experienced! I could have stood there and watched them all day!

So far, the most scary experience in China has been riding our bikes around Chengdu among all the traffic. There was a bike path, but motor scooters, electric bikes, regular bikes, cars, taxis and people were there too! It was REALLY fun! We made it back to our hostel in one piece!

Honestly, I could write a book on all that we've seen and experienced these past two weeks! It's just been incredible! Hope y'all are happy and healthy. Think of you often. Zai jian!