China (October)

 A slightly delayed post. I visited China in early October and meant to put up some pictures as previously promised. I was caught up with a brief term of gainful employment as a consultant with New York Democrats working on the NY-4 house race. Despite a staggering series of defeats on the National Stage our state campaign was run very well  (in my unbiased opinion) and flipped three house seats to the Democrats including the district I worked in. 

But alas, we could not be operating in every state. And so the election ended in (for me) bitter disappointment. So as a change of focus, here are some of the many photos I took in Shaanxi Province, October 2024. 

Some of the traditional noodles of Xi'an. Large flat noodles are served with spiced potatoes, meat, and spinach along with an ample portion of chili peppers and spicy oil. They are meant to be eaten alongside raw garlic; you take a bite of the noodles and then a bite of the garlic. I love spicy food and trying new dishes so I take a ton of food photographs when I travel but I'll limit my reviews to just this one dish. Lots of hot pot and unusual cuts of meat were consumed alongside a staggering amount of spicy peppers. There's a ton of variation among Chinese dishes even within the same province. 

A park along the Wei River, the largest tributary to the Yellow River. This view is only a short walk from Violet's apartment where I stayed most of the time. 

A Buddhist temple in downtown Xi'an which had a very tasty vegetarian restaurant within that we had lunch at. Monks actively still live in the temple and maintain it. They went about their religious rituals being followed by a hundred enrapt civilians who videotaped the whole process. I prefer taking pictures of the cool architecture and lovely topiary which was maintained in the main courtyard. 

A crowded street food market in Xianyang. I always wanted to visit one after seeing Singaporean street fairs in National Geographic. Pretty much every kind of local food is available here, whether at stands or at restaurants which line the pedestrian only street. We tried barbecue (grilled skewers of different meats covered in cumin) and local fruit beer which was reminiscent of an alcoholic soda. Both were delicious. 

This is the city of Ankang a few hours south of Xi'an. It is more remote and mountainous and we spent a few days here hiking in the hills and mountains near the city. This is a "small" city which given the scale of China and its population means there's only around 1,200,000 people within the city itself. The light displays at night are particularly cool, with ads running on the side of buildings like Blade Runner. The river pictured is the Han, one of the largest tributaries of the Yangtze River system. 

Just outside Ankang is the Xiangxi Cave area, a sacred site of Daoism and a pleasant hike. The name is rather misleading, since the "caves" are generally small and disconnected. Each is filled with a shrine to a different god. There are a series of well kept hiking trails and pathways leading around the different shrines and temples in the hills. Lush tropical plants make it a beautiful hike and a very serene place. We went after a light rainfall which helped us avoid the traditional hoard of tourists at cultural sites.

The above are the "Heavenly Stairs" which lead to the topmost shrine of the mountain. I adore climbing stairs on vacation and immediately beelined for these once we saw a sign for them while exploring the shrines. Each stair is about a foot apart or more, and highly uneven where the stone has worn away. 

We ended up visiting a nearby national park on our final day in Ankang. After a harrowing 90 minute drive through winding mountain switchbacks, we arrived at Nangongshan. This is a sacred mountain in Buddhism because it has the preserved corpse of a Buddha (or ranking equivalent). This one was a monk who slipped and fell while making the precarious climb to the temples and shrines built on the side of impressive cliffs on the mountain. His body was preserved by the climate conditions and, being deemed a miracle, coated with gold. I didn't photograph the corpse since that seemed ghoulish, but I captured what few vistas I could while we hiked. Sadly, it was raining and slippery the whole time and I didn't have much chances to capture what would in normal days be scenic vistas. 

My camera angle fails to do justice, but this temple is built on the side of a cliff. Obscured by trees is a precipitous several hundred foot drop to the valley below. Must have been a difficult task to make a pilgrimage here before the invention of stairs and railings. New construction made accessing the peak easier (relatively) than ever for those without a fear of heights. The most spectacular portion is a suspension bridge between two peaks. 

While nowhere near as steep or precipitous as Huashan which we hiked up over 8 painful hours overnight in March, the daylight did offer some eerie views of the clouds and cliff edges that made for a more exhilarating experience.  I think most of the sites I visited on this trip were far more off the beaten path than the main trifecta I saw in March (Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Army, all of which are amazing and must-see). But I enjoyed seeing some of the lesser known sites around Shaanxi and trying even more new local cuisine. If I travel again I will make another post which will no doubt be as engaging and enlightening as this one.                                                                 

                                                                                                                -Max