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 date. Our guide explained that saying thanks you is a western learned behavior. If her mother gives her something she now says thank you and her mother says, why do you say that? Several other similar examples.

Crime
No guns. Crime is low but exists of course. Police constantly advise be careful. Thefts under 5000 yuan rarely investigated.

Visit to the three excavations.
Qin dynasty. Unification, great Wall, money standardized, first dynasty. Warriors for afterlife. In addition to the wikipedia article we took about 1000 pictures which will be on Flickr. Editing in the future. Referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. Had about three hours to wander. Not rushed.

Tourist lunch but we got to see noodle making. Not the super fine type of demonstrations – thickness suitable for eating.

University visit. Lecture on Chinese writing and calligraphy, past and present. Xi’an international university.

The campus is functional but very uninspiring. Buildings are not decorated, white walls, some paint peeling. Classrooms appear very formal. Understandable as this particular university was originally built for Russian study probably with Russian money.

Excellent lecture on the structure of constructing words, phrases, new words, how the tourist translation business is managed and attempts to train and standardization signage

One error when using Google for translation : system fault.

Dinner : one unusual dish was the black sticky rice, with dates, sugar, soy bean paste, cashews. Slightly sweet.