Hey Everyone!
Hope all is well in the West! This past week has been full of travel and adventure. Rather than departing Dunhuang the modern way, we followed the Silk Road for a day's travel and arrived at the western end of the Great Wall at the Jia Yuguan Fortress in Jia Yuguan, China. The Silk Road, as many of you already know, was not an actual road but rather a series of transportation arteries that fostered trade and cultural exchange between the Far East and the Western World. Many of you probably think of Marco Polo who travelled this route for 17 years or Buddhist ideas spreading from India to China due to new forms of interaction along the Silk Road. While in Jia Yuguan, we visited an immense fortress that functioned as a military base by multiple ancient Chinese dynasties. It was fascinating to have scene the north eastern Great Wall and now the very western end.
After Jia Yuguan, we flew to Xian, the nation's past capital and emerging mega city. IT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Trees line the clearly gridded urbanscape; ancient walls delineate the edges of its cultural core; a winding canal extends along it's eastern border; and the most astounding acres of farmland surround this developing hub.
(My love for the city may also have been a result of staying at a stunning, luxurious hotel with western breakfast and a gym... So spoiled.)
While in Xian, we visited the Terracotta Warriors... They were so cool! The Terracotta Warriors are an immense collection of statues that were discovered in Xian by a local farmer. They were buried in a dynasty emperor's tomb and eventually destroyed. Today they are still undergoing archeological excavation. The museum exhibiting them is actually built directly on site so the archeological process was also on display- career inspiring to see for sure.
On our second day in Xian, we travelled all around the city. We explored its Muslim quarter- a district characterized by small streetside markets and bustling activity. Chinese cities are something to admire and also compare to the American metropolis. They are unique in that people are allowed to sell directly on the street, resulting in consistent one on one interaction and a real intimacy in the exchange of daily goods and thus conversation and personable, local relationships. In the US we rarely see such thing, unless it involves a scheduled farmers market and the like.
My favorite part of my time in Xian was biking on the city walls! My friend Jalen and I took a two person bike and spent almost two hours circling the city core and watching the sunset with friends. It was quite picturesque- the feeling of removal from the busy streets below. I wish we had time to do it again!
But I am off tomorrow morning at 4 am. We are taking a flight from Xian to Jiuzhaigou in the south to see China's most impressive national park. Talk to y'all in a week or so!
Love
Allie
Hope all is well in the West! This past week has been full of travel and adventure. Rather than departing Dunhuang the modern way, we followed the Silk Road for a day's travel and arrived at the western end of the Great Wall at the Jia Yuguan Fortress in Jia Yuguan, China. The Silk Road, as many of you already know, was not an actual road but rather a series of transportation arteries that fostered trade and cultural exchange between the Far East and the Western World. Many of you probably think of Marco Polo who travelled this route for 17 years or Buddhist ideas spreading from India to China due to new forms of interaction along the Silk Road. While in Jia Yuguan, we visited an immense fortress that functioned as a military base by multiple ancient Chinese dynasties. It was fascinating to have scene the north eastern Great Wall and now the very western end.
After Jia Yuguan, we flew to Xian, the nation's past capital and emerging mega city. IT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Trees line the clearly gridded urbanscape; ancient walls delineate the edges of its cultural core; a winding canal extends along it's eastern border; and the most astounding acres of farmland surround this developing hub.
(My love for the city may also have been a result of staying at a stunning, luxurious hotel with western breakfast and a gym... So spoiled.)
While in Xian, we visited the Terracotta Warriors... They were so cool! The Terracotta Warriors are an immense collection of statues that were discovered in Xian by a local farmer. They were buried in a dynasty emperor's tomb and eventually destroyed. Today they are still undergoing archeological excavation. The museum exhibiting them is actually built directly on site so the archeological process was also on display- career inspiring to see for sure.
On our second day in Xian, we travelled all around the city. We explored its Muslim quarter- a district characterized by small streetside markets and bustling activity. Chinese cities are something to admire and also compare to the American metropolis. They are unique in that people are allowed to sell directly on the street, resulting in consistent one on one interaction and a real intimacy in the exchange of daily goods and thus conversation and personable, local relationships. In the US we rarely see such thing, unless it involves a scheduled farmers market and the like.
My favorite part of my time in Xian was biking on the city walls! My friend Jalen and I took a two person bike and spent almost two hours circling the city core and watching the sunset with friends. It was quite picturesque- the feeling of removal from the busy streets below. I wish we had time to do it again!
But I am off tomorrow morning at 4 am. We are taking a flight from Xian to Jiuzhaigou in the south to see China's most impressive national park. Talk to y'all in a week or so!
Love
Allie