Xi'an

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Upon arrival at Xi'an's train station, a softly-spoken tout swiftly pulled us from the thronging crowds in the hope of tempting us into a ride to his hostel. Fine by me - it was the splendid Bell Tower Hostel, one of the best I've stayed in anywhere, and perfectly located by the huge crossroads which marks the centre of town. Best of all was the social side - we shared our dorm room with a bunch of other foreigners, so I had a good few English-speakers with whom to properly celebrate my birthday.

Xi'an perhaps topped my list as the place in China which I most wanted to visit, and it didn't disappoint. The majestic drum and bell towers, the grandiose city walls encircling the old town, ancient pagodas competing with nearby office blocks for height - all gave the city a real feeling of history.

Of course, no visit to Xi'an is complete without a visit to the site of the Terrocotta Warriors (and Horses!) - one of China's most famous sights, and one of the many sights around the world claiming to be the "Eight Wonder of the World". Whilst I wouldn't go quite that far, it was certainly quite a spectacle. In the largest hall, which is still only half-excavated, vast arrays of sincere-looking soldiers stand guard for all eternity. Amazingly, this may well be only the tip of the iceberg - Qi Shi Huang's actual tomb has yet to be excavated, so who knows what wonders it might contain?

After a walk along a modest section of the city's 14 km of wall, we headed for the Muslim Quarter - a wonderfully hectic maze of alleyways filled with stalls and crowds. We stuffed ourselves with a variety of bizarre sweet things, which I can neither name nor even describe. The area also proved to be a top place for souvenirs - I bargained hard for a good price on a fine mah-jong set, which is now stretching my rucksack to bursting-point!

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Photos

General
One of the terracotta warriors displayed in a glass case for close-up viewing.

City Walls
The imposing walls stretch right around the old town, and provided a pleasant elevated stroll.

Construction Worker
China's work ethic is world-renowned.

Warriors
This army stood in formation in the largest of the three pits, and consists of thousands of life-sized figurines - many of which have yet to be uncovered.

Bell Tower and Drum Tower
These two traditional buildings were located 300m from each other in Xi'an's centre, and housed small museums.

View from Little Goose Pagoda
We climbed about 15 storeys to reach the 'top' of this attractive pagoda, although the top two floors had in fact been demolished by earthquakes.

Bronze Horses and Chariot
Slightly less famous than the warriors, but still pretty impressive (with the exception that these are half life size).

Elephant
This nice statue was found in the grounds surrounding Big Goose Pagoda.