Transcript:
Ni hao, you’re listening to People in the Know, your window into the world around you, coming to you from Xi’an, online at www. Crienglish. Com here on China Radio International. In this edition of our show, we’re discussing tourism in China in the backdrop of one of the cities that relies on tourism for its livelihood, Xi’an. So let’s get started.
For anyone who’s done a small amount of research on China, one the the must-see’s on the list for China is Xi’an. This city, now the capital Shaanxi Province, was, during the Tang Dynasty, the largest city in the world and the capital of China, known then as Chang’an. But Xi’an also holds the distinction of being the resting place of China’s first Emperor, the man who unified a group of warring states to create a nation. Qin Shihuang was a man who searched his entire life for the elixir which would allow him to live forever. It was on one of these journeys ----- ironically ---- he would live on eternity in safety and comfort. To that end, for 37 years, thousands of Chinese toiled and labored to build what is now one the most remarkable historic spots on the face of the earth. We all know it’s the home of the Terracotta Warriors. To that end, we decided it would be prudent while in Xi’an to talk to tourists at the Terracotta Museum about their thoughts, not only on the Warriors themselves, but on traveling to China as a whole. We sat down recently and had a chat with three tourists visiting Xi’an to see the famous Terracotta Warriors.
B2
Germany Yes
Nice, wonderful, proper Transcript:
“Can I get your name, first?” “My name is Barbara.”
“ What’s your last name, Barbara?” “Oppenheimer.” “from Germany?” “from Germany.”
“so this is your first time here in China?” “Yes, it’s my first time.”
“and so … your impression of the warriors?”
“it was very nice impression and I am very lucky to be here. I didn’t thought (think) it was so nice, really. I’ve pictures, photos and the book, and I will show all the people that they will come to China again.” “it’s wonderful, really. It’s very proper. The garden has very good mates: the trees, flowers… and very clean, and I didn’t thought it was like this.” “when you tell your friends back home, what sort of directions would you give them if they had a plan to come here to China? What would you
recommend?”
“I think more and more German people are coming here to see. We saw a lot of other lands and America and so on. But it’s really another thing to come here.”
“you tell me about. It. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.” “you’re welcome.” B3
“Can I get your name?” “Linda”
“Linda, what’s your last name, Linda?” “Linux”
“Linux from Toronto. Your impression of the Terracotta Warriors?” “… was incredible. It was just a sheer number of them, the history. I was really, mostly impressed by the number that have been left untouched until the preservation process can be further researched”
“ yeah, you find that it was what you had expected when you came?” “yes, I actually teach in Canada. And so I learned about Terracotta Warriors as part of study with Grade Five students of ancient civilizations or early civilizations. And we looked at China. And this is one the things that we studied.” “oh, really?”
“so I’ve seen pictures. I’ve seen some video footage and … so it was very much what I’ve expected. And it was even more impressive than I expected.”
“yeah. What about the actual tour part itself? Did you find that it was a bit maybe too touristy?”
“I’m here with the guide. He did a great job of explaining the history. I like the other signage around, the museum too, the attractive pieces as well.”
“ yeah. What about overall…. I mean have you had a chance to Xi’an itself, the actual city and take a look around?” “We visited a little bit yesterday, yeah.” “what did you think?”
“Great! We did a bike ride around the city wall. And that was fabulous. It was nice to be out. And there are so many crowds in China. It is very different from Canada. So it was nice to be able to move freely around the city wall quickly.”
“well, Linda. Thank you a lot for the time. I appreciate it.” “you are very welcome.” B4
“First stuff, can I get your name?”
“Bill Vineberg”
“Vineberg from British Columbia. You are part of a larger tour. You are here for 3 weeks. Where have you been elsewhere?” “Just Beijing so far”
“Oh, really? Did you catch all the sights there as well?”
“well, as many as we could. You know the Great Wall, Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, you know, Imperial Palace, you know.” “what were your impression of Beijing?”
“Well, the Great Wall really impressed me. That was phenomenal.” “let me ask you about touring around in Beijing. Did you find it diffilcult? Are you with the group?” “we are with the group.”
“if you wanted to venture out on your own, would you feel comfortable doing that?”
“not really too comfortable… no, not knowing the language, you know, I wouldn’t want to venture too far away.”
“yeah. Makes sense I suppose. So why China? I mean, what drew you here?”
“well, it’s a part of the world we’ve seen before, we want to see it before it changes too much. It’s got modernized pretty quick. ”
“so if you had any recommendations for people back home, what would you tell them about China? How would you tell them to go about doing