We are now in Pingyao, China, southwest of Beijing. We arrived this morning (Dec. 5) to a biting chill... a cold front came through NE China last night and it is FREEZING. Even the locals seem unsettled by the weather. Pingyao is an historic merchant town and now a popular tourist destination for the Chinese (though not so much in this weather). The old city wall and moat are still intact, and inside the city walls Pingyao is well preserved with old buildings lacking the in-your-face commercialism that we've seen elsewhere in China... no bootleg North Face jackets or Lacoste shirts here. Krista is very sick, but hopefully the combination of western pharmaceuticals and Chinese herbal remedies will have her feeling better by the time we're off for Beijing in a few days.