4 | Xi'an China

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16 - 17 April (Tue - Wed)

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Overview:

The Bell Tower, Drum Tower, the Great Mosque, 8,000 terracotta warriors, 14-km bike ride on top of the historic wall that encircles Xi'an, and even enjoyed some jazz. Xi'an gets top marks as a travel destination !

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Well, I did everything I could possible do in Xi'an in such a brief visit and I met some interesting people, and enjoyed the local food. I'm going to devote an entire journal entry to the food in the Muslim Quarter, as I tried a bunch and I'm pretty timid about the food I'm willing to eat.

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Welcome to Xi'an

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My hotel was within walking distance of so many Xi'an sights: The Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Great Mosque, the Muslim Quarter, and the Bei-Yuan-Men folk house. I was able to see them all on Tuesday, have an afternoon nap and then go biking along the Xi'an wall in the later afternoon. I spent the following day on a terracotta warriors tour and catching some local jazz.

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I included an evening picture of the Bell Tower when I arrived so I thought I would include a daylight picture, as well, with an elderly Chinese woman - she jumped into my picture at the last moment.

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As most people in Xi'an did not have clocks, bells would ring in the morning and drums would beat in the evening. I guess this went on for centuries, as the walls of this city are really strong - four buses could easily drive side-by-side on top of the wall.

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The Drum Tower included a performance with drums and tradition Chinese instruments and apparently, some close girlfriends who seemed to be having a great time.

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The Bei-Yuan-Men folk house was once the home of a high-level bureaucrat during the Qing dynasty. Very well preserved and presented.

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The Great Mosque is so immense that a single picture cannot really capture it beauty and complexity. It has many building and gates in a park-like setting. I included a stone carving next to the entrance gate.

 

Xian's Terracotta Warriors

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Equally immense is the terracotta warriors but at least I could get a birds-eye view of one of three enclosures and I could get up close enough to enjoy the detail.

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I booked with Easy Tours. Chelsea, our tour guide, was excellent. She had so much local knowledge, good English and a sense of humor. There were 16 in a mini-bus for a day - a real international mix. Mostly Europeans but some South Africans and one Australian. I enjoyed talking to a Spanish couple and a fellow named Gianni - former Italian public affairs professional for BMW in Italy. He had come to Xi'an suddenly, at his spouse's request, to accompanying his daughter who is going to do a semester abroad three hours south of Xi'an. I eventually told him of my travel plans and he asked if I was fluent in so many languages. I explained that I had years of experience travelling independently in many countries without the local language. He seemed fascinated by my project and invited me to look him up when I arrive in Milano.

 

Biking Around Xi'an

and Evening Jazz

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Riding a bike 14 km along the entire wall was also a highlight. The wall is so large because it is full of dirt with a solid-rock facade all around. The pavement is rocky and the ride pretty bumpy but it was such a unique experience. Not much shade but plenty of rest-stops along the way. I watched the sun setting from the Western wall.

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Hard to find a destination without a sim card and google map these days. I had to ask four people before I was able to locate Meeting Jazz Club. Some hot French-Canadians in a setting that had real "jazz-ambiance".

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Met a Chinese fellow named Michael at the jazz club who is a senior tax official in Changsha Providence. He was in Xi'an for a month of economic training. We had an interesting discussion about Chinese hiding their money in the Australian property market. He knew about it but the government did not have a solution - yet.

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People were easy to meet in Xi'an. Upon first arriving in the city by subway I was looking at my map and a young girl came up and asked if she could help. I told her that I thought I had figured out how to get to my hotel (but later I learned that I was wrong) and thanked her. Before jumping on her subway, she empathetically said that she wanted to help me. I think she would have guided me to my hotel if I had been lost. She probably wanted to practice her English, as she seemed like a college student.

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Xi'an gets top marks as a tourist destination. It has it all...

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