With the exception of the day we spent at the Terra Cotta Warrior tombs (which is the subject of a separate blog) there were a few highlights of our time in Xi’an which included:
Walking (and Riding) the City Wall
The plan on this morning was to rent bikes on the top of the city wall and ride as much of the 14 km that we could. The bike renters however said that Erica and Madeline were too small to take bikes. We were planning on taking the “bikes for two” but no matter how we argued, we were left disappointed. We decided then to rent a tuk tuk (bikes with drivers) and managed to get two charming older men and one wanted to impress us with his English. We enjoyed the hour-long trek and history lesson learning how the dynasties flourished, built Xi’an into a capital, amassed their armies and conquered the Mongols.
We decided to walk on the outside of the Wall to venture further and discovered a great walking track and gardens. There was a fitness trail that the kids enjoyed, people playing musical instruments and lots of table tennis players. We saw a few newlyweds getting their pictures taken (which seem like very serious business in China). We decided to head back inside the Walls and catch some traditional Hunan food which meant a restaurant that had a series of private dining rooms – this was odd…but the food was good
The Muslim Quarter
I had mentioned that we stayed in the Muslim Quarter. There is a large population of Chinese Muslims who have lived in this area for hundreds of years. They are merchants and own shops and cafes all through this area. There is a Great Mosque in the centre which is quite hard to find but we did so on our last day in Xi’an. It is a peaceful area and quite reminiscent of Chinese temples. The entire Koran scripture is chiseled into the wooden walls of the main prayer area.
Joshua’s Discovery – You can eat and live on dumplings for three meals a day
Dumplings for breakfast, lunch and dinner!! I think the record could be 15 dumplings in one sitting – I lost count. We visited a couple dumpling restaurants and they were in roadside stalls and available for breakfast. Filled with veggies, pork, coriander, garlic and chilies – fried, steamed or boiled – there were always lots to choose from. I think my favourite was fried pork and coriander with a soy chili sauce.
Big Goose Pagoda and the Crazy (Local) Bus Ride
On our last day, we decided to venture out beyond the City Walls and go to the most famous (and important) area in Xi’an for its people called the Big Goose Pagoda. This was a huge park filled with great public art and a beautiful pagoda that was used for centuries but the emperors and their families. In the last few years they built a large water fountain park (think Bellagio in Vegas) and put on a spectacular water show a few times a day. We were half way up the pagoda when the water show started and we had a fantastic view overlooking the fountains from about 40 metres above street level.
We failed to find the History Museum which was somewhere near the Pagoda and also could not get a taxi to pick us up so we stood in line for the local bus. The price was right (about 10 cents) but the pushing, shoving and crowds in side the bus was something we had never witnessed before. While we managed to make it home, I think we were a little shell-shocked and giddy that we managed to experience and survive the transport system.
Xi’an Train Station
I have to add a couple pictures from the madness that was the Xi’an train station. In fact, why use words when you can add a couple pictures of the complete chaos of thousands of people crammed into a small space…
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