After enjoying the city of
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbUV4aArebirRNC9q6Ac_YaCpa-ZLeAdzY7hpmT8eQrCILZxaYdrxV_D6qhkwpV5LoDl7j5D5Gt9UIFUU9hHX_sxTHzZkIfXBmTKf_6ScbSfvR_JLKcVYStjCBN2MHSH_ZW7ocg/s200/DSCF2584.JPG)
Qingdao on the coast and then going on to Beijing for several days of visiting the Great Wall, The Forbidden City,
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3P4wYhVSJlUOSIMwxWD1dK38D4tNk8p5mSPTuLeuIwGtdh81EFQxfezcaGkdA_QH4n3M0CARVpYIhVU8UoLZiWjfE5AyKD7SsO0RHk-fwwJ_VocCAg-CLZntrfDkqR8ZrhOR5Q/s200/DSCF2600.JPG)
and Tiannamen Square among other
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things it was time for us to go on to Xian. We caught a flight and arrived in Xian late in the afternoon. (Seems like all the airports are some distance from the city central and requires a quite lengthy taxi or bus ride. I got some great shots from the air of
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Nw5-UWt5W-X-C6jzTIelDF1L1VHU6QKd6bioixfNRrL9H5RFqOzIXOcXXzLRIDHWNLALJkyz5jhJHFK_3Nu22GhvTjLyhkNlPzVQJZCrvhyAPfsl4lXQliBTfrcwNOWhvQJHKQ/s200/DSCF2659.JPG)
farming fields and a
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnJ6rkLEIRAHqpcIXAXrgE1Jq5NbpdSpHoIvkp6EfpGB_GNRgznd1FCdn_YTS62cQKwTAp6Es0XxaDcY2HUBgUrLMDWmOWu2AJt6Wd9WgzxDZ9SjWHOcKDDpryNiCvfIZ5gwypA/s200/DSCF2658.JPG)
really neat river as we made our way to Xian.
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That night, a young man, Jabez, who some friends from Harbin put us in touch with, took us to dinner at this really neat place. We decided to make an early night of it since the next day would be for site-seeing.
This city is famous for the
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCzPR1cTSO3BXpuMC4DvpUkHMhDDxZBagNXIaBGky4iWmq_kUSR9hARlwd1fd4AkFoqnDArbJ1WxLSXDjC4uvmddU19V3twc6UJdUEEISgExzIZPYVPhkfkdLJUoOG9e0KuPNHw/s200/DSCF2729.JPG)
Terra Cotta Warriors so
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Jim, Ron, and Diana took off the next
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morning on a
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tour
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAQ-fqEj3LDVNxkixWq2NdHpePqCqn3uhi9-wCDNtGbJeJEv3fC7PJCkQCa5xD1Vh41bMDK6JXo5x1hHODIGT3AuukTeALpaFrG7l4wGqBnctrcHODvthmU76nyGwhOgcZ0Kqnw/s200/DSCF2714.JPG)
(how about these two soldiers!) :) while I stayed at the hotel room nursing my hip and leg.
It rained most of the day and they told me it was a good thing I didn't try to go since there was a monumental amount of walking and it was extremely hot at the "digs". At least they got several exellent photos for me. We spent two great days there and even took a rickshaw ride on top of the wall in the city.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmSBspkUDAmD5la05Lr4K1R3pV9_u-OrTklH_QSECkgH9GmCM6x9XhUk0gRpfC5oWezpjN6W8z2oEoIE6f12_TB3H86OD9oYeHdhCouYgxxQXWedkHpRaud8QaJVqxhdNGlqRcw/s200/DSCF2791.JPG)
T
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyINZA04G2RLHUvPXc4mm89NSPlQWW4F3iEdn0N2ExvlfuonkjTh93KoLf4_cWKC5r1vtFHwVyZbG7nu-rUBHfdc8BZCitAxCKxTgKlsO6PZ2zJrAUUtFGVuTsWEfUyYKZ6Hb71g/s200/DSCF2763.JPG)
he bell tower and drum tower were awesome
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sights at night. We even got to watch some of the locals do their Tai Chi.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BAQFKqvWdSNgpVIpHv8hTi_9v4qxGLehKnugAIWLjyGqHYea3_C9Etye2WSCJGlZ09r076O6YaN8oNa_LAhuppWm3ynWikPCsepPjN2DjDgZ5hmOOC1bmwC_Zq91sk1WLkfkwg/s200/DSCF2771.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6-o1KQTtOe-aWg0Dc-a4pxytdpq10CjdT8ayih7FqlHTnmbp8r9vGT092tUTfF7B4Jfcre4PXh_8mXxNmc4VBuGjQQE765uuUfDAnYSu4S3Zm39BQDLK3op6kBXJOkdcltUrhBQ/s200/DSCF2761.JPG)
All in all it was a great two days and before we knew it the time had come to fly on to Yichang. That is another post - so until next time, Zai Jian!