Xi'an south of the city wall (David)
This morning we are both a bit more relaxed because the trip to Pingyao has been largely sorted out Some details remain, but we are mostly on top of the situation and in better spirits. We organize a laundry and then go downstairs where we both enjoy the French breakfast.
Upon return we hang up the laundry and decide to go to the Smaller Flying Goose Pagoda and the museum attached.
Elizabeth gets us on to Bus #46 and we get pretty close to our destination. After two smiling policemen (!?!) help us refine the search we arrive without incident and are admitted - - just 50rmb for the two of us.
The museum is three stories and dedicated mainly to Xi'an and is role in Chinese dynastic history. Much of the basement is given over to a model of the city when it was China's capital and to artifacts of the Qin , Han and Tang periods However there is a fair amount of material from the Zhou and intervening chaotic times (Warring States. etc.) as well as some ceramics from the Song and Yuan. There is also a display of modem painting incorporating traditional brush work of mountain, water and mist with popular themes such as equality of women and men or rural electrification. The jade collection is also well worth viewing.
After over three hours (during which we saw some great Zhou bronzes including a couple of gu vessels labelled "ritual wine cup" we decided to skip the pagoda itself and retreat to somewhere warm.
[Comment by Liz in November 2016. David's simple paragraph above is a typical DEA understatement. Although the first to affirm and praise others, he did not do that for himself. David published a book Alcohol and Altered States in Ancestor Veneration Rituals in Zhou Dynasty China and Iron Age Palestine, better known as “Drinking with the Dead" based on his masters thesis in Biblical studies. The picture on the front cover is a gu vessel. One of the main ideas in his book is that the gu vessels were used in a particular important ritual. At the time there was no scholarship in English or translation confirming this. The simple inscription in that context, showed that David had been right. That was possibly his most important moment in China.]
So back onto a bus and down town for coffee then into the Muslim quarter. Islam has been in China for a long time (the old capital was the terminus for the silk road after all) and there is a strong local community) . We end up back at the same place we had lunch yesterday and the food is a good as we remembered. I'm certain of this because we ordered exactly the same things as yesterday.
Afterwards we tour the market streets north and west of the Tourist Information Office. Elizabeth is quite taken by the range of delicious looking and smelling items, trying to hold my hand while muttering snippets of sentence fragments. "Oh! Deep Fried!" and "coated in sugar!" To be fair, I am excited too , especially when we find a stall that sells the dried fruit I like so much. The bakeries are also pretty spectacular and Elizabeth purchases a few items in case we get snackish later.
We come across a mosque and venture into the grounds. As the big doors close behind us we are delighted to hear that the noise of the street is gone. Here is the music of birds and human voices. The general design is that of a traditional Chinese feudal home with two courtyards of carefully tended trees, lovely rocks placed in appropriate spots, circular arch ways., stone walks and patios, hanging bells and, at the back, a large traditional looking house with a sign identifying it as the Prayer Room. On the roof of this building is a small crescent moon. The successful blend of Chinese and Islamic elements is lovely and demonstrates yet again how different cultures can come together in beauty.
We walk back to the hostel. Inside our room we discover a control which, when manipulated enthusiastically, emits warn air. We settle in to bask in our new knowledge.
By early evening Elizabeth has settled the issue of Ground transportation to Pingyao and all is well with the world. We decide to slip dinner completely and I doze off while Elizabeth times in the Games in Chinese. It's warm in the room and the future is pleasantly drowsy...
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