China 2005 -Guilin, Xian, foods and country scenes

Chef cooking biscuits over a bar-b-que, first time I've seen this, those Chinese are so clever.

One of many kinds of soups we had on our trip, can't say I know what this one was.

Sigrid, Dorothy and Donna enjoying our lunch. It was quite a spread wouldn't you say?


That middle dish looks pretty spicy.

The group at Guilin waiting to board our boat.
Front row left to right: Jeanne, Don, Marianne, Allen and Donna.
Back row left to right: Tina (blue shirt), Sigrid, Norman, Jeff (baseball cap) and Don Yee.

About to sail off....Allen, Donna, Jeff, Don, and Tina; The driver and engine (push power) is in the rear.

Donna and Allen in front of Elephant Mountain.

A Guilin couple enjoying the river and planning their future?

Golden Palace in Xian.

Over 50 selections of Dim Sum, this was a government owned restaurant.
The offerings were very good.

Exquisite bronze horses uncovered at Emperor Qin Shi Huang Tomb.

The terracotta warrior basically covers all Chinese people's facial shapes, which can be classified into eight types similar to the strokes of certain Chinese characters.

These are half size models of real horses, faithfully copied down to the last detail, complete with bridle and harnesses. They are constructed with bronze and cast bullion.

The terracotta army ws discovered by local villagers in March 1974 who were drilling for wells on a piece of barren land. They found fragments of terracotta warriors and many bronze weapons. These discoveries received much attention and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage sent a team of archaeologists and conservation experts to perform a site visit, and organized Shaaanxi archaeologists to perform a full-scale excavation of the site.

There are over 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses in this pit, of which 1,000 have been unearthed.

Farmers selling their products at the market square. Since China has turned towards a more capitalistic system, they keep whatever monies they earn.

Freshest vegetables you will see anywhere and reasonable priced.

Most of these products have been harvested a few hours before coming to market. In the foreground is a squash used for saute or soup. Next to squash could be a variety of asparagus.

These bags may be herbs and spices.

Dried herb and spices

Fresh Lichee nuts, tangerines, grapes and loquats.

Raspberries?

Vendors selling their wares on the street.

My favorites; cha sui (roast bbq pork), roast duck, roast pork, roast goose, and other extraneous goodies.

Street vendors with prepared food. Very popular with locals, a cautionary note to the tourist, be careful what you eat off the street.

More herbs and spices, could for for medicinal uses. Maybe this is the stuff that Marco Polo brought back to the Continent.

Gorgeous display of peaches, apricots, lichee, etc.

Fresh lichees in the front, pears, apples and dragon fruit next to the bananas on the back left. A dragon fruit is white meat with lots of tiny black seeds and a mild tropical taste similar to guava.

We tasted our first one in Hong Kong.

One of my favorite shots of the trip near Guilin. Notice the walking bridge is stationary, up and down, thus allowing the small boats to pass underneath.

Li River near Guilin, we also saw local fishermen using cormorants to fish. Cormorants are long-necked birds that are tied at the base of their throat so they can not swallow the entire fish.

Awesome beauty of the mountains as a backdrop for the picturesque rice patties.

Rice patties, notice the beautiful mountains in the background.

Working the land, hours of back-breaking work. Notice the telephone pole in the patties.

You cannot escape the McDonald Hamburger Company's long arm of expansion. The Beijing store is the largest in the world.
Side note: The Moscow, Russia McDonald's is the busiest in the world.