Home at last

We're home!

Whew - what a trip!

I'll be cleaning up all of the photos and making them all available online. I'll post the link as soon as I figure out where to put all of them.

Thanks to all who followed along. I hope that you liked what I wrote.

We're not done yet. The folks at the Sichuan Quake Relief site have asked for our help in rebuilding the Disaster Area.

I hope that you stay online with me as I write about these projects. I also hope that you'll join me in helping these folks.

Write and let me know if you want to help.

Peace,

Tang Li Xin

Through Guilin and on to Xian

Well, this is an interesting location to post my blog.

Mary Lou, Noel and I are in a smokey, dark, dank, upstairs internet cafe with about 30 or so of our closest young Chinese new friends. We are very entertaining to them, especially the whole conversation about the cost, time, and how to use the machines.

All this because the Hyatt (where we are staying) costs 2.5 Yuan a minute and this cafe is about 10 Yuan for about 8 hours.

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I don't have the USB cord for my camera, so pictures later.

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We spent 2 wonderful days in Guilin. We took the 3 hour Lei River boat tour. Strolled "West Street," walked through the Reed Flute Cave and toured the Sea Oyster Factory. All, very interesting. We were the only ones in our tour group and had a great tour guide and driver.

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Then we caught a flight to Xian and got caught in some interesting up drafts and down drafts in the thunderstorm across China. We made it safely to earth but no tour guide to meet us at the gate.

Finally someone came and got us and managed to get us safely to the Hyatt. She said we had to make a decision right then and there about the cultural show and dinner as it was very hard to book. We decided on "no."

Today was touring the State Run and Official Terra Cotta Statue Making Factory, then to the Bampo Village (6000 year old village that looks like Pueblo Grande in Phoenix, an interesting lunch experience and off to see the actual Terra Cotta Warrior Excavation Site.

Now, THAT was fascinating! It was a 3 hour tour. :-)

(By the way, she was selling tickets to the same cultural show and dinner. I mean she didn't have to book anything, she had the actual tickets right there in her purse!)

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Then dropped off at the hotel and stopped the sign for the Internet Cafe. So, here we are. We'll head back across the street, the cultural DMZ here in Xian.

We have a half day here in Xian tomorrow and back on another plane (our 7th of this trip) to Chengdu. We're there tomorrow night only and then have a 3 day bus tour in the Chengdu area.

We're heading to Ermai Mt., the Giant Buddha, the hill were the monkeys are going to try to steal everything out of our backpacks, the Hot Springs and then back to the City of Chengdu. Then we spend our last day in Chendgu at the Panda Research Center, the Antique Market and the Cultural Center.

We leave our hotel at 5:00 am on Monday, Julu 7th and head back to America. The Land of the Beautiful, the Home of the Brave, and where my dogs and bed are waiting for me.

Love,

Donna

HuTong Village

The Hutong Villages (胡同 Hútòng) of Beijing most represent the traditional housing of Chinese locals. Some of the streets in the Qianmen Hutong (前门胡同 Qiánmén hútòng) have a history around 500 years, with unchanged street layouts. The Qianmen area is undergoing aggressive restoration and gentrification that will continue through 2010. As a result some of the streets are blocked by construction. The Hutongs are the perfect place to get a glimps of Chinese daily life. The majority of Hutongs have been demolished to make space for modern buildings. For these reasons, the Hutongs are considered very valuable and are a popular tourist attraction. Rickshaws carrying tourists weave in and out of the narrow streets of the Hutong Village to give individuals an up-close look at these homes.


From within the Ricksahw - Looking out at the HuTong===


Our Group got to visit a Woman withing her home in the HuTong Village - this is the first time I'm in someone's house while in China!===


Our tour guide chooses her house because he says that she is the most easy going person he has ever met - I agree!===

I have a funny "HuTing" not "HuTong" story - will only tell to those who email!

:-)

Li Xin

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Whew - Back Online

Hello Everyone!

We've spent the last 4 days in Beijing. It was tough to find an affordable Internet cafe near us.

We were on the Great Wall, in the Forbidden City, at Tinneman Square, the Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, HuTong Village, The Drum Tower, Prince Gong's Mansion and more...


Tinneman Square - across from the North Entrance to the Forbidden City
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Somewhere deep within the Forbiddent City Itself
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We had our own kind of Dragon Boat Race in the Summer Palace Lake
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These were 69 of the steppest steps I've been on - to get to the Drum Tower
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Earthquake Images

Even though I never got to the Disaster Zone, I've been able to take pictures of the images from the zone.

These were murals from the Cultural Center, the Cathedral and the streets. They cover the disaster zone every day on the news and in the newspapers. We haven't felt any tremors since Thursday night. There are still landslides, mudslides and tremors in the disaster area.

Many of you are starting to email with your desire to help. I can organize things better when I get home but there are still lots of things to get done here.




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Love and Hope!

A few comments on what I have learned in the clinic

Hello everyone,

I just wanted all of you to know that I have asked specific questions of the doctors regarding some of your health issues. Obviously, I can't say what they are or who I asked about, I just wanted you to know that I brought a lot of you with me!

Also, I am amazed at the heartiness and tenacity of the Chinese people. They re-use their needles (they are autoclaved and sterile) and they are of a thicker gauge then we tend to use in the States.

Here are some of the babies receiving both scalp and body acupuncture. THese treatments have absolutely improved their conditions. The are mostly cerebral or spinal problems.




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This is a baby getting "cupping" after having had their acupuncture treatment:



They start young and just seem to grow stronger. These folks have many things we don't have and it is rare to hear them complain during any of their treatments. I really have a greater respect for the people and their culture.




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Arrival of my good friends!

Woo Whooo!

I now have some friends to directly share my experiences with. Here is the arrival of Mary Lou and Noel!




Mary Lou, then Noel

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The reason that they look so happy is because they are NOT sitting on an airplane. After a 3 hours delay in Hong Kong due to engine and door problems, they were very glad to arrive in Chengdu.

They had enough time to drop off their bags at the hotel and then head to the International Student Office to take part in the "Closing Ceremony" for me, Yoshi and Winston.




This marks the end of my clinic and lectures here at the Chengdu University Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the beginning of travel in China.

We will be going to Beijing, Guilin and Xian. I hope that I can find internet cafes along the way and share this next part of the trip.

Peace and love,

Donna