One day in Xi'an....

This past weekend, we did something on most people's list of things to do when they visit China....we went to Xi'an.  Since we are now counting down to our move home, as bittersweet as it will be, we are finishing up the last few things around China that we wanted to see/do.  We decided to go by high speed train which took us 6 hours from Changzhou to Xi'an.  Since the visit was going to basically be one-day in the city we had the kids stay with some friends for the weekend and we went off to explore.  Yes, you heard that right, we went without the kids to do something, pretty uncommon for us.  It was like leaving something behind but it made for an easy trip and we could really use the entire day to sight-see! 

Xi'an is known as one of the most ancient cities in China, according to some facts from (http://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/) it is over 3,00 years old.  Most people visit this city to see the terracotta army, what they don't know if this is the resting ground from an Emperor who wanted to be protected in the after-life so he had the army of soldiers build and buried with him.  Nearby is a hill that is shaped like a pyramid, this is where for 38 years the Emperor created his final resting place.  He collected taxes and buried half of what he collected every year, he has artifacts, jewelry and all his concubines buried with him, according to our guide.  The guy sounds crazy, but he was powerful so all of this was his to take with him.  Farmers had found this area and started to dig for planting, that is when the army was discovered.  In the 20th century, 4 farmers found this excavation site by accident.  There is now a photo of the one living farmer near the entrance of the museum.  And now this is one of the most popular places to visit in China, although 95% of the visitors are Chinese there are a lot of foreigners too.

When we arrived to Xi'an it was very late so all we could see was the city wall lite up, there are lights around the towers on the wall and it looked really neat!  From our hotel we were walking distance across the street from the wall so this was a nice view.  The next day we woke up to actually see the city from our room and what a nice site it was!  We were staying just outside the original city wall, and from our view you could see old meets new in China.  High rise buildings, hotels, restaurants, and some historical architecture in the middle as well.  We had arranged a tour guide to make the most of our one day in Xi'an, we were staying in the city so we started with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum and Museum, this is where the terracotta soldiers is located, about one-hour outside the city.  We arrived early since it is known for getting busy and the weather that day was beautiful so certainly many people would be out and about.  When we arrived our guide gave us lots of information, and we went to the pits, there are three pits that have been excavated so far, pit 1 being the largest was the first we saw.  Of all the soldiers found, only one was in tact completely, all the others were put back together after their excavation.  Each and every solider is different, from their face to their shoes, it depended on which rank they were supposed to be for their clothing and location in the pit.  Here are some of the photos we were able to take, no flash photography allowed in these areas.

The only in tact Solider found

 We went on to pits 2 and 3 which were much smaller but none the less interesting.  There are artifacts and weapons which have been preserved and on show to see as well in these two locations.  Here are some of the photos below.

After the main attraction, we were lucky to be able to go into a old farmers house.  The house is a cave dwelling, similar to something you might find from Native Americans in Arizona.  The dwelling was two rooms, very small, they had concrete beds inside, with a wooden block as a pillow.  They now have some electricity inside and have a heated pad on the bed, but previously they would fill a bucket with hot coal and place it through a door under the cement bed to keep warm in the winter.  In summer I imagine the cave helped stay cool since there is really no sunlight coming in and a hill on top.  There was a beam at the top above the beds, this is where they would hang meat to dry out.  In front of the dwelling there was a small kitchen which now they only use to make steam buns but they used to do all their cooking here, the bathrooms are outhouses, and they have a small patch of ground where they have planted vegetables.  This was a unique place to visit and I don't think most tours offer a look into the old farm life in the country side of Xi'an.  

Outside of the cave dwelling.

The next stop was lunch, our guide recommended a local noodle place.  We went here, and it was a small restaurant, very typical in China, with a few tables but they were all full.  We decided to all order the noodles, so we ordered 2 noodles each, you heard that right, only 2 noodles per person.  Then I went to the kitchen to watch them handmade the noodles, they were super long and very wide so 2 noodles was enough for each of us.  Served with some vegetables and a little seasoning it was very good.  Our guide suggested to take a bite of fresh garlic before a bite of the noodles, and there was a bowl of purple garlic on the table.

Continuing on the trip we drove an hour back to the city wall and were able to explore this site as well.  The city wall has been restored and updated, in fact I even found some bricks that had the year they were put in stamped on them, 1984 (the year I was born) was a good year for the wall.  There were towers every so often on the wall, then a drum tower and lots of lookout points.  There is a moat around the wall, and there is a drawbridge although you can't really see if from the top of the wall.  You can drive through the city wall, it is always open to get to the residential and shops inside.  On top of the more than 8 mile wall you can walk, ride bikes, take a nap, anything you want to see around the city a bit.

Just a short walk from the wall is the Muslim Quarter.  This is an unusual part of Xi'an to see some sign of religion in China.  While this really struck me as a tourist destination, certainly many Muslim families live in this area and make their living off preparing food for tourists.  We were able to walk around for a bit, lots of trinkets, things like purses and hats for sale and then the food.  There was a lot to see here, from pomegranate juice being freshly made, to a giant yellow cake, flat breads, bbq meats and fried squid on a stick.  I watched them make some sesame candy which was delicious, had a sesame flat bread and a fresh fruit bar while we were there.  It was  a nice are a to take in, while we were walking around we were approached by many college students to speak English.  Apparently, they had been assigned to go to the Muslim Quarter and try talking to foreigners to speak and practice their English, and in true Chinese fashion snap a photo with the foreigner.  Since Brian and I are native speakers they really got a kick out of talking to us and asking about America, they were very surprised when we told them we lived in China.  I had two groups stop me, but Brian was the big hit, at one point I walked on with our friends and he was in the middle of the street with 10 college kids asking him questions.....lol

Going to Xi'an was certainly something we wanted to do before our time here in China came to an end.  I am glad we were able to see so much in one day, amazing what you can do when you don't have to stop for naps, snack and diaper changes....but it was also so nice to come back (6 hours on the train) and see the kids!

Until next time......36 days until we move back to the USA.