Wow, you are finally in China! Sounds like you had a very smooth trip so far. It is blazing hot here and I was wondering what is the weather like there right now? Also, we hear alot about the polution in China and I even read that for the Olympics the Govt. would shut down factories around Bejing to improve the air quality. What have you observed on this subject?Lastly, what do the chinese people think of America? Do you think that with all of the censorship, they have an incorrect or distorted view of our country and culture? Have a great rest of your journey. The students who get you for a teacher next year will be lucky. I am sure you will have years of material to talk about! How interesting.

Jessica,
Unfortunately, I didn’t find out the answer to this one. I’ll have to look it up when I get home and have a bit more time.

Thanks for such a great question…I’ll be sure to let you know when I find out!!

The clay people (aka the Terracotta Warriors) were based on soldiers in the emperor’s army, as far as we know. They give us a lot of evidence about military affairs in ancient China and they do seem unbelievably real, especially close-up.

As for China “being busy”, it depends on where you are. Just like in the United States, the cities always seem very hectic and busy to me. I’m a small town kid, so it is sometimes exciting to be surrounded by so much energy and action in the cities I’ve been in, which have almost all had populations over 2 million people.

The one exception, was Pingyao, which was a small town that has been well-preserved for over a hundred years. Everything was a bit slower and quieter in Pingyao, and the rest of China that I’ve seen on my train trips between cities have seemed much quieter. I won’t be able to explore any smaller towns this trip, but whether it’s busy or not seems to depend on where one is in China.

Thanks for the great questions.

P.S. We wrote some questions that I will email your school address too!