It was nice to have a day with no schedule to meet, not even a “must-do” attraction – and it made for a very relaxing day and since I'm writing this while waiting for the plane out of Xi'an, I have some extra time to do a bit of education as well as musing.
I think it is worth knowing that the city of Xi'an is where China began some 6000 years ago. It was here that the warrior emperor Qun Shi Huang (of Terracotta Army fame) rule began when he was 13. He united much of China by conquering and uniting six kingdoms, standardizing money and writing, and created a centralized government which would be the model for later dynasties. On the flip side, Lonely Planet advises that he was the sort of tyrant who gives tyrants a bad name because he had such disdain for Confucianism that he outlawed it, ordered all written texts to be burned and was said to have buried 460 top scholars alive. Again, lifting from Lonely Planet: Xi'an was the center of Chinese civilization long before anyone heard of Beijing.
The size of the Xi'an former glory becomes most apparent when visiting the restored city wall that now encompasses 14 of the original 83 square kilometers. And while those numbers may not mean anything, walking the entire distance of the wall today takes 4 hours. Since the hostel was located directly next to the city wall and it was a spectacularly beautiful day, I decided to travel the top of the wall – however, being the lazy sort I am, I opted for the hour long ride in a touristy golf cart for 50 Yuan (around $7.32 USD). It was money well spent as I not only got to enjoy wonderful views of this megametropolis but I also was a fellow traveler with some Chinese tourists who couldn't have more friendly even though we only shared a few common words (once again my maps helped make a connection between where they were from and where I was from and broke the ice for friendliness).
I've come to treasure and protect my Lonely Planet Guide as much as I do my USA passport – because it contains such valuable information including Chinese characters for destinations. So, armed with only a bus number and the Lonely Planet guide, I set out on a city bus to visit the “Big Wild Goose Pagoda” somewhat south of the walled part of the city. It turned into a wonderful visit on a beautiful day – and somewhat because it wasn't just a big pagoda but also an amazing park with a large display of water fountains – definitely a tourist attraction for Chinese citizens. I had some interesting contacts with other visitors – some just wanted to take pictures with me in them, others actually wanted to practice their English.
After the bus ride back to the city, I enjoyed an interesting stroll through the Muslim quarter – found a Muslim noodle place for lunch and then made it back to the hostel in time for a free dumpling making lesson and some fun conversation with backpackers from around the world including one guy from Holland who had been all through SE Asia and now China on a six month journey.
Here are a few photos from the day.
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