Xi'an

It's is so hard to describe China. The only way is to do it in bits and pieces. We?ve just left Xi'an - which actually was an ancient capital of China. But still, for most of the last century, a rural community. Today it has a population about the same as New York City, and at least 500 skyscrapers under construction. (Maybe more!) With the urbanization of China, hundreds of millions of farmers have relocated to the urban areas. Think Co-Op City in the Bronx - now multiply that image by 100 - that's Xi'an. We're going to a city in a few days that has a population of 34 million - really! It;s called Chongqing and it is the largest city - population wise - in the world! (NYC is about 8 million.)

You cannot imagine the pollution in Xi'an. It's just a way of life. Take a look at these photos. The fuzzy ball in the sky above the construction crane is the early morning sun. The pollution is caused by manufacturing, mostly millions of cars, and the climate itself.



And - oh yes - the city continues to grow. Even with the one child per family policy in China, check out the kids that pour out of the schools at lunchtime.



They are building subways, high speed trains and working on other ways to move people around that are more environmentally friendly. But for now, it's like nothing else I have ever experienced.

As I write this, we are flying to Guilin and will spend this afternoon on a cruise on the Li River. It's is supposed to be gorgeous. So, tomorrows pictures should be good!

This continues to be an amazing trip!