In Xi'an

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Xi'an is a great place to unwind from the rigors of our adventures further south and west. We are across from the Drum Tower, right in the heart of the tourist area and next to the Muslum Quarter. We're taking it easy, seeing the sights and enjoying being in the city, for a few days before heading out to the terracotta warriors tomorrow and Mt. Hua the next day and then back to Beijing and home.

So far, we have sampled food in the Muslim Quarter as well as local Xi'an specialties, visited the art district which features paintings and calligraphy, biked around the old city wall 14 km in circumference, ventured out of town to the tomb of emperor Jingdi, and toured the Beilin Museum with over 1000 inscribed tablets including all the Confucian classical writings and many others of great importance to Chinese history.

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Photos

Entrance to the Muslim Quarter
The sign says "wave high the flag of love of country and love of faith".

Jacob explains Confucius's canon of filial piety
Apparently the guy in the back is doing the same thing.

Comments

[Kit]

beautiful city!
Well, it may have taken you days to get there, but Xi-an looks like a beautiful, intriguing city. I noticed that you didn't rave as much about the food here as in Urumqi. (You should know that I had to go out and get a melon after reading your blog!) It will be interesting to see whether the terracotta warriors are as fascinating as the city walls, Tibetan villages, and desert oasis - somehow, tourist destinations are usually never as memorable to me as the unexpected places found along the way...