Greetings from Lanzhou!

So I am trying to stay out of trouble while in China, but my friend Lier seems to be a magnet for bad luck lately. I feel really bad for her. She was pick-pocketed at least 6 times while in Urumqi. Every time she goes through security check, they always check her bags. Our taxi was pulled over in Dunhuang for a security check and she was yelled at by the police officer for not carrying her passport with her. While on the train from Dunhuang to Lanzhou, we almost got kicked off the train because we were in the wrong bunks. Thankfully, it worked out okay. The people that had purchased tickets for the bunks let us stay in them and switched with us. They seemed really angry at first, but then again I didn't really understand what they were saying, and Chinese people shout at each other when politely conversing, so who knows. The train conductor assured us, no one was upset and that everyone was fine. It was just a misunderstanding and lots of people were watching because they were just curious to see what was going on. Now you would think that I would be used to attracting attention in foreign countries, being everyone kept staring at me while I was in Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, but we were the most popular people on the train yesterday. After our brief moment of pure terror because we are in a totalitarian state, people started coming over to our sleeper area because they heard us speaking English to each other. They were so intrigued by the fact that we were speaking English, they came over to engage us in conversation and to practice their English. It was so weird, but also a relief to know people were not angry with us for the mishap. We met so many great people on the train and they kept us company for hours, which is great on a 14-hour train ride. We met a girl going to university in the fall for law, an English language teacher and two military officials. They were very strange at first. They asked a lot of questions about America and were very patriotic about China. They implied China was better because the military response to the Sichuan Earthquake was immediate and well thought out, compared to America's response to hurricane Katrina. We also discussed the issue of Tibet with them, and they said that the people of Tibet were happy with Chinese rule, it was the Dalai Lama and the extremists who are upset because they lost power to the Chinese government and want it back. The situation got sticky when my mother brought up the issue of Falon Gong. They didn't want to talk about it, and left to smoke a cigarette. When we asked what they did for a living, they looked a little cautious and even left the room to discuss what they were going to say. I immediately thought they were like government spies or something. When they asked to take a picture of us, we asked to take a picture of them and they said no. They didn't want to be photographed because they were military officials. I guess they are high ranking officials then. They were really nice though. They helped us with our luggage and said if we ran into any problems in China, we could contact them to help us out. It's good to know people in high places!

We arrived in Lanzhou around midnight this morning and just hit the sack. By the time morning came around, it was time to bid farewell to Lier, my dear friend. She has been our rock throughout this whole entire trip. She made all the necessary arrangements for us and was a tour guide and translator for the last week. I don't know how she put up with my mother and I, but we are so thankful and grateful for all her help throughout the last couple of months, so the Silk Road tour would be a success. She did an awesome job! Love you, Lier! How are we going to survive without her?! It is a little scary because I haven't really traveled China without a translator before, so I guess there is a first time for everything. I think it will be okay. As we move further east, more people speak English and it will be easier to get around the bigger cities, since I have been there before. We did fairly well today, so I think it will be fine when we hit Xian and Shanghai.

We had a pretty easy day today. Lanzhou is a major city on the silk road because it is near the Yellow River and the Hexi Corridor. These two connections make it an ideal trading post to the old silk road, and it later became China's main defensive city in the west. We visited the Yellow River today, and my mother was shocked to see how dirty it was. She thought it was going to be golden like the name implies, but it was just brown, muddy and filthy. It is one of the most polluted rivers in China. Despite the pollution, we took a quick speed boat ride on the river to see the bridges and White Pagoda Park on the other side of the river. We even saw people floating in the river on wooden rafts! I thought they were going to fall over, given the water was so choppy. After the speed boat ride, we walked along the river, did some people watching, and crossed Lanzhou's most famous bridge, Zhongshan Bridge. Zhongshan Bridge was constructed in 1907 by German and American engineers and was "the first bridge over the Yellow River." We crossed the bridge to visit White Pagoda Park, but when we got there my camera died. UGH! We decided to head back to the hotel, so I could charge my camera. I couldn't visit White Pagoda Park or anywhere else for that matter without my camera.

Monument at the Entrance to the Yellow River Observation Park



Elderly Chinese people doing their morning exercise - dancing! So cute!



Mom on our Speed Boat Tour of the Yellow River



View of Zhongshan Bridge and White Pagoda Park



The Summit of White Pagoda Park



A Mosque along the Yellow River



After taking a break at the hotel, we decided to visit White Pagoda Park tomorrow and would spend the evening walking around the neighborhood. My mother is obsessed with tea, so we visited a tea shop where they made us some really great tea! She also bought a ton of tea, probably enough to fill Boston Harbor again! LOL! It was just nice to walk around the streets and do some people watching. We had dinner at a little restaurant and I came back to blog! Tomorrow night, we will be embarking on our last train ride of the trip, yeah! I am so over the train because the luggage is such a pain on the train. This time the train ride to Xian will only be 9-hours, so it won't be as bad as the 14-hour ones. I am excited to be going to Xian! It is one of my most favorite cities in China because of the Terracotta Warriors, Steles Museum, the Grand Mosque and the Muslim Quarter. I can't wait to share Xian with you!

Off to pack again. Hugs and Kisses to everyone! Have fun!