Spring Festival 2014-Part 1: Xian

---

It's been about 3 months since I last blogged. I was pretty busy towards the end of the term (in December) and once vacation started I tried to access my tablet to post on the website. Unfortunately, my tablet wouldn't connect to travelblog, so I was unable to post. Now I am back in the office, getting back into the routines of class, tutoring, gym, etc. Now that I have access i will look back on my spring festival trip.

Travel during the Spring Festival can be troublesome and insanely busy; this year spring festival starts on January 31st. The days leading up to China's most important holiday (equate it to Christmas or Thanksgiving in the USA) can be taxing, especially if you plan on taking trips. I attempted to buy train tickets via CHinatravelguide.com but even booking with them is no guarantee. In the end, my co-worker and friend Mr. Liu suggested 12306.cn which books tickets directly with the train company. It's easy, and you can book 20 days in advanced. You just need to book them as soon as they open or you will have no chance of getting tickets. The website is completely in Chinese, so I was lucky enough to be able to understand it all.



Anyway, like I said booking tickets can be troublesome. We were unable to purchase train tickets to Xi'an from Shenzhen. So we ended up taking a flight. We landed in Xi'an on the night of January 13th. The airport was about 30 km from the city center, so we took a shuttle. The weather was below freezing. Upon entering the city, I could already tell that smog dominated the city hazing the lights and making it some-what harder to breathe. It was not as bad as Beijing though.

Xi'an was the ancient capital of China, and as such it has many protected buildings that make this city an essential place to visit on a trip through China. After settling in at our hostel (Hantang Inn), we would spend the days riding buses and venturing to the various famous structures settled throughout the city. The first site within Xi'an we saw was the Big Goose Pagoda. The Buddhist tower was built in 652, and since then has been rebuilt after earthquakes and time tore it apart.

Within the city walls of Ancient Xi'an lies the Drum and Bell towers, built in 1380 and 1384 respectively. The giant bell of the Bell tower would strike at dawn, while the drums would strike in the evening. Tucked next to the bell tower is the Muslim quarter. The area is lively and is packed with goods and local food speicalties. Here, one can barter and if you're successful, you'll get what you want while pissing off the shop keepers. Our dinner that night was a local specialty, paomo (泡馍）. It is a soup made with noodles, meats and vegetables. The key difference in this soup is the dense bread. We were each given two pieces of this dense pita-style bread. We had to tear it apart ourselves before they would add the food.

The next day we took a cab to the train/bus station in the early morning. We then caught a bus directly to the Terracotta warriors. The Terracotta army was buried along with the emperor around 200 BC. The army consists of over 8000 soldiers as well as chariots. Recently discovered were clay figures of acrobats, musicians, and officials. Each soldier was intricately carved and colored to detail to display rank and personal differences. This leaves every statue different. After venturing back into the city of Xi'an. We decided to visit caligraphy street, which sounds just as it's named. A street filled with works of caligraphy and products like brushes and paper. We ventured back to the muslim quarter for dinner. We wanted to visit the city wall. The city wall was built in the 14th century and is about 13.7 square kilometers. Our hostel, the towers and the muslim quarter all resided within the walls.

On our final full day in Xi'an, we decided to climb HuaShan (Mt. Hua), which is a spritiual daoist mountain. China has Five Great Mountains; Huashan being the Great Western Mountain. Various points of the trails from the bottom are very steep and require climbing and holding onto ropes of chain. There is even a portion of the trail that requires people to attach themselves to harnesses ensure they don't drop hundreds of feet. Sadly, I was unable to visit this portion, so I may have to return. Since we were pressed for time, we ventured down the mountain via cablecar and took a few buses to get home.

Xi'an was everything I expected it to be. It is a prime example of a modern city molded around an ancient capital. Ancient structures are preserved among shopping malls. The relics are well cared for while the city continues to grow and expand. Unlike the cultural desert of Shenzhen where ancient buildings are 40 years old, Xi'an has managed to preserve buildings for thousands of years.

---

Photos

Drum Tower
The Drum and Bell Towers are lit up at night. Note the McDonalds highlighted beneath it.

Big Goose Pagoda
The Big Goose Pagoda and what looks like The Avatar in front.

Locks
I don't remember what the locks represent but you can purchase one as you climb and leave it there forever.