What an adventure to take the overnight train to Xian (pronounced SHEE-on)! We departed from the Beijing train station at 9:00 in the evening. Luckily, our trip was booked on a brand new train with "soft sleeper" bunks. That means that the bunks had thin matresses on top. The older trains just have a solid board for sleeping and sitting during the journey.
It has been many, many years since I had a slumber party, but that's what it seemed like, tucked away in my compartment with three of my fellow Fulbright friends. I was very tired from a full day of work. The sound and motion of the train quickly lulled me to sleep.
The views outside my window the next morning were a great contrast to the huge cityscape of Beijing. I had left the world of giant skyscrapers behind. I saw instead the open land of China, just as it has been for thousands of years.
Large fields of corn, wheat, pumpkins, beans were being tended by farmers with simple hoes. A young boy was herding goats down a hillside. Plum and peach orchards, vineyards and villages stood out against the green and terracotta landscape. Storage caves were carved into the red clay hillside. A mountainside kiln was billowing smoke in the early morning sky. Here and there stood old stone monuments, ancient stone walls, and piles of rubble from villages long gone.
The rural people of China live life just as their ancestors have for centuries. As I looked out on the passing scenes, I seemed to be peering through a window of time.
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1 comments:
YES! We are up and running and finally able to post a comment! OH WHY OH WHY did I not bundle myself up and stow away in your luggage! What a breathtaking trip on the other side of the world. Your photos and descriptions truly ARE the next best thing to being there, though, so for THAT, we thank you!
Miss you much over here, though, looking forward to your return!
Love, The Stoddards
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