1. This wouldn’t be a true picture post without a picture of a cute Chinese baby. I love that she was walking around with the fly swatter.
2. This is a 5000 year old tree located by the Yellow Emperor’s tomb. I thought it was sort of cheating because it actually needed iron supports to keep it up, but I guess it’s earned them.
3. This was far and away the best statue I saw on the trip. A little evidence that the Order of the Phoenix had an Asian branch.
4. These were our children tour guides at the historical sites in Yanan. They were pretty amazing, this kid gave great explanations of the sites, spoke pretty good English, and then busted out some Yanan folk songs. Note the residence of Mao Zedong in the background.
5. This is a real child doing real calligraphy. One of the days in Yanan we visited a private elementary school and private middle school. These visits were some of the highlights of the trip, the kids were so cute and all wanted me to sign their notebooks. If I could go back to Yanan, I would probably spend at least five times as long with these kids.
6. A sampling of our food in Yanan. There are a few things to notice: First, the glass of orange juice in front of me. I drank at least a gallon of orange juice in four days in Yanan, and I don’t particularly like orange juice. But it was the best option. Second, the plate of fish second from the left. They brought it to us, we ate some, and then they came back, took it away and brought it back a second time cooked. Whoops, that seems like a pretty big thing to forget, don’t you think? Third, the plate being placed on the moving circle is fried dough. I wasn’t kidding when I said we had every kind of starch imaginable. Fourth, the orange dish towards the right is nan gua, or pumpkin. They love it here and we had many variations of this dish.
7. This is the farm at which we ate lunch on our way to the Yellow River. It was also home to the most uncomfortable bathroom experience I think I’ve ever have and ever hope to have.
8. This is me with one of the sweet students from Yanan University, Connie, who accompanied us on all of our sightseeing. She was literally one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and embraced me like I was her best friend for four days in Yanan. It was a little sad to say goodbye.
9. This is a pretty good representation of Xi’An: white sky (thank you pollution), pagoda, McDonalds, trees. That’s about the flavor. It’s not my favorite city ever, but very different than what I see regularly in Shanghai so that was nice change I guess.
10. This is the Yanan tower, an iconic image of Yanan. I think there is some kind of history behind this tower, but I have a very hard time listening to people who have to pause every few words to be translated into English. I’m sure it has a great history, though.
11. The first pit of the Terra-cotta Warriors. The 8th wonder of the man-made world? I’m not so sure, but it was pretty cool to see. The tomb was raided shortly after the emperor died, which is why so many of them are shattered.
12. The scenery on the way to the Yellow River was gorgeous, this picture does absolutely no justice to it.
13. This is me at the Yellow River waterfall, taken by our resident semi-professional photographer, Evan. It was cool to see this river and realize how responsible it was for beginning Chinese civilization. It was a little dirty, so I decided not to jump in to go for a swim, though it definitely was hot enough for that.
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