Our Trip to the People's Republic of China

Day 06
Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven)

Also known as the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

On our last morning in Beijing, the weather was finally cool and overcast as we climbed the steps to the Temple of Heaven. This temple in the southern outer city consists of several buildings in a park setting. The Hall of Vault of Heaven is the oldest building, erected in 1420 as a place for the emperor to worship. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is 41 yards high by 33 yards in diameter and was built without a single nail. The number nine is repeated throughout the construction.

The park surrounding the temple is now an outdoor senior-citizen recreation center. We saw old people exercising, playing games, singing and dancing, doing aerobics and Tai Chi, playing musical instruments, and painting poetry on the sidewalk with broomstick-handled brushes.

Xi’an (pronounced She-On)

Getting our luggage at the Xi’an-Xianyang airport took longer than our 1-hour flight from Beijing, as did our bus ride to town. (The airport is located between the two cities of Xi’an and Xianyang.)

By this point in the tour, the bus group had become a chummy social club, more interested in comparing purchases than listening to our new city guide. [See The Guides.] The guide’s response was to tell jokes and stories to try to capture his audience. Pat and I had a hard time hearing over the hubbub. Pat tried to get to the front seat of the bus each morning. She became friendly with a lady who limped, and who thus had a reserved seat near the driver.

On the way from the airport, we passed a nuclear power plant without comment by the guide. Instead, he pointed out rounded knolls protruding from the farmers’ fields. These were man-made burial mounds. Like the Ming Tombs, they will remain sealed until technology guarantees the safety of their contents.

We saw fields of mustard grass, familiar to the hills of California. Here, the flowers are commercially grown to make vegetable oil. The farmers’ houses have little peaked roofs that imitate a vizier’s cap. The guide said that the shape was to help the farmers’ sons rise to high office.

The guide said that Xi’an is much more economical to live in than Beijing. Nearby farms supply inexpensive food. And housing is much cheaper than the big city.

Xi’an was the original capital of China because of its protected location between the Yellow River and mountains. It was the historic starting point of the Silk Road. The area once had eight rivers and was semitropical, but the climate has changed over the last 1000 years. Now the area is dry. When we saw the city, everything was covered with a layer of dust.

The 20-something guide talked of fishing in the river with his father as a young boy. Now the river is more of a creek, except in the rainy season.

Xi’an also shows the creeping effects of Western influence. On the way to the terra-cotta warrior factory, we saw a cheap imitation of an English castle. It was an amusement park ala the Las Vegas Excaliber Hotel. Pat and I groaned at seeing such blight on the Chinese countryside.

Ancient Xi’an City Wall

Historic starting point of the Silk Road

At the Xi’an City Wall, we climbed the battlements and viewed the expansive moat.

Female dancers performed in the courtyard along a long, thin pink carpet. They wore yellow silk robes with flowing pink sleeves. Their hair was braided in styles reminiscent of Princess Leah in Star Wars. Above them hung yellow silk flags with pink bunting.

Today, Xi’an is the only Chinese city with its original city wall and moat. Tall buildings are not allowed within the old city wall. Each city gate leads to a different section of the city, each with its own, designated specialty: agriculture, manufacturing, or universities.

Lacquer Furniture Factory

Imperial Dumpling Banquet

Shangri-La Hotel, Xi’an

The lobby was not as glamorous as Beijing, but the room was more comfortable, with wonderful thick mattresses, luxurious sheets and towels, and air conditioning that worked. The tap water was not drinkable, but the management provided bottled water on the sinktop.