Xie Xie + Zài Jyèn (thank you + goodbye).

A peaceful garden just outside the Forbidden City.

I hope you have enjoyed this look into China, the red star rising. It has certainly been a pleasure to experience and share with you. I would like to say Xie Xie (thank you) to AJ for coming to DC a day early so we could hang out before i left, to Sarah for allowing me to borrow her mandarin books, to Annai for use of his phrasebook (it proved invaluable), to Brad and Sarah for being so good to me in Beijing, to Swan for the translation assistance, to Simone for his insights on China and women, to Mom for never missing a beat, to Sochieta for her inspiration, to Dave for showing me the real BJ nightlife, to Karl and Amy for being so awesome, to Cassie for being such a good commenter, and last but not least.. THANK YOU for reading!

Before i let you go, i'd like to share a few verses with you from my favorite book and regular source of inspiration, the Tao te Ching.

~ verse 6 ~

the Tao is called the Great Mother;
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.
.
it is always present within you.
you can use it any way you want.

Offerings to the Gods at the altar of a Taoist temple.

~ verse 33 ~

knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
.
if you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.
if you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

Modernity towers over tradition in the coastal city of Qingdao.

Expat Life.

My awesome Australian friends and i outside the swanky Q Bar.

ex·pa·tri·ate • \ěk-spā'trē-āt'\ • noun *1. a person living outside his or her own country

Living in Beijing is awesome. I think the one thing that i did not expect was the thriving expat community. There are so many expats from other countries that have come to China to study, work, and live. Considering the rapid pace of activity and blossoming economy, it should not be a surprise that Beijing is such a happening place.

Dancing at my favorite spot - Suzie Wong's.

A Suzie Wong's special.. good times!

I found the expat community in Beijing to be generally very welcoming. I met people living in Beijing who came from all over the world: Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and even Kansas. It is natural for expats to gravitate towards one another, as we all share something major in common.. we are all foreigners here. We can share our frustrations, with the language, the food, the pollution, the bureaucracy.. but we also can share our successes.

Soccer teammate and Italian friend, Simone.

Playing soccer under the lights.

It didn't take long for me to make friends and fit in to the community. In fact, it is kind of surprising to me how quickly i left my old life behind in the States and began anew. Before leaving Beijing, i had made a number of new friends, joined a soccer team, improved my language skills, knew my way around the city, and even had a few regular hangouts.

Enjoying one of my favorite beers for the first time in years, a Kilkenney.

Dave, Brad, me, Amy, and Karl.

On my last night in Beijing, several friends came out to wish me well. We all agreed that my time in China had gone by way too quickly, and i really felt sad to be leaving this new life behind. But as quickly as it had come, my life in Beijing would be no more. However, the weeks i had there were fantastic and the awesome people i met will remain as friends.

Romaine, Brad, and i ready to rock lady's night at Suzie's.

Several friends helping to celebrate my last night in China.

Dave and i living it up in 'the Jing'.

1000 words, or more. (an image collage)

Three men resting inside the Forbidden City.

A picture is worth 1,000 words, right? Well, i took several hundred photos in China and while i won't bore you with them all, i did want to share a few that didn't fit in any of the other posts. Enjoy.

This giant mask is installed outside a gleaming office building. I liked it.

This Taoist monk taking a nap in the courtyard of the White Cloud Temple.

Five newly married couples flock to the beach in Qingdao for photos.

Modern Chinese Art. (watch out for the hand)

More traditional, revolutionary Chinese art.

A street market in Xi'an.

Flowers being planted outside the Temple of Heaven.

One of my favorite buildings. Yes, this is new China.

A street stall selling sweets.. which would you choose?

This guy wanted to take my picture.. so i took his.

And this girl wanted a photo with me.. so i got one too.

Mao's face on just about every yuan bill.
And i thought Washington's face was on a lot of $1 bills!

A rather intimidating sculpture of a very powerful yak.

Terracotta Warriors.

China is a BIG country. Over 1.3 billion people and geographically about the size of the United States. The country is also MUCH older with a very rich history. Somehow i managed to experience the top two most popular attractions in this large country in and around Beijing.. the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The third most visited site in China is the home of the Terracotta Warriors. No doubt you have seen the photos.

The detail of the soldier's faces and uniforms is incredible.

Now raise your hand if you have heard of Xi'an. This is the average sized Chinese city located in the center west of the country. At over 8 million, this "average" Chinese city would be the second largest in the U.S. (twice the size of LA, just behind NYC). Xi'an is also the gateway to visiting the recently unearthed Terracotta Warriors.

The building that houses the Terracotta Army.

We all have seen the photos, but it was the fascinating details behind their existence that captivated me. Over 8,000 life-size warriors and horses were created from clay, fired in massive kilns, and painted before being buried with the Emperor of Qin 2,200 years ago. Along with the soldiers and horses were over 10,000 weapons. It was believed that the Emperor's clay army would join him in the afterlife to protect and serve him. What is amazing is that this massive underground tomb was not discovered until 1974, when a local farmer was trying to dig a well and struck something unusual.

Over 8,000 soldiers and horses stretch for nearly three football fields.

The site today is covered by a massive building to protect the soldiers while allowing visitors to see the Army for themselves. The soldiers are arranged in a battle formation, with infantry and charioteers led by three rows of elite archers. Each soldier has distinct facial features, and it is believed that the faces were modeled after actual soldiers living at the time. Even the soldier's dress is extremely detailed, down to the rivets holding their armor together. The weapons the soldiers once held were coated with a chrome saline oxide, so that after 2,200 years the weapons are still sharp!

Close-up of soldier and his horses.

The main site has not even been completely excavated. Archaeologists are trying to figure out how to dig out the soldiers without removing their paint, something they have yet to do. Also, since the first soldiers were first discovered, over 180 new sites in the area have been identified as having clay soldiers. The local authorities are trying to decide whether to continue excavating at the main site, or allocate their resources to unearthing the new sites.

Pretty good shape for 2,200 years old.

Being the curious guy that i am, i had several questions. I never hire a guide, preferring to explore a site at my own pace. However, sometimes having a guide is quite valuable for the insight you receive. I pulled aside three Chinese guides leading English groups and asked them all the same question - "The Terracotta Soldiers have facial hair, many have beards in fact, but modern day Chinese don't grow facial hair.. what's up with that?!" The first two guides had no answer, but the third explained that the Warriors were of Mongolian descent. The Mongols do grow facial hair.

Soldiers line up and ready for battle in the afterlife.

It is fascinating to see the Terracotta Warriors. I am quite curious to see if the archaeologists make any new major discoveries, particularly at one of the other 180 new sites. It is entirely possible that an even larger clay army is still out there.. waiting to be discovered.

Mt. Huashan.

The Soldiers' Trail.

A few days before i left for China a friend told me about his most incredible experience in China. He described climbing Mt. Huashan, one of China's Five Holy Mountains. He said the mountain is extremely beautiful and home to several Taoist temples. Though a challenge to reach, the spectacular views are worth it. Say no more.. there is no way i would miss it.

Everyone takes the cable car up the mountain.. everyone but me.

When the bus group i was traveling with reached the foot of Mt. Huashan, we were presented with two options. Either take the mechanized cable car to the top or hike the punishing "Soldier's Trail" straight up the side of the mountain - guess which i chose? The guide tried to talk me out of it, telling me i would never have enough time to reach the summit before the bus left. I told him i would take my chances.. this is what i came for.

It didn't take long for the views to begin.

Words to live by.

And i was right. The climb up the trail was beautiful. It was also peaceful, as i was the only one out of several thousand who took the trail option that day. On my way up, i encountered a handful of Chinese who had taken the cable car up, but were descending via the trail. They all looked at me as if i was crazy, but all greeted me with smiles and a hearty Ni hao! (hello). I even got a few Lihigh! (you are hardcore/awesome!).

Bridge and waterfall.

This guy lives in a small hut halfway up the mountain.

The trail itself was composed almost entire of stone steps, steps that led up for two miles into the sky. At several points, the steps were no more than carvings into the mountainside. Luckily, whomever built this trail (i am assuming it was soldiers, hence the name) thought to include heavy chains bolted into the rock. As you might imagine, this made climbing the carved steps possible.

This is exactly what i came for.. oh yea!

A view from halfway up the mountain.

After several grueling, sweaty hours, but less than half the time that the guide suggested, i reached the summit. As i paused to catch my breath and cool off, many of the cable car riders stared at me as if i was an alien. They were probably thinking “Who the hell in their right mind would want to CLIMB up here?” The answer: this guy.

I wish more mountains were made this way - climbing is fun!

The top of the mountain is home to several Taoist temples. It also hosts several shops and food stalls. I was completely dismayed to discover not hundreds, but thousands of Chinese tourists pouring out of the cable car and flooding the mountaintop. The crowds were so thick, it literally had the feel of being at Disneyland.

Temples and crowds.

A Taoist temple with incense sticks burning.

I didn't stay on the mountaintop long. After battling the mountain in relative peace during the climb up, i didn't feel like battling the crowds on top. After checking out a temple or two, and with time running downfor me to meet the bus back to Xi'an, i climbed into the cable car with five strangers and floated back down the mountain.

The Disneyland crowds line up for the cable car ride down the mountain.

Beijing Olympics 2008.

The official 2008 logo.

I have a confession to make. When Beijing was announced as the host for the 2008 summer Olympics back in 2001, i was disappointed. I had been pulling for Paris, simply because it is one of my favorite cities in the world. Also, many felt that awarding Beijing the Olympics would be seen as condoning China’s human rights violations and its occupation of Tibet. Still others felt that hosting the Olympics would put pressure on China to reform and modernize. In short, both are coming true.

China's prodigal son, Yao Ming is a force on the court and in advertisements.

Hosting the Olympics is a huge opportunity for the host country. Billions of dollars in tourist revenue and corporate sponsorships flood into the country. The host city benefits from the construction of new roads, subway systems, and state of the art sports facilities. But possibly the most important aspect of hosting the Olympics is the global exposure a city and country receive. If the games are seen as successful, tourism and general worldwide interest will continue for years.

Think Beijing is excited? The countdown is on.

In 2004, Greece was running far behind in its preparations as Olympic hosts. Several facilities hadn’t even begun construction just months before the games were to begin. There was even word of a backup plan that would send the Olympics back to Sydney in the event that Athens failed to be ready. In China, the story is completely different. Beijing just may be the most prepared city in the history of the Olympics.

China's Olympic slogan - One World, One Dream.

It is still over a year before the games will take place, but Beijing is far ahead of schedule in its preparations. In the next few weeks, the city will stage a “dry run” of the Olympics - a full year before the real games. Over a million cars will be taken off the streets and mock events will be held to test crowd control and transportation facilities. It also gives the city a chance to show off its new facilities to the public.

The Olympic mascots all wrapped up and ready to go.

Construction is taking place all over the city and the completion date for everything being built is the same – before the Olympics begin. Over two million Chinese migrant workers have come to Beijing from other parts of the country for the current construction boom. A few months before the games, they all will be kicked out. I spoke with a reporter for a state-owned Chinese newspaper and when i asked him about this, he put it differently: “These workers aren’t actually from here, so they’re not being kicked out. They will be encouraged to return to their home provinces.” In China, encouraged means mandatory.

Corporate sponsorships are already in full swing.

After seeing firsthand such dramatic improvements, i am now very glad that Beijing has the opportunity to host the 2008 games. Paris is already a great city and has less room to improve. The Chinese people are so proud to be hosts and are eager to show their country off to the world. Still, i worry that China’s growing economic muscle and international profile is enough for the global community to turn a blind eye to many of the unseemly activities that still occur behind closed doors. I also worry about the future of Tibet, with sovereignty becoming less and less likely, China is working hard to see that the culture is quietly being extinguished. In the end, there is little doubt that the Olympics will be a smashing success - the Chinese wouldn't have it any other way.

Advertisements every 20 feet in the Xi'an airport.