China South Tour - June 17 - 21, 2007
Dazu and Bao Ding Hill
Buying tickets for the Dazu Grottoes
Local guide for our bus
Buddhist Wheel of Life
A Statue of Valokitesvara with hundreds of hands
Prayers before this statue
Sakyamuni is the founder of Buddhism
Master Liu's Religious Center
A symbol for luck and prosperity
Marjorie Aliprandi with daughter Nicole Hunsaker. Sons Todd and Shaun were also on tour.
Chongqing - Museum of the Flying Tigers
Jialing River
Chongqing was China's capital during World War 11
Cities in China are unbelievely huge
Parking a bus here is rather tricky
Tai Chi at the Zoo
The Art Research Association is next door to the Zoo
Typical Chinese Scrolls displaying the four seasons
Oil painting of a Mongolian herdsmen
White-purple Jade sculptor Xia Xin Ming.
Flying to Xian
Chongqing is a walled city
Walls provided protection from invaders
Fun For Less Buses traveling from the South
Dinner show at Chongqing
Mike and Debbie at dinner
Playing ancient Chinese instruments
Dancers in beautiful costumes
Finale
Terra Cotta Warriors with Tom
The Terra Cotta Army was buried with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang more than 2,000 years ago
Warrior hospital in the background where Terra Cotas are put back together.
Making Chinese Noodles
Each uninal contained ice and a rose
Only warrior found in one piece
Horses and chariots were burried for the Emperor's use in the next life.
Preparing to fly to Beijing
Green Bus Group at the Great Wall
The Wall is nearly twenty-eight feet high here
The steeper rout has fewer climbers
Vendors were everywhere on the wall
Taking the path less traveled
The wall once stretched fro more than 6,200 miles and was built to prevent the Mongols from invading
Marker honoring Chairman Mao at the side of the Great Wall
Former world history teachers fulfill life long dream
Diane could find nothing she wanted to buy until she saw the vendor's jacket
Does this 3X Large fit? It does! Figure out how much I owe.
“I can't believe you bought the shirt off his back!”
Tom and a warrior at a shop near the Great Wall
Visiting a Jade museum and factory
Tom and Debbie learn how to distinguish real jade
Jade carving
Packing the Ceramic Lovers for a trip to Utah
Ceramic Lovers
The Sacred Way
Walking along the Sacred Way
It's good luck to pat the giant turtle
At both ends
Fifth floor of the Silk Market
Vendors on lower levels were very agressive. “I feel like I died and went to hell,” someone commented.
Senior doing Tai Chi in Jing Shan Park
Jing Shan Park for a panoramic view of the Forbidden City
Ruiqi Wang
A temple on the steps?
A small Buddahist temple on the steps
View of the Forbidden City from Coal Hill
A local Emperor
A visiting Emperor
Entering the Forbidden City
Ralph Wade and Sandra Waite
Brent and Ramona McAllister
George and Pat Weegar
Mike and Debbie Martinez
Sylvia Wood, Beth Malmgren and Ellen Goza
Marla and Pat Nelson
Local police
Ann and Roger Bryan
Ancient tress that have grown together
Each door has a raised area to keep out ghosts
The Throne Room in Imperial Red
Randy and Carolyn Judd
Forbidden City is the world's largest palace comples with 800 buildings
Tom outside the Emperor's bedroom
Going into the Emperor's Bedroom
Wonder why Emperor's Bedroom was called “Hall of Mental Cultivation”?
Guess with hundreds of concubines one has to do a lot of “mental cultivation.”
Jade gift sent to the emperor to Feng Shui the entrance of his bedroom. A door facing a wall is bad luck.
Mythical creture and power symbol
Diane finds a chain for her medollian.
Richi explains that Mao was really China's last Emperor. Careful Richi! China is still a police state.
Here come the police. Who reported Richie's Mao comment?
Out of the Forbidden City and into Tiananmen Square
The soldiers march out of the Forbidden City to take up posts in Tiananmen Square
Chairman Mao overlooking Tiananmen Square. Wonder what he thinks of China's new economic policies?
As one leaves the Forbidden City, he enters Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square covers 100 acres and is the world's largest public square
Richi describing the square. Is there always this much smog?
When we wander off we can still hear Richi thru our whisper soft ear phones.
Across the street from the entrance to the Forbidden City and Chairman Mao's picture.
A statue honoring “the liberation.” Discounting Mao's policies, guess freeing China from the emporers was a kind of liberation.
Local guide for the black bus
Off to lunch at at 400 year old resteraunt
Watermelon was served at every meal
Modern China is interested in building economic ties and trading with the West
It takes fourteen months for these two girls to finish a silk carpet this size
They must carefully follow the pattern
This mural depicts the process of preparing silk for carpets
These are works of art!
Wonder what a silk carpet this size costs?
My favorite carpet costs $2500
Off to the Summer Palace
Hey! We are first in line!
Bridge to the Summer Palace
The Empress' Marble Boat in the Summer Palace
Money was allocated for a Navy but the Empress used it to build a Summer Palace
The covered walk way decorated with country scenes and scenes from Chinese myths
Beautiful ceiling patters along the covered walk way
A typical painting of a Chinese story
Entrance to the Summer Palace
Sacred Crain in front of the Dragon Lady's Bedroom
Richi describes the Dragon Lady. She was the “Power behind the Throne”
Tsu Hi, the Dragon Lady, liked gray roofs and lots of trees.
Entertainment
Statue of mythical animal with live photographer
Judy and Bill Edwards with a friend
Taxi anyone?
We prepare to enjoy our last meal in China
It's a Peking Duck Dinner
After a total of twenty Chinese lunches and dinners we won't see this again
We pack up to fly to Hong Kong
As they prepares for the 2008 Olympics ...
We leave Beijing
It's time to leave all this smog
The Bird Nest - Goodby until next year
The Bird Nest is the home of the 2008 Olympic Games
Stokoe Chop
Three lucky Gods of Feng Shui purchased as we leave. Representing happiness (with scroll), wealth (with magic wand) and health (with peach)
June 21, 2007 makrks "Farwell to Mainland China"
