Day 6
We took the high speed train instead of the overnight train due to our schedule change. At the train station, there was a security check in, like they do at the airport, it made me feel safe. My first impression of a fast train is that it is very cool looking and the space inside was better than the plane, there was much more space between the chairs, very comfortable. Some of the bathrooms are squat bathrooms and the last one next to the VIP is a sit on bathroom, we were lucky enough to be near the VIP bathroom. I fell asleep for a couple of hours, but I was impress by the train tracks from the modern city to a secluded area of China. It took us about 5 hours to get to Xi'an. The pro of China's system of government is that it's very efficient. China doesn't have to go through votes among hundreds of Senators, when the central government wants to get something done, it's get done. An example is the high speed trains.
Xi'an located in Shaanxi province. One of the oldest cities in China. Xi'an population is about 9 million. The city is known for research and development. Served as capital under Zhou, Qin. Han, Sui and Tang dynasty. We visited the Shaanxi History Museum. I was most interested in the Tang dynasty section because this time period in China was very civilized, it was call the golden age. The Tang system of law was very humanitarian, pleasing the people first and open to new ideas. Tang dynasty was found by the Li family Emperor Gaozu, but it was his second son Li Shimin who traditionally regarded as a cofounder of the dynasty. Li Shimin considered to be one of the greatest emperor in China's history. The system were very similar to Capitalism. It was the time of relative freedom for women. Women can participate in politics, played sports and they loved their plum figure. During Tang dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian declared herself as the emperor of China, she was the first female emperor in China.
Before we went to the Wild Goose Pagoda, we stopped by the KFC nearby. Me and Kim got the combo chicken popcorn, chicken wings and fries, it's was so good either because we were really hungry or we hadn't had any American food for a while and missed it, I think it was both. It was pouring rain, but we still walked to the wild Goose pagoda, because we didn't want to miss out on anything. It was built in Tang dynasty, more than 1300 years ago. It is a Buddhist temple. Normally people come here and pray to the Buddha. Despite the rain and our hectic day, being at the temple and getting to pray and smell burning incense made me very calm.
We had dinner at the local dumpling diner. There was also a performance of Tang dynasty music and a dance show. The dancer had such a colorful dress, very flexible movement and gentle and danced along with beautiful suiting music. Some of the music was very sad and lonely.