The boat has docked in Chongqing and we are off very early. We are going to the zoo here and taking a look at an art institute followed by a flight to Xian.
We arrive at the zoo before 9 AM and it is not too crowded yet. The people are out doing their morning exercises. They do a variety of tai chi, dances with fans, and just plain calisthenics. And look who else is just waking up! Giant pandas! Also the smaller red pandas. We take endless photos of the pandas who totally cooperate by walking around and settling in for a big breakfast of bamboo.
After getting our panda fix, we climb a hill to an art institute. An artist and professor from the institute explains different types of Chinese art. There is a gallery and a buying opportunity. We buy four small paintings representing the seasons. At least we know this is genuine.
Now we go to a local restaurant for a Chinese lunch served lazy Susan style. We Westerners have not quite got the protocol down pat. People are trying to serve themselves while others are trying to turn the lazy Susan to get the next dish. It makes for a messy affair. There are a couple of tasty dishes but mostly it is just bland. We are then exhorted to use the washroom before we head for the airport. We are reminded so often to use the washroom at opportune moments that I feel like I am five years old. On a brighter note, I am totally competent at the whole squatting thing now. It is better than waiting endlessly for the one western toilet.
After lunch we head for the airport. We are flying to Xian this afternoon. On this trip we are spending a lot of time on buses, planes, and at airports. We arrive in Xian around 4 PM. The idea is that we will get to the hotel by 5 and then have two hours of downtime before our Tang Dynasty dinner and show. After walking a mile to the bus, a road is closed and traffic is terrible. We are late arriving at the hotel and our luggage is even later. We end up going out to dinner in our smelly zoo clothes.
Now about the show and dinner. This is billed as an authentic dinner and show representing the Tang Dynasty. Truly it is just a tourist trap. The food is awful. We have one course that looks like Mrs. Paul’s fish and shrimp TV dinner. It is uniformly breaded and fried piece of fish and one shrimp plus a fried potato thingy. Seeing as how the Tangs were making people miserable between 600 and 900 AD, the chances of their having potatoes is non-existent. Beef in aluminum foil with buttered broccoli is also served. This is followed up by orange jello with some tapioca pearls in the bottom. We are surprised that the Tang Dynasty dinner and show did not serve us their namesake drink of the astronauts.
The entertainment begins. A woman sings the American song, Red River Valley in Chinese as well as some other Tang favorites. The band looks bored. Then there is a bunch of dancing and singing in elaborate costume mostly reminiscent of a Las Vegas revue. Lots of women dancing and a few guys. It was okay.
Finally the show ends and we are released to our hotel room which now has our luggage. We unpack and then repack since our luggage is being picked up before 6:30AM for our flight to Beijing tomorrow.
