Well that was a pleasant suprise!

Tuesday was a travel day. We were going from the city of Xi'an to the city of Zhangjiajie. The original plan was trying to travel between locations using China's efficient high speed train network, but when I went to book it, the route was a bit complicated and I found out that China Eastern Airlines does a direct flight.

So I booked us on the hour and a half domestic flight from Xi'an to Zhangjiajie.

June Expenses... 3rd highest month ever

Just like May, we knew June was going to be an expensive month. In fact, we had a budget of $6,477 CAD ($4,690 USD) for the month.

We ended up quite a bit higher than that, because of the overstay visa fine in Kyrgyzstan.

The famous Terracotta Warriors

In March of 1974, a farmer in a village near Xi'an, China decided to dig a well during a drought. He enlisted the help of his five brothers, and a few days later the well reached 15 meters (49 feet) deep. That was when they discovered a terracotta head and a bronze arrowhead.

The farmer informed authorities, and an archeological team was dispatched.

That was a fun evening!

I bought my Honor Magic 5 Pro phone in September 2023, so it's coming up on three years. It's still in near perfect condition, and I love it. The only problem is that the battery is starting to deteriorate. Not a lot, but enough that I notice it.

The phone is made in China and the brand has a strong presence here. So yesterday morning we walked over to a shopping mall that has a sales and service location.

We climbed 3,333 steps yesterday!

On Saturday, we took the metro (subway) as far south as it goes, and then a Didi (similar to Uber) taxi from there to Cuihua Mountain National Geopark.

The Didi experience was kind of funny because it was our first time using the app to order a taxi. And of course the language is an issue. 

We are a bit of a curiosity around here

Not the most exciting day on Friday, but still interesting enough just as we made our way through another day in China.

We had read of the Daming Palace National Heritage Park, and the fact that it's located in a massive park in the middle of the city of Xi'an. Comparable in size to New York's Central Park.

China's high speed train from Chengdu to Xi'an

We had our last breakfast at the hotel in Chengdu. By the fourth day, it was getting a little repetitive, but we're still glad we had the "breakfast included" plan. 

Our high speed train from Chengdu to Xi'an was departing at 10:16am, and when they say 10:16am, they mean it!

It felt like we walked our feet off

We took our time leaving the hotel Wednesday morning. Had a relaxing breakfast, then got some laundry done. It seems many hotels here in China include laundry services in the price of your room. 

This particular hotel in Chengdu was self serve, but here at our new hotel in Xi'an (we took the high speed train here Thursday morning), they do it for you.

The Giant Pandas!

When we were looking at flights from Bishkek into China, there were only two options. Chengdu made the most sense from a price perspective, plus the added bonus that the giant panda research centers are located in the area. 

Then we learned that there are three or four different locations to see the giant pandas. One of them is located on the outskirts of Chengdu city, so it's the busiest, but also does the most breeding so you are likely to see baby or younger pandas. 

First impressions of China

Admittedly, it's only been one day... but if the first day is any indication, we're quite impressed.

This is not the communist China that we learned about in school 50 years ago, where everybody is poor and the government owns everything... although that may be the impression many people still have.