Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks, Week Three: China
Hello this snowy morning from China! (Well, not really, but, you know...) I stayed up last night until 2:15 researching and writing so I could get this up on time today. Thankfully it didn't take a long time going from Mongolia from China, so we got to spend more time in the actual country.
This week I've read countless facts about China, researched the three places Annie decided to visit, listened to Chinese music, looked up common foods, and Googled what China smells like and sounds like. I've watched Youtube videos of people walking down the streets in the cities Annie was in, figured out her route (including the time it took to get each place), had the weather up on my phone, scrolled through hundreds of images of China, and ate large amounts of ginger.
So, pretty much I feel like I really have been in China. And now, y'all can go there, too. Here's week three in our joint adventure of Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. Enjoy!
Around the World in 52 WeeksWeek Three: China
I ran my fingers along the cold stone and gave a squeal of joy. I was standing on the Great Wall of China. Little Miss Annie’s dreams were coming true. Ever since I looked at a coffee table travel book one rainy and gloomy day as a little girl, I had dreamed of touching the extremely impressive structure. In fact, I built my own “Great wall of Indiana” that day in the living room using pillows and couch cushions. It wasn’t very successful in keeping the “enemy” (aka, younger brothers) out, so instead we joined forces and tried to convince our parents that we should build a wall around our property. That was a no go. I read so much about the Wall and it’s history growing up that I could spout off facts like a tour guide. It was over 2,300 years old, the widest sections were 30 feet, the highest point 26 feet. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World and was the longest structure to be built by people. There were also a lot of lesser known facts such as the use of rice flour for mortar and that the Chinese invented the wheelbarrow and used it while building the wall. All that adds up to being pretty impressive, right?
After visiting the Great Wall, I meandered along the streets, breathing in the smells and listening contentedly to the sounds. It was noisy and busy, a great circus of people and vehicles and a hundred horns sounding all at once. There were people all around me talking in choppy-sounding sentences that I wished I could understand. I was hungry so I looked around, trying to find something to eat. I was ready for some familiar-ish foods after all the new experiences I had in Mongolia, so I passed on eating the scorpions, insects on a stick, and starfish, hoping to find food that would hit closer to home. Finally I found someone selling bean sprout dumplings and they smelled delicious (especially compared to the pig stomaches I had just passed), so I ordered some of them and enjoyed them quite thoroughly.
* * *
Starring at the vast and lifeless army in front of me I was filled with a sense of overwhelming wonder mixed with sorrow. I breathed in deeply and the scent of dust and thousands of years rushed over me. I had been twelve when I heard the words “Terracotta Army” for the first time. My history teacher that year was Mrs. Moon and she filled the class room with a sense of adventure and made learning exciting. Over a decade later we were still in contact via Facebook and I snapped a picture of the famous sculptures specifically for her. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China (and also whom China was named after), commissioned over 700,000 workers to build an army of clay, starting around 210 BC. It’s predicted that it took over three decades to build the huge project that hosted over 8,000 figures, including horses, chariots, and people. Most historians agree that Qin Shi Huang was preparing for the afterlife, hence the reason he had the army created. I opened my notebook and hastily scribbled down thoughts as they tumbled into my head. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have been Qin Shi Huang. I closed my eyes and thought of the fear he must have had to spend so much time and resources on his afterlife, and yet he was so far off the mark. As spectacular as the Terracotta Army was, I found myself unable to enjoy it. Instead I stood there wishing I could somehow reach back through time and tell the Emperor the truth about what happens after death. Wishing I could explain that there was a way to have peace and rest and complete joy, and building an army was not the answer. “Yet I can tell the people that are alive today,” I whispered the words to myself. “And I will.” Looking down at the masterfully crafted sculptures, I made a decision that from there on out I wouldn’t keep silent. I would share the truth of Jesus and how He had died to pay the price for our sins so we could have a relationship with God and eventually live with Him in heaven. Nothing we could do, even something as impressive as creating what would become one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century, could save us; only Jesus could do that. I left the Terracotta Army Museum in a sober state of mind.
* * *
After spending Tuesday visiting the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, I got up nice and early Wednesday morning and went down to the train station to take the high speed rail to Jilin’s Rime, which is one of the four natural wonders in China. The trip would be between eight and nine hours so I settled back in my seat, prepared to have a relaxing day of watching China speed by and catch up on some facts about the most populated and forth largest (land-wise) country in the world. I pulled out my phone and looked through a couple of guidebooks I had downloaded onto my kindle before leaving Mongolia’s capital. There were all sorts of cool facts and I decided to do a blog post that contained some of the ones I liked best. After a few minutes I looked back outside and watched as the gray landscape of a cold January day flashed by. The buildings had a very different flair than I was used to back home, but the weather at that moment was quite familiar.
The ding of a text coming in surprised me. Exploration Airlines had worked it out so I could have cell service, but with the time difference and exploring I’d been too busy to do much communicating other than my blogging and vlogging. Hey, the editing crew has your latest vlog up about the Great Wall; it looks like you’re having so much fun there! Do you need help with anything? I read the text from Sophie and did some quick calculations: it was eight a’clock back home, way after work hours. Sophie was such a great assistant. It is wonderful here. I’m in a train and about ready to play a game of China Trivia with myself. I pressed send and about three seconds later she replied: Nice! I’ll join in. Let’s see who can come up with the best fact. I sat up straighter and stretched my arms. You’re on. I licked my lips and thought for a moment, trying to come up with a fact from all the information I’d read during the last few days. Did you know that the world’s first paper money was created in China 1,400 years ago? I sent the text and received one from Sophie at almost the exact same time, Did you know that China has only one official time zone? “Um, yes, I knew that.” I answered her text aloud and then glanced around hoping that no one was paying attention to me. The one-time-zone thing threw me for a loop since the sunrise can be as late as 10 am in some parts of the country. Or that dyeing pets to look like wild animals is a popular thing there nowadays. I started to type a reply, but Sophie sent another one before I could gather my thoughts. And a new skyscraper is built in China every five days. So, it’s kinda not surprising that China used more cement in three years (from 2011-2013) than the U.S. used in the whole 20th century. I grinned. Julia must have been Googling facts. Also: Half of the world’s pigs live in China. Have you eaten a lot of pork there? I only had time to answer “yes” before another text came in. Air pollution in China increases snowfall in California. (Don’t ask me how that works…) Alright, alright, you win! I sent her a quick text. How in the world did you get those facts so quickly? It took a minute for Sophie to reply, That’s for me to know and you not to find out. ;) I need to start a load of laundry now, so I’ll sign off. Let me know if you need anything. I said goodnight to Sophie and then got back to work.
Thursday morning I awoke to a shimmering, breath-taking, fairy tale like beauty. Ice covered everything, coating the world with a million little flowers that sparkled in the early morning sun. Bundling up against the cold, I spent the morning soaking in the surreal landscape and snapping hundreds of pictures. As afternoon approached I was cold, hungry, and tired so I found a restaurant that smelled deliciously of ginger, peanuts, chicken, and unknown spices and ducked through it’s welcoming door. I ordered hot tea and gong bao chicken after being assured that I wasn’t actually going to be served cat meat. The food was delicious: a mixture of chicken, fried peanuts and dried chili that gave each bite a little punch to the tastebuds and made me thankful for my tea to help cool my mouth down. As I ate I jotted notes down on my notebook and looked through some of the pictures I had taken, deleting a fair amount that hadn’t turned out. Mostly though, I simply rested and breathed in the world and culture around me. Friday and Saturday were spent visiting a meteorite museum and the Puppet Emperor’s Palace, as well as discovering that tofu (which I had always thought of as something only vegans eat) is delicious. I ended up ordering it twice, and probably would have ordered it for the rest of my meals as well if it weren’t for my commitment to trying new things. Sunday morning I couldn’t find any church to attend and I didn’t have a clue how to go about looking for one, so I ended up spending my morning walking along the river, praying for the country. I rested the rest of the day, knowing that in the morning I would be off again on another adventure.
This week I've read countless facts about China, researched the three places Annie decided to visit, listened to Chinese music, looked up common foods, and Googled what China smells like and sounds like. I've watched Youtube videos of people walking down the streets in the cities Annie was in, figured out her route (including the time it took to get each place), had the weather up on my phone, scrolled through hundreds of images of China, and ate large amounts of ginger.
So, pretty much I feel like I really have been in China. And now, y'all can go there, too. Here's week three in our joint adventure of Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. Enjoy!
Around the World in 52 WeeksWeek Three: China
I ran my fingers along the cold stone and gave a squeal of joy. I was standing on the Great Wall of China. Little Miss Annie’s dreams were coming true. Ever since I looked at a coffee table travel book one rainy and gloomy day as a little girl, I had dreamed of touching the extremely impressive structure. In fact, I built my own “Great wall of Indiana” that day in the living room using pillows and couch cushions. It wasn’t very successful in keeping the “enemy” (aka, younger brothers) out, so instead we joined forces and tried to convince our parents that we should build a wall around our property. That was a no go. I read so much about the Wall and it’s history growing up that I could spout off facts like a tour guide. It was over 2,300 years old, the widest sections were 30 feet, the highest point 26 feet. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World and was the longest structure to be built by people. There were also a lot of lesser known facts such as the use of rice flour for mortar and that the Chinese invented the wheelbarrow and used it while building the wall. All that adds up to being pretty impressive, right?
After visiting the Great Wall, I meandered along the streets, breathing in the smells and listening contentedly to the sounds. It was noisy and busy, a great circus of people and vehicles and a hundred horns sounding all at once. There were people all around me talking in choppy-sounding sentences that I wished I could understand. I was hungry so I looked around, trying to find something to eat. I was ready for some familiar-ish foods after all the new experiences I had in Mongolia, so I passed on eating the scorpions, insects on a stick, and starfish, hoping to find food that would hit closer to home. Finally I found someone selling bean sprout dumplings and they smelled delicious (especially compared to the pig stomaches I had just passed), so I ordered some of them and enjoyed them quite thoroughly.
* * *
Starring at the vast and lifeless army in front of me I was filled with a sense of overwhelming wonder mixed with sorrow. I breathed in deeply and the scent of dust and thousands of years rushed over me. I had been twelve when I heard the words “Terracotta Army” for the first time. My history teacher that year was Mrs. Moon and she filled the class room with a sense of adventure and made learning exciting. Over a decade later we were still in contact via Facebook and I snapped a picture of the famous sculptures specifically for her. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China (and also whom China was named after), commissioned over 700,000 workers to build an army of clay, starting around 210 BC. It’s predicted that it took over three decades to build the huge project that hosted over 8,000 figures, including horses, chariots, and people. Most historians agree that Qin Shi Huang was preparing for the afterlife, hence the reason he had the army created. I opened my notebook and hastily scribbled down thoughts as they tumbled into my head. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have been Qin Shi Huang. I closed my eyes and thought of the fear he must have had to spend so much time and resources on his afterlife, and yet he was so far off the mark. As spectacular as the Terracotta Army was, I found myself unable to enjoy it. Instead I stood there wishing I could somehow reach back through time and tell the Emperor the truth about what happens after death. Wishing I could explain that there was a way to have peace and rest and complete joy, and building an army was not the answer. “Yet I can tell the people that are alive today,” I whispered the words to myself. “And I will.” Looking down at the masterfully crafted sculptures, I made a decision that from there on out I wouldn’t keep silent. I would share the truth of Jesus and how He had died to pay the price for our sins so we could have a relationship with God and eventually live with Him in heaven. Nothing we could do, even something as impressive as creating what would become one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century, could save us; only Jesus could do that. I left the Terracotta Army Museum in a sober state of mind.
* * *
After spending Tuesday visiting the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, I got up nice and early Wednesday morning and went down to the train station to take the high speed rail to Jilin’s Rime, which is one of the four natural wonders in China. The trip would be between eight and nine hours so I settled back in my seat, prepared to have a relaxing day of watching China speed by and catch up on some facts about the most populated and forth largest (land-wise) country in the world. I pulled out my phone and looked through a couple of guidebooks I had downloaded onto my kindle before leaving Mongolia’s capital. There were all sorts of cool facts and I decided to do a blog post that contained some of the ones I liked best. After a few minutes I looked back outside and watched as the gray landscape of a cold January day flashed by. The buildings had a very different flair than I was used to back home, but the weather at that moment was quite familiar.
The ding of a text coming in surprised me. Exploration Airlines had worked it out so I could have cell service, but with the time difference and exploring I’d been too busy to do much communicating other than my blogging and vlogging. Hey, the editing crew has your latest vlog up about the Great Wall; it looks like you’re having so much fun there! Do you need help with anything? I read the text from Sophie and did some quick calculations: it was eight a’clock back home, way after work hours. Sophie was such a great assistant. It is wonderful here. I’m in a train and about ready to play a game of China Trivia with myself. I pressed send and about three seconds later she replied: Nice! I’ll join in. Let’s see who can come up with the best fact. I sat up straighter and stretched my arms. You’re on. I licked my lips and thought for a moment, trying to come up with a fact from all the information I’d read during the last few days. Did you know that the world’s first paper money was created in China 1,400 years ago? I sent the text and received one from Sophie at almost the exact same time, Did you know that China has only one official time zone? “Um, yes, I knew that.” I answered her text aloud and then glanced around hoping that no one was paying attention to me. The one-time-zone thing threw me for a loop since the sunrise can be as late as 10 am in some parts of the country. Or that dyeing pets to look like wild animals is a popular thing there nowadays. I started to type a reply, but Sophie sent another one before I could gather my thoughts. And a new skyscraper is built in China every five days. So, it’s kinda not surprising that China used more cement in three years (from 2011-2013) than the U.S. used in the whole 20th century. I grinned. Julia must have been Googling facts. Also: Half of the world’s pigs live in China. Have you eaten a lot of pork there? I only had time to answer “yes” before another text came in. Air pollution in China increases snowfall in California. (Don’t ask me how that works…) Alright, alright, you win! I sent her a quick text. How in the world did you get those facts so quickly? It took a minute for Sophie to reply, That’s for me to know and you not to find out. ;) I need to start a load of laundry now, so I’ll sign off. Let me know if you need anything. I said goodnight to Sophie and then got back to work.
Thursday morning I awoke to a shimmering, breath-taking, fairy tale like beauty. Ice covered everything, coating the world with a million little flowers that sparkled in the early morning sun. Bundling up against the cold, I spent the morning soaking in the surreal landscape and snapping hundreds of pictures. As afternoon approached I was cold, hungry, and tired so I found a restaurant that smelled deliciously of ginger, peanuts, chicken, and unknown spices and ducked through it’s welcoming door. I ordered hot tea and gong bao chicken after being assured that I wasn’t actually going to be served cat meat. The food was delicious: a mixture of chicken, fried peanuts and dried chili that gave each bite a little punch to the tastebuds and made me thankful for my tea to help cool my mouth down. As I ate I jotted notes down on my notebook and looked through some of the pictures I had taken, deleting a fair amount that hadn’t turned out. Mostly though, I simply rested and breathed in the world and culture around me. Friday and Saturday were spent visiting a meteorite museum and the Puppet Emperor’s Palace, as well as discovering that tofu (which I had always thought of as something only vegans eat) is delicious. I ended up ordering it twice, and probably would have ordered it for the rest of my meals as well if it weren’t for my commitment to trying new things. Sunday morning I couldn’t find any church to attend and I didn’t have a clue how to go about looking for one, so I ended up spending my morning walking along the river, praying for the country. I rested the rest of the day, knowing that in the morning I would be off again on another adventure.
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