Jan Bono’s Blog

Traffic was gridlocked, so we were forced to take the subway to arrive at our restaurant/theater venue on time. It was a holiday Saturday of a three-day weekend for most Chinese, and it was dinnertime! Aaarrrggghhh! Push, shove, walk, walk, walk, push shove, walk,...

Yes, believe it or not, there are other things to do and see in Xi’an besides the Terra Cotta Army, and after what was already a very full day, we kept right on keeping on! First, we made a brief stop at a Jade Factory and learned about the different types and colors...

It is estimated that three to four thousand “artisans” and their assistants created the Terra Cotta Army, working over a 30-year period. Eighty-seven individual signatures have been identified on these magnificent creations. But although the artists were solicited...

Before I’ve even typed the first sentence, I know I’m going to need more than one post to fully describe the visit to “Terra-cotta Warrior and Horses Museum,” which is what one of the entrance signs proclaimed. The walk in (and out) is a long one, even if you opt for...

This first photo was taken just minutes before I fell, hard, on the cracked sidewalk outside the train/subway station. My purse, camera, suitcase, and body all went sprawling helter-skelter on the concrete. I counted my blessings that nothing was broken, on me, or my...

On our way to the train station to leave Beijing, we detoured slightly to tour The Summer Palace. This is where the Han dynasty empress hung out six or seven months a year. We walked The Longest Corridor, which is 760 meters long, about 3/4 of a kilometer, and skirts...