China

In Samantha Brown's last installment of Passport to China, she goes to visit China's old capital city of Xian.

Samantha takes a twelve hour train ride to the city, where she has a bunk all to herself. She does spend more time in the dining car, celebrating the fact it comes with a bar. If I were on a twelve hour train ride, I'd be at the bar too. She wakes up early for some breakfast while watching the sun rise. Boy, that's early. I'd still be asleep. Actually, the conductor would have to carry me out of the train. I'm not a morning person. But then again, I would try to fly if it was really that far away. She gets off in Xian and has to try to cross the street. Here's a tip I've picked up from crossing Manhattan streets--always cross with a group. Cars are more likely to stop for a large clump of people than they are for one lone peon trying to cross the road.

Samantha meets up with a translator on top of the city wall, where they go biking down the wall. She tells us that Xian was the start of the Silk Road, which probably then stirs up some wheels in your brain as you remember a long-ago history lesson. It was an important city in the ancient world and Samantha compares it to Athens and Alexandria. The guide points out the city part of Xian and the residential area, but Sam's more interested in how the wall protected the city. The translator? Not so much. But as they bike, you see a cloud covering the wall and the city--that would be China's air pollution. It's bad, no wonder some athletes were considering pulling out of the Beijing Olympics.

The guide next takes Samantha to a temple, where they climb to the top. Afterwards, he and Samantha go to a street filled with artists. She learns calligraphy and the man teaching her says that by her handwriting, he can tell she has no knowledge of Chinese culture at all. Samantha looks a bit shamed. Finally, she goes to visit some Chinese Muslims and gets a lesson about how long Islam had been in Xian. He tells her since the traders came on the Silk Road. For a Communist country, China sure is religious. Though I'm surprised no one's mentioned Confucius yet. Samantha asks if she is properly dressed and the Chinese kinda skirt around the issue, saying she is properly dressed as a Western woman. She asks if she should be more covered, but is told only if she were to become a Muslim.

After all that walking, Samantha goes to a spa to get pampered. They put her in something I would only wear if I were pregnant and massage her feet--at one point using their hair! Now, I admit I'm one of the most ticklish people on the planet. That massage? Not for me. But it looks very relaxing and she got tea. All for 17 American dollars. Samantha talks about her hotel for a bit, saying most of the Chinese hotels are Western brands but with a Chinese influence. But I remember the hotel she stayed in while in Sichuan and it was gorgeous! And aptly named Shangri-La.

In the last part of the episode, Samantha goes to visit the terra cotta statues that have long guarded the first emperor of China. They've stood there for over 2,200 years old--older than the Catholic Church! Some farmers found them while digging for a well and now they are housed in an airline hangar. They are a big draw for Xian and what put the city back on the map, according to Xian. Each statute is unique as the faces were modelled on actual soldiers.

Samantha made me laugh with this: she says that if there is a major archeological find, then there must be a gift shop. And she finds a place where they make the soldiers as it would've been done 2,200 years ago. Samantha watches and then asks if she can have one. The man (who speaks English) tells her that he can put her face on a soldier's body if she wanted. Samantha ponders this as a way to scare off her neighbors, but the fact that it would take a month to make causes her to say, "Thanks, but no thanks. "

I must say, China in the World Showcase never really made me want to go. Of course, my dad's the only one who doesn't get motion sickness so it's not like we do the 360-movie there. But after watching these Samantha Brown episodes so many times to accurately recap them as well as the rest of the China Week shows, I know want to go. Kinda. If it's that reasonable, I may brave one VERY long plane ride there.

Would you? Tell me!