Suzi 29/05/06

Well we made it to see Chairman Mao on our last day in Beijing (for free too, which was a bonus, although we did queue to go in as the mausoleum one of Beijing's top attractions!). He was smaller and more yellow than expected but quite amazing to see as he died in 1976 so they've done a pretty good job of the embalming!

We're now in Chengdu after an enjoyable four days in Xi'an. We went to see the Terracotta Army and was truly magnificent, it's hard to imagine the scale of the site even when you are there. The largest excavation pit, pit 1 has about 2,000 warriors and horses on display and they estimate there are a total of 6,000 in that pit. Looks absolutely incredible and even more so when you consider every warrior has a different face. The bodies were mass produced (we also thought this was pretty good going for 2,200 years ago) but each face was hand carved and then, when locals discovered the site in 1974 (the farmer who dug the well was also "on display", very strange but he was smiling no end so obviously laughing all the way to the bank!), the archaeologists pieced the bits back together to form the Army you can see now.

We also visited the Big and Little Wild Goose Pagoda's in Xi'an and the City Wall, which is the biggest still remaining in China. Our hostel was located right in the centre next to the Muslim quarter so we also visited the Mosque, one of the few in China, and enjoyed some fantastic spicy beef kebabs at the street cafes! We moved on to Chengdu by train but this time treated ourselves to "Soft Sleeper" which has only 4 beds per compartment and a door. We though we deserved it for a 16 hour journey and was indeed very comfy, slept like a log! Chengdu in in Sichaun province and the food here is fab, unbelievably, completely and utterly the spiciest dishes I have ever tasted!! Thorsten and I could not feel our mouths after yesterday's dinner, even a cold beer was no use, but would highly recommend it!!

This morning we went to the Panda Research and Breeding Centre in Chengdu. There are now only about 1000 giant pandas and 5000 red pandas in the wild so the centre is trying to increase the population. They have bred 77 giant pandas since they opened in 1992, more than anywhere else in the world, and was really great watching them eat and play. The pandas are only active for about 3 hours a day so it was an early start but totally worth it! The giant pandas are really cute but the red pandas are probably cuter, just not as famous. They definitely move around a bit more! I held a red panda called Mimi, was really cool and made the visit really memorable. Lots of photos to show you when we are back!

We are moving on to Wanzhou by sleeper train tonight. We hope to pick up the hydrofoil there to sail down the Yangtzi to Yichang and see the three gorges before they disappear underwater. The three gorges dam was officially opened last Saturday (10 months early so means we now have to hurry!) and the water levels have already started to rise, eventually being 100 metres higher than now, flooding the gorges and the majority of villages on the route. For example, Wanzhou will lose 47% of its area to the water within 10 years. We don't have time to take the "slow boat" before our flight to Hong Kong but we felt we would be missing an important part of history if we didn't go now, before it's too late, so the "fast boat" (one day not 2.5!) is our compromise. Can't wait (but wish us luck as we're going with nothing booked, in true traveller style, so fingers crossed for tickets!)!