Day 38

Day 38:

Pingyao proved to be a real treat! It is, indeed, a very historic feeling place. While Beijing's old alleyways and courtyard homes are being demolished in anticipation of the 2008 Olympic games, Pingyao has been declared a UNESCO heritage site, and remains now and forever a ramshackle collection of cobblestones, courtyard homes and narrow streets, all surrounded by a six kilometer city wall constructed during the Ming dynasty.

The town is very touristed, but unlike Beijing that isn't so distracting. The touts and hawkers are more relaxed here, which helps a lot. Feeling quite content, I spent my time hobbling around the town, poking my head into "antique" shops, eating lots of food and tracing the path of that very impressive city wall.

This morning I boarded a train south to Yuncheng. That trip was yet another railway adventure. I purchased a standing room only ticket, which was cheap and the only ticket available. The Chinese rail system remains both cheap and accessible by way of this "fourth class" ticket which is sold in unlimited quantities. Fitting upwards of 100 people into carriages made for 40, passengers board at the whistle stops in a flurry of pushing, yelling and elbowing, as everyone desperately clamors about looking for a place to sit, or lean or even stand without suffering too much stress.

I, of course, stood (cramped) for all of the five hour journey.