Go here Terracotta Soldiers to view the National Geographic web site to learn more about the Terra Cotta Soldiers.
Traditional Chinese Music
The National Geographic site that I posted a link to has changed its layout and ability to listen to music. Still a great resource to learn about the music and traditional instruments. And, as a source to purchase ethnic music of all types.
I am also including a new link to Music From China Music. This is a very interesting effort that is based in New York.
National Museum of Natural History- Silk Road Exhibit
Bruce happened to see this article in the NY Times about a new exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in D.C.:
“Exhibition Review | ‘Traveling the Silk Road’ – Information Highway:
Camel Speed but Exotic Links”
It says the exhibit “… is meant to suggest a journey over the Silk Road in its prime, covering “the entire distance from East to West * from Xian, the capital of China, to Baghdad, the heart of the Islamic world….”
In the News
Our family feels fortunate for having visited Xinjiang Province in 2007. Even in 2007, there were demonstrations that took place prior to our visit. We hope that there is a fair and peaceful resolution as challenging as that might be. We are concerned for all of our friends there, both Han and Uyghur. Margaret and I hope they are all well and safe.
Revised posting of photos
All photographs are now uploaded into the photo galleries: Beijing, Xian, Dunhuang, Turpan, Kashgar, Urumqi, and Shanghai. See the galleries by clicking on the Sam’s Journal a & Photos tab at the top of the page. Or, you can see a list of all photo galleries by selecting “Photography” in the Categories options. And, you can further select specific locales the same way.
There were 1,612 images to go through. Hope that you enjoy the 389 that made it to the web site.
I suggest reading the journal for the city first and then viewing the photographs for a better understanding of the context.
Update- 2023-06-05. Adobe Lightroom was being used to display the photographs. However, it required Flash. That has been an issue with displaying on some devices and problematic when it comes to security. The photos have been moved to a WordPress module and can now be seen using any device. In the process photo titles and captions have been lost. Most likely I will not take the time to fix all of this as there isn’t much traffic on the site. As one of my friends advised me, “Don’t let perfection get in the way of doing good.” Or, I think that it is better to have the photos up for viewing with some typos than not.
-Sam
Cal Magazine article on Silk Road
Here is an article from Cal Magazine- China’s Alaska written by Mike Zielenziger.
CNN Special Travel Article
Looks like CNN heard the same call from the Silk Road that we did. Here is the article from CNN’s web site on the Silk Road by David Challenger.
Travel Guide Books Recommendation
While visiting the bookstore I found and bought two travel guide books in the Eyewitness Travel Guide Series by DK Publishing, one on China (published 2005) and another covering Beijing and Shanghai (published 2007). I liked the organization of the books’ topics and the heavy use of pictures, illustrations, and maps that makes for better comprehension of what to look for or of the site you are visiting. Wish that I had found these two books prior to the 2007 trip. But they have been a great resource in jogging my memory and verifying information when editing my trip journal. And, in beginning to plan our next excursion that hopefully will take place in 2009.
Epilog
It is October 23rd and I have just finished writing the last of the trip journal entries. While specific memories have already started to fade; I will always recall, with great gratitude, that Margaret and two of our “children” were able to make this trip together and create a family memory. And, I am realizing, with our second son’s absence due to career obligations, that creating these memories with all the family will only become more challenging as time moves forward. We will have to make what we can, when we can.
The next trip is already starting to take shape in my mind’s eye… Chendu, Jiuzhai Gou, Tibet. 2009!
What time is it?
While looking at some of the pictures taken in Turpan, my friend asked, “What time of day were the pictures taken?” I replied, “Around mid-day.” I should have added, Beijing time. The next response was, “That’s odd. I wouldn’t have guessed that time because the shadows are long.”
So what’s up? Well in all of China there is only one official time zone, Beijing time, and there is no daylight savings time. In the Xinjiang Province the locals observe an “official” a two hour time shift to avoid getting up in the dark to go to work. But Urumqi and Kashgar are located so far west of Beijing that from a practical matter they are essentially three hours behind Beijing. And, that is why the shadows are long. Noon Beijing time is nine a.m. based on sunrise in western Xinjiang.