My Trip To China
began in Beijing,
the capital city and with over seven
million inhabitants, the second largest city. Here we visited the
Forbidden
city and Tiananmen Square. This vast square was fairly quiet when
we were
there but my sister found a group of children to whom she
was able to give
souvenir pencils from Canada.
We approached the
Ming tombs from along the Sacred Way with it's avenue of
animals.
Then it was
off to see the Great Wall ,most of which was built in the late
15th century during the Ming Dynasty. It was intended as a
barrier along the
north border of China to keep out invading armies. It is over
1500
kilometers long. As I climbed up it's rough ,uneven steps ,I
wondered how
many men died as they labored here in the hot sun.
Along the
way I met some
delightful teenagers who seemed to feel it was an honour to
have their
pictures taken with a grey haired old lady from Canada.
Yes ,they
got some
souvenir pencils too. They gave us each a peach and some salty
Chinese candy.
Near Xian is
the large site of the Terra Cotta Army where the dig is still
ongoing .This is an area of more than three acres and there is
still much
to be uncovered
It is
believed that there are more than 6000 figures of
soldiers all with individual features which have been guarding
the tomb of
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi from the time of his death in 210 BC till
they were
discovered quite by accident in 1974.
A farmer was
digging a well and along
with the dirt he unearthed the head of one of the figures. Now he
sits in
the gift shop and signs his name to any books you might buy. My
sister and I
shook his hand and we all bowed to each other.
The Yangtze
River is undergoing massive changes .A huge dam is being
constructed near Yichang which will be the largest
electricity generating
facility in the world when completed in 2009.It will create a
lake 400
miles long ,and will raise the level of the river by 175 meters.
It will
also displace over on million people. We took a cruise through
the locks and
Three Gorges.
It is sad to
think that this peaceful scene will soon be gone
forever. But this is progress and the electricity is needed.
Shanghai,
the largest city with over 10 million, is bursting with life and
energy.
Can you see my sister in the crowd?
