Monthly Archives: April 2012

BTC. The Dam Raining hard with dense fog. As I write this we have been sitting in the middle of the river, not moving, for at least seven hours. Nothing is moving on the river. Naturally it is claimed that … Continue reading →

BTC. River cruise. Three gorges Cool and windy The boat stopped again in the morning for another optional tour; we declined. After breakfast tried to get off the boat to take a walk – until the tour returned. "Sorry, you … Continue reading →

BTC. River cruise Morning rain. One minute I am drifting awake looking at the riverside towns through a morning haze, then another cruise ship pulls aside. I can shake hands with a passenger on the opposing side. We have docked … Continue reading →

BTC Chongching. Double happiness Warm and sunny Early plane ride to Chongching and the giant pandas. With mountains on all sides it was heavily bombed by japan but not occupied. Remained the capital from 1937 to late 1945. Now the … Continue reading →

BTC Xi’an university Sunny warm Day started with a lecture on Chinese history, from neolithic times, Oracle bones and onto lao-zi (600-500 bce) and dao, the way, also the time of confucian thinking. Good story about Clinton in Xi’an visit. … Continue reading →

IBTC Xi’an culture and warriors Partly cloudy Good morning Chinese do not say good morning. Nodding of head. Thank you Chinese do not applaud after a show, we have seen this non event after each of the two shows to … Continue reading →

BTC X’ian Rain then sunny Grand mosque visit in the minority district, Muslim of course,followed by a walk in the bazaar and sampling of the street breads. Lots of interesting foods but we had a planned Muslim restaurant meal ahead … Continue reading →

BTC Luoyong to X’ian Might be called partly cloudy High speed train to X’ian. Reaches 200 mph but takes a while to get to full speed. Train is somewhat of a local making a number of long stops. Another large … Continue reading →

Concert with these and other specialists, see flickr. Bamboo wind Pipa, a four stringed lute Zither, 21 strings Erhu, two stringed fiddle Bamboo and gourd minority people’s instrument Xum, pottery, one of the oldest instruments in the world, over six … Continue reading →

BTC Luoyong Overcast Morning in the central square. Exercises are popular and less costly than gyms. Various forms of tai chi, dancing, swords, whips, etc etc. Some pictures and short videos -hopefully on Flickr. The whip master a real treat … Continue reading →