I’ve been here almost 10 months, and I’ve seen quite a few things I still haven’t processed yet, or wasn’t sure how to classify. “Random” seems as good as anything.
When a new shop opens in Zhongshan, bouquets of flowers on stands and BIG blow-up dragons appear!
The flowers are always lovely.
Some displays are VERY extravagant. This is a lion dancer getting ready to open a travel agency!
These are their flowers! Notice the bright cloth wrapping around the bases holding the flowers?
This is the same kind of arrangement, but in Xi’an. Smaller flowers, more greenery, tulle instead of wrapping. Same idea, but different region. Neat!
Also in Xi’an. Want to buy a fur coat from behind a piece of corrugated tin! Totally legal!
This is glimpse into the grounds of the technical university in my neighbourhood. I can never go in to see it properly without being on business in there. ALL schools have this kind of gate.
Mosquito and sandfly season was hard on me. (Sandflies are midges.)
Never had a mosquito net before coming here. It helped against the mosquitos. The sandflies…eh.
In Hong Kong. Just thought this was cool,.
I came down with the flu, and the pharmacist gave me…THESE. The box came a package of tiny straws to suck back the medicine in these vials.
The instructions.
Me at a coffee house I’ve discovered. Instead of number, they give you a teddy bear to track your order.
Little girl on her way to school on a rainy day.
The Flower Market of Zhongshan. Where they sell more than flowers.
Tropical and deciduous trees going up the mountain. Just on the other side, more building.
China is skyscrapers and high finance. It’s also people selling domestic rabbits out of cages on the street.
Roosters outside of a play school.
Not sure…
During the winter, I had to get this hand warmer / hot water bottle to defrost my hands. It was the Year of the Monkey, so…
Google is everywhere!
Yes, while you get your car washed, you can have chicken meat, goat meat, or dog meat. Your choice.
When I decided to come to China, THIS was THE thing I intended to see above anything else. China has changed capital cities many times in its 5000 years, but Xi’an is a serious contender for the oldest.  It was the capital of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China; the one English gets the word “China” from, the one who unified the previous warring kingdoms, and told everyone in those previous kingdoms they would now all write in one language.  He ordered burned all books in any language other than Chinese, and murdered anyone who questioned the emperor’s immortality. He was a mixed bag.
I think what I love most about the army he ordered created for him in the afterlife is that I knew about the army before I knew who it was for. When I mentioned Qin in Canada before leaving, no one knew who I meant…but I’d say “He built the terracotta soldiers,” and “OH, yeah!” Congratulations, Emperor Qin — your army is more famous than you.
The mountains bordering Xi’an.
Rose garden in the park of the museum.
Dr Seuss trees.
Maple trees??
Building housing the bronze chariots and horses. I didn’t get photos of them — the 80,000 other people visiting that day made it crazy.
The park.
Building of Pit number 1, discovered in 1974. It contains the 6,000 foot soldiers found SO FAR.
Building of Pit number 2, discovered in 1986. The size of a smallish aircraft hangar.
We saw the pits in reverse order. This is number 3, the “smallest”, discovered in 1986. These are the officers in their strategy meeting. For. Real.
I. LOVE. THE. HORSES.
The statues were all free-standing when buried — these columns weren’t filled in!
Over the centuries, the ground shifted under and over them, and they broke.
The archaeologists tried to leave things as they found them.
Pit 2…most of which is partly excavated.
Once everyone realised the paint of the statues in Pit 1 disintegrated in the OPEN AIR, it was decided to not uncover anything more.
The hope is that we’ll eventually find a way to preserve the colours on the statues still buried.
My favourites are the archers. Each had a wooden crossbow. Most of those had disintegrated — a few are being reassembled and preserved.
Traces of paint left on one archer’s armour.
Pit 2 was an enormous company of foot soldiers, archers, and calvary.
Of the 8,000 statues revealed so far, about 2,000 are here.
THEY GAVE THE HORSES FACES.
Pit number 1.
I LOVE that the office is still just sitting there!
Emperor Qin’s tomb is another 1.5 km AWAY from all this.
Some believe this company of soldiers stretches all the way underground to the foot of his tomb. There’s no knowing until more digging can be done.
Broken statues being reassembled.
The uncovered end of Pit 1. It’s still a working site.
