china part one

the city walls (and train station) of xian.

muslim quarter - xian.

a big highlight so far....the impressive army of teracotta warriors.

army general.

pit 1, the largest....with some 6000 warriors.

old with the new - xian.

baby train. hours of entertainment on our 7 hour 'hard seat' journey from xian to zhengzhou.

the stunning fenghuang.

our accomodation in fenghuang overlooking the tuo river.

just one of the many varieties of dragonflies - fenghuang.

wanming pagoda - fenghuang.

houses on stilts - fenghuang.

back alley in fenghuang.

venders selling handmade flotillas with candles, we enjoyed watching them float a short distance down the tuo river before they either sunk, got stuck, or burst into flames.

take your pick...food market bbq, that's what i call fast food - fenghuang.

exit mongolia....

getting the boogies changed....a lengthy, loud and jolty process at the border. gauges on the mongolian (and russian) railway differ from those in china.

...enter china!

dumpling makin'.

tiananmen (gate of heavenly peace) - beijing.

the forbidden city - beijing.

intricate paintwork.

fancy ceramic detailing.

just a few out of the hundreds of ellaborate time pieces gifted to the emperors during the 17th and 18th century. handmade by mostly british craftsmen. they had all sorts of bells and whistles.

when in peking......we went posh and had some fine duck!

beijung's hutongs.

hazy shade of beijing as viewed from jingshan park...overlooking the forbidden city.

nikki, jenny japan-ezy has gone chine-ezy!

walkin' the wall between jinshanling to simatai.

goodness gracious great wall of china.

all smiles before overdosing on msg.

suzhou street inside the summer palace - beijing.

view of kunming lake at the summer palace - beijing.

more dumplings. we're not complaining.

bustling nanlug xiang hutong.

i got the star treatment at a trendy hair salon.

the impressive west beijing train station. bye bye beijing.