One Week Left!

A week today I will be back in the UK! I can't believe how quickly the past five months and twelve countries have whizzed by. With just Hong Kong left as a new place to visit, Shanghai seems to be preparing me for getting back home as today I walked past a 'Marks & Spencer' and a 'Tesco'!

True Love Test

Found in Yuan Gardens, this huge piece of rock is a traditional way of testing true love.

The man is supposed to place his hand into the circular hole on the right and the lady is meant to put hers into the hole lower down and to the left. If the man and the woman are able to reach each other through the narrow space then it is said to be true love!

Being on our honeymoon, Nads and I thought we would try it out. We didn't hold out much hope as a few other couples before us just couldn't reach but, with a bit of manoeuvring, Nads and I could just about reach each others fingers. Phew! 

Shanghai Serenity

Nestled in amongst the busy streets of Shanghai is this place, Yuan Gardens or 'Gardens of Peace', and it is every bit the traditional Chinese gardens that you could picture in your head. There are rockeries that stand tall next to the serene water features filled with koi, turtles and ducks and then there are the beautifully constructed old-style buildings that are dotted throughout.

The gardens were first created nearly half a millennium ago and they cost so much money they nearly made the emperor at the time bankrupt! Since then they have changed owners many, many times and they have also been damaged in many wars, including World War II. Currently though they are owned by the Chinese government who take great care of the place to ensure that it remains a peaceful retreat for all those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of one of China's biggest cities.

Did You Know?: When they created the rockeries they didn't have any fancy glues or cements so the heavy rocks were stuck together and held in place by a mixture that included crushed sticky rice!

Unusual Music

You know when you sing along to a song, it's in a foreign language and you realise you have no idea what you're actually saying (Gangnam Style anyone?)? Well, I think this happens a fair bit in China.

I have been here nearly two weeks now and in that time I have heard two different versions of 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer', Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas' and 'Jingle Bells'!?! It has caused Nads and I to giggle and just check we haven't stayed 7 months too long without realising!

Army Of Warriors

In my opinion, The Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an should be included on any historical 'Wonders of the World' list. After highlighting them as the one thing I wanted to make sure I saw in China, I finally got to visit them today and, as a history nerd, I loved it.

What is really interesting is that their discovery in the 1970's was a total accident. A local farmer was out digging a hole for a new well and fell through into a huge chamber. Inside this chamber he found the first few of the thousands of warriors you can see in the photo and since that day excavations are still going. The photo shows 'Pit One' (The farmer fell through at the front of this area) and they have so far uncovered 2,000 soldiers and expect to find another 4,000+! Then there are Pits 2 and 3 where they are finding many more, it is one almight army. Amazingly, no record of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (The first Emperor of China) coming up with the idea, it being created or it being hidden has ever been found in Chinese records!

The warriors were created to look after the Emperor in the afterlife and, if you think about it, they have done just that. By becoming one of the most famous places in the whole world they have ensured that they, the Emperor's tomb and all of it's contents will be protected by historians, archaeologists and governments for many many years.

Did You Know?: Every single warrior has it's own individual face, they have never found two the same. Even each terracotta horse in the army is different!

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet?

This is easily the fastest (And probably the coolest looking) train I have ever been on; the high speed bullet train from Beijing to Xi'an.

At it's fastest it was speeding along through the smoggy Chinese landscape at 304kmph! To put that in perspective, the Eurostar only just pushes past 250kmph and this train can even get close to 400kmph on the right tracks!

High Flying

Tonight I went to watch the young acrobats of the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. It was absolutely incredible (Except for maybe the slightly creepy clown they used to try and make a story out of the performances)! 

In the photo you can see some of the young men performing their daring skills on vertical ropes. Here, some of them have hung themselves upside down with their feet while others spin around quickly while hanging on to ropes attached to their upside down friends!

There was also a beautiful performance with Chinese fans that ended with around 10 girls all on one bicycle at the same time as they cycled around the stage and another saw a group of girls doing amazing tricks with diablos. This included throwing it in the air, doing loads of somersaults across the stage and catching it again and then doing a dance routine in perfect unison...while all still throwing diablos about. I think I could get a diablo, practise every day for 2 years and not even be close to what I saw!