From the Terracotta Museum we went to a wonderful art museum back in town. A nice young woman took us around and showed us a variety of works of art, old and new, explaining the art history of China...very interesting. Then she took us to a large studio where tables were set with rice paper, bowls of ink, foot long animal hair brushes...and proceeded to teach us the very basics in writing Chinese characters. There are seven basic strokes. One word uses all seven strokes, so we practiced with that one character. Being left handed, I had a bit of a challenge...very few are left handed in China. It was interesting and fun.
We had free time from 4:30 to 6:30 that afternoon. I wanted to go see the pagodas and towers on the city wall. We had driven past the wall several times and I REALLY wanted to see it and walk on it. Andy wanted to stay in the room and read/rest. The Drum Tower was about 2 1/2 miles from the hotel.
I walked down there on pretty major streets and felt pretty safe. The last couple of blocks I walked in a beautiful park that was between the wall and a moat. I got lots of stares as I was the only foreigner down there...lots of couples and families strolling, kids playing, and teens hanging out...no one really scary looking. There were beautiful views of the wall and towers, as you can see.
I made my way to the entrance to the Drum Tower and paid the 40 yuan (about $6.00) to get in and walk the wall. It was fantastic! The pagodas are quiet fancy and the towers and bathrooms are ornate as well. Pretty red lanterns line one side of the wall. There are only stairs every so often where you may enter.
From the Drum Tower I started walking back to the hotel to get pictures of the Bell Tower along the way. There is a HUGE traffic circle around the building and bell.
I made my way across the 4 lane busy streets like a local...no stop signs or lights or crosswalks..just moving cars, buses, bikes and motorcycles and small motorized cabs. You just step out into the street and make your way through the traffic...lots of honking!
I made my way about three quarters of he way around the circle to get pictures and then I approached one of the motorized cabs, showed him the hotel card and asked, "How much?" He signaled forty, and I said thirty and he agreed. I handed him the money, hopped in the open back seat, and we were off.
As you can see, it is wide enough for 2 people to ride and run by battery power. It has a windshield but the rest is open. He crosses the streets with pedestrians, honking them out of the way. For the most part he stayed to the right of traffic, but when we got close to the hotel he moved to the center of the road for about 3-4 blocks, getting into position to turn left into the drive to the hotel. He was right on the center white line marking the lanes of traffic ~ with cars on both sides. Oh, boy, what a ride! We arrived safely.
If I had not had a dress on I might have asked a guy on a motorcycle for a ride...I wasn't real sure that was proper for a woman or not, so I decided to save that adventure for another time.
This monument was in the little park connected to the Marriott Hotel we were staying in...quite an imposing structure.
That evening we headed of to a local dinner theater. On the way, we passed this home down near the Drum Tower. David told us it was a funeral, but it looked like a demonstration. Later he told us the story. The man who owned this home was told by the government that they wanted to buy him out...they wanted the land for some project. He turned down their offer. A couple of weeks later he showed up dead...it wasn't clear if he was murdered or if he committed suicide. Either way, people who supported him were demonstrating at his home. David said the government would let that go on for about 24 hours, and then they would move in and send people home.
The bright colored signs were made from flowers and are typical of the arrangements at funerals.
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