Another incredible day in China! Woke up, had a great breakfast, and checked out of the hotel I’m Deng Fung. We then loaded the bus once again, and headed to The Longmen Grottoes. The grottoes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Luoyang City, one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, where people have been settling for over 4000 years.

So what are these “grottoes”? They are a series of caves that contain detailed Buddhist carvings and statues, built for a variety of reasons (providing a place of worship, spreading religion, earning favour with the gods, showing off wealth and power). The Longmen Grottoes face the Yi River, a tributary of the Yellow River, and were started around the year 493 and continuously built over the course of 400 years. TIS students spent the morning exploring the grottoes, sketching, and writing haikus.

After a delicious lunch, we boarded a high-speed train (top speed of 293km/hour) to Xi’an, one of China’s oldest and most important cities. Known as the birthplace of Chinese civilization, Xi’an was one of four major ancient capitals of the world (along with Athens, Cairo, and Rome). Xi’an was the eastern terminus of the grand Silk Road, which made it a very important place for traders, emperors, Muslims, and Buddhists. It is also the place where the first emperor of China (Qin Shi Huang) ordered the construction of his famous Terracotta Army (more on that tomorrow).

Once we arrived in Xi’an, we were whisked off to an incredible Pao’mo Dinner. Pao’mo is a traditional local Muslim dish made up of a flat bread that we ripped into our bowls, which then had hot soup, vegetables, and meat poured on top of it! Delicious! We then walked through the bustling night market in the Muslim quarter – within the old city walls – to the bell tower where we did our reflections and daily core values awards!

We are so thankful for our incredible guides that have been touring us through these fascinating places! Thank you to The Hutong for another wonderful day!