I had two adventures this weekend. Usually one is enough, but I still have so much to see in Xi’an and the end is coming nearer every day. On Friday one of Gary’s students and her friend, Melissa and Vivian, took us, Gary, Laree, and me, to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. It was a cold, rainy afternoon, which made the trip a little uncomfortable, but I enjoyed the sightseeing part immensely. We took the bus for about eight blocks on the main street of Chang’an and then walked 300 meters to our destination.
The pagoda stands in the center of a beautiful park. Although the area is very close to the bustling of the city, we could not hear any noise from traffic or people when we were inside the gates. It was so peaceful. There is no charge to enter as long as a person has a passport or Chinese ID number. Unfortunately, I had forgotten a copy of my passport so I used the number on my driver’s license. I don’t think they noticed. We walked around taking pictures and visiting the little shops. There is also a fairly large museum of the city of Xi’an. An art school in the area was displaying several paintings from their students on the main floor. Downstairs there was a big map of Xi’an and some artifacts. Because Xi’an, formerly called Chang’an, was the capital of China for several dynasties, farmers digging in their fields frequently find relics such as tiles or pieces of pottery as they are working. It was very interesting.
On Saturday the university took us to the 2011 International Horticultural Expo. In the first three weeks of the show, the park logged in one million visitors—not too hard to believe in China. There were several thousands there the day we went even though it was cooler weather or maybe because of the cooler weather. Actually it would have been so much worse on a hot day. One day this week was 100 degrees! Too hot!
It was raining when we arrived, but it stopped soon after we entered the grounds, although it was still chilly. Several of my writing students have been working as volunteers for about two weeks so I ran into several of them, and three of them accompanied me through most of the exhibits. Our weiban called ahead and arranged for two English tour guides and VIP status so we did not have to wait in the long lines for two or three hours to get inside the various buildings. That was very nice!
We saw several of the pavilions and the big pagoda-shaped tower in the middle of the park. My students told me that both the mountain and lake were manmade so there was an extensive amount of planning involved in this project. Like the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo, China puts a lot of time and money into their public interest events. It was a pretty impressive sight. I wonder what they will do with the grounds in October after the expo is over. There were flowers and various animal-shaped bushes next to the walkways. It was beautiful! I cannot even fathom how many flowers were planted there. It was fun to see one or two yellow pansies peeping out of the middle of a field of purple petunias. Or a red petunia peering out a mass of yellow marigolds.
After visiting the Theme Pavilion with the so-called latest in plant production and wonders of technology, we rode an elevator to the top of the Tower and took a bird’s-eye view of the entire park and surrounding areas of Xi’an. Even though it was overcast, we could see for miles—a rare phenomenon. Then we walked for about fifteen minutes to the event I had been waiting for—the panda place! Yes, I saw six pandas! They were so cute—bigger than I expected. Some of them were sauntering around their enclosures and some were stretched out on the drains asleep. One was outside in its yard putting on a show for the visitors.
We also saw five golden monkeys chewing on branches, three takins (they called them antelope) grazing on grass, three crested ibises perched on limbs—but no partridges in a pear tree. These four animals are called the national treasures of China. I was totally enthralled with all of them, but especially the pandas. My students were so thrilled that they could show them to me. My time in China is fulfilled—sort of. (Sigh!)
We also saw the Greenhouse Pavilion, which was full of butterflies, insects, lizards, and exotic plants. It was cool! They had some giant moving models of a praying mantis, a tarantula, and a small dinosaur. It was a wonderful place for little kids and grown-up kids as well, but not for the squeamish at heart.
We walked around to the international area where different countries were represented—Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, Italy, France--to name a few. My students left to go back to the campus and I met up with my friends and had lunch. We found a Taiwan restaurant and I had a vegetable pancake. It was okay. I also had some Turkish ice cream. The men behind the counter were showmen. One of them said he was from California, but he wasn’t. They would scoop up the ice cream and then pretend to give you the cone only to take it away from you at least three times. It was hilarious! There were several Chinese people standing around watching the show and laughing. It was delicious ice cream, but I am waiting for the real stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment