China Part Four: Xi'an

The first morning we were in Xi'an (once the capital of China) we headed to the Big Goose Pagoda surrounded by the Da Ci'en Temple. This pagoda dates back to AD 652. After touring the grounds we ate a quick lunch at KFC (there's tons of them in China) and headed to the Shaanxi History Museum. This had some interesting artifacts, including some terra cotta warriors you could view close up.

We then walked about 30 minutes to see the Little Goose Pagoda. We only saw this AD 684 structure from afar as we weren't willing to pay the US $7 to enter. We then went back north through the city gates and into the Muslim Quarter.

This area was overflowing with eateries (some shady looking), souvenir shops, and art galleries. The main attraction, though, was the Great Mosque. The oldest and largest in China, this blend of Asian and Islamic architecture dates back to the 8th Century.

In the pictures above you can see some of this architecture with Chinese woman who wanted her picture with Amy and a street shot of the quarter. It was amazing how many Chinese people wanted to take their pictures with the white people (they would only ask the girls, though). You felt like a celebrity.

On the way back we got a good glimpse of the Drum and Bell towers that lie within the city walls. These were used to signify sunrise and sunset, respectively.

The next morning we boarded a bus and drove about 40 minutes to see the terra cotta army. Built for China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb, more than 100,000 people took over 40 years to complete it.

Each warrior has an individually detailed face, so no two faces are alike. Many of the warriors are still buried, because unearthing them will cause the paint to fade off. They're too cheap to buy the technology from Japan and Germany to preserve the paint, so they'll remain buried until they come up with the solution.

As you can see from the pictures, it is overwhelming the size and area this army covers. We actually got to meet one of the farmers who discovered the tomb when he was digging a well in 1976.

That evening we got to partake in a traditional Chinese Dumpling feast. The dumplings actually originated in this region.

The next morning we woke early and walked about 15 minutes to the city wall. Built in 1370, it is one of the few city walls in the world left standing. We rented bikes and rode the perimeter of this 12 meter tall and 18 meter wide stone fence.

It wasn't the smoothest ride in the world considering we were riding on 14th century bricks and bikes without much give. As you can probably tell in some of the pictures (the Little Goose Pagoda picture in particular) the pollution in the cities is awful. These were cloudless days, yet you couldn't see more than half a mile due to the smog. Good luck Olympians!

That afternoon we strolled through Shuyuan Xiang, a neighborhood with throngs of vendors and nice architecture. Amy, of course, never failed to find something she couldn't live without whenever we ventured into one of these market places. We did have to make a detour to make a few purchases, as some of Amy's undergarments came up missing after having them laundered. We also witnessed a grand opening for a Wal-Mart here.

That night we boarded yet another overnight train headed for Shanghai.