Tasty Taiwan

Marvelous Mango Dessert

We travel to Taiwan for business (Ken) and pleasure (Jeanie).  Jeanie went to Taiwan on an educational mission 22 years ago.  Wow, have things changed since then!  Taipei is an accessible city with fast trains, excellent subways, and drivers that actually give pedestrians the right away!

Apple, Jeanie, Ken
at Taiwan's most famous restaurant:
Din Tai Fung

Note:  There's a Din Tai Fung
in Seattle!

Some say that Taiwan is the best of China.  The food, culture, history, and sights are impressive.  Taiwan is clean, orderly, and convenient.
Our flight is under two hours from Shanghai to Taipei.

Apple at her family-owned restaurant

We visit with our friend  Apple, who is is visiting her parents in Taipei when we arrive.  She and her husband, Neil, are friends from Washington.  Neil works with Ken at Intel, Dupont.

Jeanie in front of the original
Din Tai Fung and
its delicious dumpling

We enjoy Japanese style hotpot with new friends:  Lisa, Rick, Andrea

Jeanie enjoys the green tea plantations

In addition to great food, the culture and history of Taiwan are unique.  In 1949, the Kuomintang army (KMT), led by Chiang Kai-Shek, lost control of mainland China and fled to Taiwan.  Before that, Japan had a strong influence in Taiwan.  Taiwan imported rice and green tea to Japan.

The gates into Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Jeanie at the Memorial Grounds

The Sights:

Rick,  Lisa,  Andrea  

 Rick, who works at the Intel in Taipei, takes us on a beautiful hike just 45 minutes north of the city to Yang Ming Shan. We are happy to have his wife, Lisa, and his daughter, Andrea, join us.

View of Taipei City from Yang Ming Shan

Hiking at Yang Ming Shan

Andrea enjoys the grass

Mother and daughter;
 the ancient art of calligraphy

Apple takes Jeanie on a great tour
of the Geo-Park along the north
shore of Taiwan

Jeanie stands at the Pacific Ocean on the northeast coast of Taiwan  

Taipei 101, yep,
101 floors!!

Good night, Taiwan

Well, Blog Readers,
we approach the end of our China blog as we leave China in three days, on November 30, 2013.

We aren't quite finished however.  We will embark on  Ken's eight week sabbatical adventure which we will post and entitle:

The Long Way Home  

Finally, we are thankful for God, family and friends.  We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.     1 Thessalonians 5:18

Colorful Jiuzhaigou

Jiu-zhai-gou National Park, Sichuan Province

Fantastic fall colors in late October

We finish our China travel with a WOW experience.  One hour northwest by plane from the Xi'an Warriors, we fly to our last mainland China journey.  We officially leave China on November 30.

We enjoy meeting up with Jensen,
one of Ken's work colleagues

Our only panda sighting

A World Heritage Site,this national park is just the place to hike our final steps,  marvel at Chinese beauty, and enjoy the Tibetan culture in Northern Sichuan Province.


The park organization is efficient.  Take the bus up one of the two stunning valleys and hike back down or hop on the bus at any stop.

Magnificent waterfalls

We encounter snow on the upper trails

Mountain goats on trail

Tibetan influence in park

One of Ken's favorite meals in China:
  roasted yak, wild mushrooms
 Tibetan mash potatoes and gravy

Colorful valley

Grassland valley

Where's Jeanie?  

Walking paths throughout the park

The paths traverse waterways

Amazing lake colors

Clear and calm waters

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul."  Psalm 23: 1-3

Next Time:  Taiwan

The Warriors of Xi'an

Drum Tower in Xi'an

We travel to Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, 2.5 hour flight northwest of Shanghai, to visit the warriors, ride bikes around the City Walls,

Where's Jeanie?
Xi'an City Walls built in 1370

 and enjoy the Muslim Quarter.  Muslims have been in Xian since the 7th Century. The Silk Road started in Xi'an. It is a vibrant mix of cultures and religions.

Jeanie in front of Xi'an City Wall

Ken at the the wall
 90 minutes to bike around it

Muslim Quarter
 narrow lanes of food and shops

Xi'an Architecture

In a building the size of an aircraft hanger,
6,000 life-size warriors are contained, 2,000 are displayed

Xi'an's terracotta warriors are called the 8th Wonder of the World.  This is one of the most famous archaeological finds in the world.  And the amazing thing is that this 200-year- before-Christ-army-of -warriors was only discovered in 1974 by some farmers who were trying to dig a well!

No two faces are alike

Archaeologists are still uncovering pieces

Warriors created to guard
Emperor Qin's tomb

Emperor Qin had the warriors, horses and chariots created as he probably believed that was going to rule in death as he did in life. (He died in 210 B.C.) The First Emperor Qin ruled for 36 years, and although he unified China and created an efficient government: standardized measurements, money, and built about 4,000 miles of roads and canals, he enslaved thousands of people.

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Horses, and 35 wooden chariots were found
 chariots have since disintegrated

These bronze horses and chariot were discovered 20 meters west of Emperor Qin's tomb

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Lord our God."  Psalm 20:7

Next Up: Colorful Jiuzhaigou

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