Almost like a Very Amped-Up 4th of July

(Patty)

We started our last day in Xi'an pretty early, so that we could do a bit more sight seeing before we had to board our plane to Huangshan. Although we were unenthused to be up so early, Richard made sure to make our last day in Xi'an a good one. He brought us to the remains of the Tang Dynasty palace, which was 6x as large as the Forbidden City in Beijing. We were all amazed to see how massive the palace was--only to learn that the mammoth structure we were seeing was only the foundation of what once used to be the biggest palace in China. Much of the palace has long since been destroyed, so the government uses the area that surrounds the remains as a park where locals get in their morning exercise, and attend performances by singers, dancers, comedians, etc.

After a quick morning excursion, we said a sad goodbye to Richard, who easily became one of the groups favorite new friends, and made our way to the airport. Two hours later, we landed in Huangshan, a calm oasis compared to the hustle and bustle of Xi'an (Xi'an's population is well over 6 million, while the city of Huangshan has a mere 150,000). Although we all enjoyed the big city, we agreed that we prefer Huangshan's quieter and more laid back atmosphere. We made a quick stop at our hotel, and then were accompanied by our new guide to a local restaurant to eat a delicious dinner. Sensing we were exhausted after our flight, our guide, Philip, sent us back to the hotel, where we all piled into Brandon and Michael's room to watch The Dark Night Rises, and to our surprise, to watch more fireworks. Last night was the Lantern Festival, the last day of the Chinese New Year, so there was a stunning fireworks display, but we weren't expecting to see even more fireworks tonight. This reminded me of 4th of July fireworks back in the States, which seem to last all summer, but the fireworks here are much more impressive, and I hope will continue throughout the week.

Tomorrow we'll climb up the beautiful Mt. Huangshan, and explore more of the Old City.

Until next time, and may the year of the snake serve you well