We
were now in the land of noodles. One day at lunch we watched a noodle maker
stretch a glob of dough into yards and yards of spaghetti-size pasta. It was
amazing to watch how fast his hands worked that glob of dough! Then, one
evening we partook in an 18-course dumpling dinner at the Tang Theater
Restaurant; before we viewed a folkloric show.
Our
train to Xi’an was delayed until 8 PM. Our guide told us, “Beijing has quite an
underground tunnel system, so if you like, I can show you that since we have
some extra time.”
We
all agreed that sure beat waiting around in the train station. We walked
through an old neighborhood to reach the tunnel entrance where a local docent
joined us explaining, “This is known as the Underground Great Wall. The tunnels
were built during the Russia-China cold war 1969-1979. It involved 300,000
workers and the tunnels can accommodate one million people. There are many
rooms and entrances-exits.”
We
were 30-40 feet underground. The tunnels had concrete walls and floor and were
lighted. The hospital room could hold 600 people. In addition there was a food
room, munitions room, and silk room.
We walked a good way before
ending up in the silk room which turned out to be part of a silk factory.
The
huge area was amazing!
In
the silk factory I was amazed to see what a silk cocoon looks like. A gal was
soaking them in water, and then she removed the dead silk worm from inside. I
was mesmerized watching her stretch the silk out and out from the tiny
thumb-size cocoon.
We
visited the Xi’an city wall complex on a Saturday. We were just about to leave
when we realized there was a wedding about to take place. The government had
been encouraging couples to save money by engaging in group weddings. This was
the first to take place at the picturesque spot. Our guide managed to get us to
a good viewing area. Thirty couples wed that warm sunny day. We stayed for the
bridal procession and the beginning of the ceremony, which took place over a
loud speaker. It was interesting and the next day all over the newspaper.
After
a long, but interesting, museum visit in Xi’an our guide directed the van
driver to an authentic foot massage. We all indulged in the 70-minute, $20
massage. Ah, what a bonus! One gal’s feet experienced a miracle when her falling
arches no longer pained her. We all relaxed in a room containing five chairs
and five therapists who worked in harmony. Someone else kept us supplied with
hot jasmine tea. At the end I was asked,
“Did that feel good or what?”
Yes
indeed it did!
Just
a word about toilets. My visit was a year or two before Beijing hosted the
Olympics, so I cannot speak to any improvements made for them. We coped with
eastern toilets which generally meant a hole in the ground. Our hotels did have
modern toilets, but airports, restaurants and public facilities did not. It was
good to know this ahead of time as for women a skirt is the best attire to cope
with these toilets. Squatting is not the biggest problem; getting up is! With
no handholds and to avoid touching a probably less than clean floor one had
better have good thigh muscles! I must also add that this really was not a
problem for any of us, as I think we had all done our homework and were prepared
for what we’d find. China was not the first place I have had to cope with the
hole in the ground!
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