China

China Fast Facts:

population: almost 1.4 billion

socio economics: developing country; exports clothes, rice, coffee, anything at any dollar store and pretty much everything else
religion: Buddhism
language: Mandarin Chinese
food: rice and noodle-based dishes, specialties are dumplings, Dim sum, duck
claims to fame: most-populous country in the world; world's leading polluter
people: The least-enthralled by us as caucasians or Americans.
 
We've been around and seen a lot; China was definitely our most intense trip ever. We constantly found ourselves squeezed in the middle of several million Chinese people, regardless of where we were or how far off the beaten path we thought we'd gone. It was crowded, to say the least. The pollution, or "fog" as the Chinese call it, is just as bad as everyone describes it.

After a few years in South America and a few years in Asia, we have become shamelessly accustomed to being special and all the attention this brings. Going to China was like falling from the celebrity A list, much like I would imagine anyone from the original cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 feels today. People still stare, but don't consider you novel enough to want to talk to you, hug your kid or get a picture with you. It stings.

We spent 12 days visiting three places: Xian, home of the famed Terracotta Warriors; Beijing, the capital; and the Yellow Mountains, the country's most-famous mountain region. We had a great time. Here are the highlights:

China, here we come!

Day 1 in Xian, checking out the city sites.

We went to a traditional Chinese dance and music performance.

The Terracotta Warriors! This is a collection of the first Chinese emperor's army; each sculpture is thought to be a replica of an actual soldier. There are more than 8,000 sculptures. They were buried with the emperor in the early 200s and discovered by a farmer digging a well in 1974.

Outside of the entrance to the city's enormous outdoor shopping streets, called the Muslim Market. The stalls sell food, clothes, arts and crafts, jewelry, knock-off bags and more.

And cake, too! One, please!

Geoff and Leo sharing street crab.

As a rule, I don't eat meat when we travel. This eliminates a lot of stomach issues that may arise. (Just ask Geoff.) China's street meats reinforced this rule.

Best not to drink the water either.

Using chopsticks like natives.

Travel buddies.

Continuing our tradition of letting fish nibble our feet in every Asian country we visit.

Taking the lift up to see the Great Wall of China.

We made it!

Eri and Leo on the Great Wall of China!

We took a toboggan back down to the bottom. Eri and I are on one; Geoff and Leo are on the other.

Pandas in China, of course.

Outside of Mao Zedong's mausoleum. Inside, his body is lying in state.

This is the Forbidden City. We were among those thousands of people.

Here's what it looked like inside.

A smooch at the Temple of Heaven.

Pretty much nailed it.

This chef is carving our Peking duck. Only Geoff ate it, though, as Eri, Leo and I adhere to that aforementioned no-meat-no-diarrhea rule.

It was meant to serve the whole family, but Geoff was able to do it on his own.

#icantbelieveiatethewholething

Leo turned 3 years old in Beijing!

Leaving the city and headed for the Yellow Mountains.

Snack break

Even the mountains are crowded.

Really, really crowded.

We were warned by other Americans who had been to China that they had been followed, their hotel rooms had been bugged, their luggage had been riffled through and more. We were prepared for the same, so I couldn't believe I after nearly two weeks that no one seemed to be spying on us. When we were at the airport to fly back to South Korea, Chinese immigration officers asked if we would step out of line and follow them. I could see the "questioning room" sign on the wall where they were leading us. As it turns out, the immigration officers just wanted pictures with us. They gave the kids hats, fans and pamphlets on China tourism, and then let us cut to the front of the security line.