Tom: Pingyao (June 05)

Pingyao (June 05) · Jun 10, 10:19 PM

I haven’t showered in two days. It’s kind of warm walking out in the sun.

The train stopped in Pingyao around 08:00, just late enough to make me wonder, had I missed the stop? I took a pedicab to my hotel, checked in, and let the driver take 20 RMB and give me a “tour” of the city wall. It was awful. We made two stops where I naively got off and paid for entrance to a Ming dynasty housing with an art exhibition in the rear, and then a Grand Theater. 60 RMB. My room has a 10 RMB commission paid to CITS in Datong (on an already overpriced 35 RMB). Tomorrow’s train ticket will cost me 50 RMB above the printed price. Then there’s the 120 RMB Pingyao City ticket. By the time my “tour” was over, I was angry at the commonplace and nonchalant “let’s rip off the foreigner with a helpful attitude” routine. I sat down in the peaceful old hotel courtyard to sit out my mood, and nearly fell asleep. The loaded foreigner is cranky for lack of sleep, perhaps.

I should contrast the afternoon. I walked on foot all around Pingyou, poking my head into a dozen museums, getting my city ticket punched each time. That evening I would have a great random encounter, too.

Pingyao is a walled city, and a World Heritage Sight — the walls are fully intact and thanks to an untimely bust, large blocks of Ming or Qing dynasty courtyard buildings weren’t leveled in the name of progress. One of my first objective: get onto the wall. I used the North gate, but repairs kept me from walking far, so I descended back into the city. Before dinner I had been through several residential museums, a newspaper museum, one or two banking museums (Pingyao made it’s mark as a financial center), a martial arts museum (Bankers need body guards — body guards need kung fu), two temples (one Buddhist, one Taoist), and another Confusion temple where … wait. I forgot to mention the sprawling country government center — housing for the country magistrate, meeting rooms, administrative offices, tax offices, and a prison complete with exhibits on torture, interrogation, and execution.

I had dinner twice — first, a strange cold noodle dish made by scraping a grater around a large gelatinous mass. Vegetables, spices, and sauces are added for flavor. Yummy, but not filling. I sat down the second time at dusk for a plain bowl of fried noodles and met five or six local schoolboys. They took me back to the Confusion temple. During the day it had been quiet, except for a light spattering of tourists and groups. Tonight, loud throngs of students crowd the place — the have an exam in a couple days, so the temple is open late with no admission. They carry bundle of lit incense, crowd around large smoking urns, and pay respects to various Confucian scholars. It’s loud, lively, and festive. I joined in, jumping through a stone gate for luck. A lot of “look, I’m standing next to the tall laowai“ pictures were taken. Back at the hostel we ran into another western couple — I handed them off to the young crowd and retired to my room for a chapter of “A Very Long Engagement”.

But first, a shower.

* * *

http://tom.spacing-guild.net/2006/06/10/enroute-to-xian-june-06

Name		Remember
E-mail
http://
Message
	Textile Help