Xi'an - Home of the 8th Wonder of the World

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Decided to take full advantage of my monthly four day weekends and travel to somewhere other than Beijing, so Josh and I made the trek up to Xi'an

Xi'an is only a short plane flight away from Beijing - about an hour and a half. By train, however, which would have been a much cheaper way to travel, it takes about 12 hours. I didn't think I could survive on a train, especially in China, for 12 hours, so we splurged and bought plane tickets.

Our flight was very early Friday morning. We wanted to take full advantage of the time that we could spend in Xi'an. We arrived around noon after a few flight delays. When we got to Xi'an we checked into our hotel, then hit the ground running. We headed outside the historic city walls to visit the Wild Goose Pagoda. The Pagoda was really beautiful and centered within a park. We spent a few hours walking around and enjoying what the area had to offer.

After that we headed to the Muslim Quarter for some shopping and dinner. Xi'an used to be the capital of China and was the starting point of the Silk Road. Because of that, there is a Muslim influence in the city, brought by the traders from Iran and the Mediterranean. The food in the Muslim Quarter was really delicious - lots of mutton and spices. The shopping was all right, but nothing compared to the shopping in Beijing, so I didn't buy anything.

On Saturday we got up early to hit the highlight of any trip to Xi'an - the Terra Cotta Army. It was very easy and inexpensive to get there. You could book a private tour, which is upwards of $40, or you could take the city bus and buy a student ticket which totalled about $10. There is a lot of English signage in the Terra Cotta Army museum buildings, so I feel like a guide wouldn't have been much more informative.

The size and number of the Warriors was amazing. They were all life-size and there are about 6,000 of them. Even more incredible - no two are exactly the same! The army was built to guard the emperor in his afterlife.

The Warriors were discovered by some local farmers who were digging a well. After discovering the Warriors, the government decided to protect them. They build a museum OVER the sight of where they were found and then slowly unearthed and restored them.

After the Warriors, we continued our day of Xi'an history by touring the city walls. The old city is surrounded by walls that are thought to be the oldest walls in China. The walls are 15 meters wide, so the best way to tour the whole ting is by bicycle. There is a bicycle rental if you ascend the wall at the South Gate. The bike lets you see the entirety of the walls and and you can go around the 14 kilometers quite fast. At each caridnal compass point there is an impressive gate.

Xi'an was definitely worth visiting, and should be on any China itinerary. The city is also really accessible by buses and on foot, as long as you are staying within the city walls.

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Photos

Wild Goose Pagoda
Everything was really nicely lit up at night