tdaxp - beijing_2007

Xi'an, Terracotta Army

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:35:00 -0500

This is the last post of our trip to Xi'an, and the last schedule post of our recent trip to China.

It deals with the most amazing thing I saw this year: the Terracotta Army. It's often called the Terracotta Warriors, but it is not merely a number of buried soldier-dolls. For reasons I'll speculate at below, the Terracotta forces are well organized and clearly well-run in their burnt-earth world.

So come with us, and experience that wonder of the world only discovered in the 1970s: the Terracotta Army.

Xi'an, Big Wild Goose Pagoda

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Wed, 30 May 2007 05:15:00 -0500

Our final day in Xi'an was hectic. We began with a tour of Xian Technological University and ended being rather, well tired. In between we ate at the semi-formal Pizza Hut in in the Old Town we visited previously.

Not Pizza Hut, but close to it

Between the college and the 'hut was saw one of the sights Xi'an is known for: the Great Wild Goose Pagoda.

Gateway to 大雁塔

Come on in to the pagoda and and her Temple of Maternal Grace!

Xian, Xi'an Technological University

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:55:00 -0500

Welcome back to my travelogue of Western Peace, the ancient capital of China.

I enjoy college. I enjoy studying in university, and I enjoy visiting them. So I've chronicles SFASU in Texas, IPFW in Indiana, and Peking U in China. So now trip to Xi'an would be complete without visiting a great college in that neck of the world: Xi'an Technlogical University.

Formerly Xi'an Institute of Technology

Check in at the guardhouse...

and come on in!

Home

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:39:18 -0500

I'm currently in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, waiting for the United Express flight home. The trip went well, and involved time travel (arriving in the US before we departed from China -- timezones are sweet!).

The plane shook more than any I was one -- a steward next to me loudly called "down" and the he and the stewardesses were on the floor, attempting to prevent liquids (or themselves) from tumbling over.

I was frisked both in Beijing and Chicago. In China all wand-wavers are female, while in the United States the frisker is the same sex as the friskee.

Also, unlike at the beginning of my trip, I am now waiting in a domestic as opposed to international section of the airport. Not only is this wing less crowded, electrical outlets are plentiful and actually powered. My laptop loves it!

Xi'an, Old Town

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:00:00 -0500

The Bell Tower, one of the most beautiful street scenes I've seen in China, is in the Old Town of Xi'an (Western Peace)

Xi'an is considered to be a premier tourist destination in China's middle-west. Because the Communist Party did not purposefully destroy the old town during Mao Zedong's tenure (unlike in Beijing, where only remnants survive), the Old Town is a sight to see. It is well cared for, with the ancient towers and modern landscaping existing peacefully side-by-side

Either the Bell or Drum Tower

Enjoy the sights of old Xi'an...

Be a foreign photographer

... come with us!

Congratulations to the Generally Speaking Lost Podcast Network!

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Sun, 27 May 2007 08:06:39 -0500

As far as I know, gspn.tv is the first LOST podcast firewalled by the People's Republic of China!

PRC v. GSPN

Congrats Cliff and Stephanie!

Wedding in Tianjin

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Sat, 26 May 2007 18:25:00 -0500

Yesterday I had the pleasure of returning to Tianjin to attend a wedding.

The wedding was great, and included everything you wouldn't expect, from a caravan of red cars to the Imperial March.

By proxy?!?

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:59:18 -0500

Finally, I got him.

Of the many crimes which will be made capital offenses once I have absolute power, line-jumping is the most notable in China. While probably half of Chinese form lines, a rotten 50% simply do not respect the device in the subways or trains. This has to stop.

And finally, I got him.

For once, there was only one line-jumper. And for once, everyone else had queued up politely. We walked onto the Line 13 train at Xizhimen. I waited for the train to start and the announcements to stop. I walked over, and gave my epic speech.

Now, he did not speak English. Nor did his quite attractive Lady friend. However, I felt vindicated, and I proceeded to speak with Lady of tdaxp, pointing to the jerk for effect and emphasizing his uniquely vile nature.

Lady of jerk and Lady of tdaxp then had the following short conversation:

Lady of jerk: Is your boyfriend annoyed by something?
Lady of tdaxp: Yes, your boyfriend cut in line.
Lady of jerk: Oh, I'm sorry for that.

What nonsense is this?? An apology by proxy?? Did the Emperor of Manchuko apologize to the Canadian ambassador for the events of December 7th, 1941? No! Did the Hasemite King of Jordan deeply regret the recent Iraqi incursion into Kuwait after it has passed? No!

In the good old fashioned days such injustices developed into world-changing fights, as they should have. But instead of a translingual battle of rhetorical whits, I get what??? an apology by proxy?

Absurd. Dispatch the troops!

Xi'an, Prologue: The Last Express

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:25:00 -0500

Anyone who'se played The Last Express knows about the romance of train travel -- as long as one lives a century ago and has first-class tickets.

Time travel was not an option for Lady of tdaxp and myself, but fortunately first-class rail tickets in China cost less than coach-class plane tickets over medium distances. To me, this is as if luxury SUVs cost just a pinch less than Mini Coopers.

The Good Earth

So after a day's rest from our Cantonese adventure, Lady of tdaxp and I traveled to her old college town on the train. Join us, and let's have some fun!

Goofy Beijing

noreply@blogspirit.com (Dan tdaxp) — Thu, 24 May 2007 07:53:36 -0500

Is this merely the worst example of Chinglish I've ever seen -- or the beginning of an epic poem?

At a Yoshinoya-DQ

The second floors sweep medium
The pause do business
Submit a comment below to finish the verse!

About an hour before that, a sign my friend Rob in Texas would enjoy:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

And last (this one for Aaron, who predicted this event daily while we worked together):

My first car accident!

A thrilling 5 mph smash

China's a fascinating country, even when not swimming in the Pearl Ocean or snagging a first-class train ticket.