Despite the “end” of what used to be the historical Silk Road at times when Xi’an was home to the emperor and the capital, we continue our expedition with the cars until Beijing and we will take other roads that connect to the Silk Road.
Today we drove 520 km on the highway mainly through flat, boring landscapes. It was hazy and hot with temperatures up to 39 degrees. About halfway we crossed the Yellow River. We had once more lunch at a highway stop... We will not remember the Chinese pit stops as culinary highlights 😒. The toilets were however numerous and in general quite clean.
Late in the afternoon we arrived at Pingyao, one of the very few conserved ancient cities of China. It’s under UNESCO World Heritage protection and the cars have to be parked outside the city wall. A electrical shuttle bus took us to the only charming hotel we’ve had so far in China. Our room was above a small patio. It was small too with a tiny bathroom but convenient and cosy. We went for a walk through the touristic souvenir shops and I got myself a pair of textile shoes which I will use as house shoes. The nice thing is, that the sellers are not pushy. And overall we are positively surprised that the Chinese are usually friendly and respectful even in crowded places.
We had a glass of red Chinese wine before going to bed.
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