Our Family Trip to China, Part Three
A trip to China would not be complete without a stop in Xi’an, the large city and capital of Shaanxi Province in central China - it is often called the birthplace of Chinese civilization.
We traveled to Xi’an via a high-speed bullet train. The trip began from Beijing, and went through Shijiazhuang of Hebei Province, Zhengzhou of Henan Province and then west to Xian in Shaanxi Province. During the nearly six-hour, 750-mile ride, we saw much of the changing landscape - there was construction everywhere to accommodate the rapidly developing middle-class populations. Once there, we visited the Muslim Quarter, also known as Huimin Jie - the hub of the Muslim community in Xi'an City. We walked through the bustling Beiyuanmen Muslim Market, where we saw and tasted a variety of interesting foods.
But first, before leaving Beijing, we took time for a Tai Chi lesson in front of the Temple of Heaven. Here are more images from our visit to China, enjoy.
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- On the third day of our trip, we visited the magnificent Temple of Heaven, an imperial complex of religious buildings where Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties gathered for annual ceremonies of prayer for good harvests. This is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main building of the temple complex.
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- Although in imperial times the public was not allowed to enter the enormous park at the Temple of Heaven, it is now a place where local residents often go for early-morning exercises. This is Miss Li, our Tai Chi instructor.
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- Here’s Alexis taking a lesson with Miss Li. Tai chi, short for T’ai chi ch’üan or Tàijí quán, is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training, its health benefits, and meditation.
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- And here I am with Alexis and Miss Li – we all stopped for this quick photo after our family exercise session.
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- The next day of our trip, we took a high-speed bullet train to Xi’an. Along the way, we saw this nuclear plant next to the train. China is one of the world’s largest producers of nuclear power. The country ranks third in the world both in total nuclear power capacity installed and electricity generated. In fact, nuclear power contributed four-percent of the total Chinese electricity production in 2018.
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- There was construction everywhere. The area is filled with development for the emerging middle class.
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- Buildings and buildings and buildings are going up.
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- Everywhere we looked, there were apartment complexes under construction.
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- The countryside was changing. Look at all the cranes on these tall buildings.
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- We did pass by some nurseries where fruit trees were planted very closely together.
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- At one point, we saw mountainous caves everywhere – a different landscape altogether.
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- And we passed several modern train stations to nowhere.
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- Once in Xi’an, we went to the Muslim Quarter, where we toured the Beiyuanmen Night Market filled with delicious foods. Here is one vendor booth filled with all kinds of bread.
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- These are plums cooking in a bread pudding.
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- And this is barbecued squid.
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- I think I will make this at home – potatoes sliced straight down into the potato, but just short of cutting all the way through and then fried in one piece and placed on a skewer.
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- There were pomegranates everywhere. Pomegranates are a natural for Chinese New Year. They’re filled with colorful seeds for fertility and are a bright vibrant red, which represents happiness and repels evil spirits.
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- Many of the vendors featured barbecued meats on skewers, a specialty of the market.
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- And lots and lots of noodles – these are hand-pulled broad noodles cooked with a spicy sauce.
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- This is called hotplate tofu, a griddled tofu dish with chili peppers and scallions.
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- Cotton candy in whimsical bags for all the children.
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- This is Chinese ice cream similar to mochi.
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- This is a cauldron of potatoes boiling in oil – these were so good.
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- And this is a sticky rice and jujube cake. This sweet dessert is made by layering yellow glutinous rice, kidney beans, and Chinese dates before sealing it in a special steaming pot called a “zeng”. It’s an impressive, spongy looking cake sliced and served cold on wooden sticks.
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- There were tons and tons of walnuts – it is walnut season in China.
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- And lots of candied fruits.
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- Unleavened bread is popularly crumbled and used in stews to absorb the delicious flavors.
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- This vendor was crushing sesame, mung beans and edamame to make a type of nougat candy.
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- Outside, I captured this beautiful photo of the moon in the night sky next to the Muslim temple. It was another fun-filled and informative day in China. In my next blog – the famous Terra-Cotta Museum.
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