China China

We've been in China for the last five days and are currently located at the walled city of Xi'an, home of the silk road and terra cotta warriors. China has proven to be a bit tricky... the air is so polluted you can't see 200 ft in front of you and I am suffering with a cold and allergies because of it. We did managed to get away from the smog for awhile with a very rigirous, but beautiful hike between two parts of the Great Wall. The Forbidden City was so forbidden that most of it was covered up for rennovations and we are trying to cope with what the Chinese feel is good hospitality... making us pay for absolutely everything... often twice.
It's been a trying couple of days, but we have managed to have quite a lot of fun. On our night trian from Beijig to Xi'an we made friends with our cabinmates with the aid of our translation book, have been to several markets buying trinkets and pearls, and somehow wound up in the middle of a consumer holiday/food and wine festival here in Xi'an. It was wild. I'm having trouble with my camera, but hopefully will have some photos up soon.
Today we leave for Chengdu, home to pandas, a holy mountain, and a very big Buddha.
Cheers!