May 16

May 16, 2017

We rounded up our last morning in Xi’ An with a visit to the wet market. This market was a lot different than the market we visited in Guangzhou and fairly newer. We were able to see different cuts of meat from chicken, pork, lamb, beef and fish. As we entered the two story wet market, we saw the meat hooks to carry the whole carcasses into the market. As we walked through the market we saw different meat being cut and processed from the different carcasses. This market was very different compared to those in the US, as the safety precautions and measures simply didn't exist. We were also able to see cuts of the animal that are not typically eaten in the United States for example, pig hooves, ears and tail, and cow kidney and heart. Our tour guide Maggie bought some crawdads that we watched a lady hand break apart to be cooked later. Leaving the wet market we were able to see local black chicken. Most of the chicken at the wet market is frozen, due to the Bird Influenza and wanting to prevent any further spread of this disease throughout the country.

After leaving the wet market, we walked to the second level to see different spices that the Chinese use in their meal preparation. The aroma was very strong and overwhelming but it was very interesting to see the different spices this culture uses. We then had an hour bus ride to the train station, we went through security and had lunch on our own in the train station. We awaited our departure and thanked Maggie for everything she had taught and showed us during our visit in Xi An.

On the bullet train ride we got to see a lot of the country side and rural areas. The fields are really small and squeezed in where ever they fit. The primary crops we saw were wheat and barley. There was some tree fields that had what we thought were figs. There was many 30 plus story buildings under construction in the towns we went through. There was a quite a few buildings that were abandoned also.

We got to Beijing and our new tour guide took us to the hotel to have supper. We ate Hot Pot in the hotel restaurant. Hot Pot is a personal pot of boiling water that you put an assortment of meat, noodles, and vegetables in. The meat is very thinly sliced and you cook the meat yourself. One piece of advice given to us before we left was to keep the raw meat utensils separate from the cooked so we didn't get sick. It was pretty easy to forget and accidently put the raw meat on your plate. It was a unique experience.