Touring Xi'an
I think I am going to do a few posts about each place we visit, and then I will put togther one big post on the trip overall. Here's a quick post about our adventures in Xi'an...
We flew into Xi'an on Saturday, which was not a bad day to travel. Sunday was the beginning of the National Day holiday for most people so we missed most of the crowds. Xi'an is a tourist city. They have been playing host to tourist since the days of the Silk Road, so you can imagine how touristy it is.
On Sunday we went to see the Terracotta Warriors.
There are thousands of Terracotta Warriors... infantry, cavalry, archers, and chariots. Most of the ones that have been discovered have been reburied, since the paint wears off of them very quickly after being exposed to air. Once they figure out how to keep the paint from going away they'll unearth all of them.
There is a funny story here about a German tourist who visited the Terracotta Warriors a few weeks ago.
After visiting the Terracotta Warriors we went to visit the Huaqing Hot Springs. These were some hot springs used by Emperor Xuanzong and his consort during the Tang Dynasty (more info here).
After that we visited the Banpo Neolithic Village. There was not a lot to see here, but it was kind of interesting. That evening we went to a restaurant/dinner theatre, had a dinner of dumplings, and then watched a play about Emperor Xuanzong and his consort. It was pretty nice.
The next day we went to the Provincial Museum in Xi'an. It was very similiar to the Banpo Neolithic Village museum, but bigger. After that we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
The pagoda is very tall, and I went up to the very top along stairs that got narrower and narrower as I went up.
Here one of the views of Xian from the top of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda...
On Tuesday we had a quick trip to visit the city wall of Xi'an.
After climbing around on the city walls we visited the Great Mosque.
Next stop... Off to ChengDu!
We flew into Xi'an on Saturday, which was not a bad day to travel. Sunday was the beginning of the National Day holiday for most people so we missed most of the crowds. Xi'an is a tourist city. They have been playing host to tourist since the days of the Silk Road, so you can imagine how touristy it is.
On Sunday we went to see the Terracotta Warriors.
There are thousands of Terracotta Warriors... infantry, cavalry, archers, and chariots. Most of the ones that have been discovered have been reburied, since the paint wears off of them very quickly after being exposed to air. Once they figure out how to keep the paint from going away they'll unearth all of them.
There is a funny story here about a German tourist who visited the Terracotta Warriors a few weeks ago.
After visiting the Terracotta Warriors we went to visit the Huaqing Hot Springs. These were some hot springs used by Emperor Xuanzong and his consort during the Tang Dynasty (more info here).
After that we visited the Banpo Neolithic Village. There was not a lot to see here, but it was kind of interesting. That evening we went to a restaurant/dinner theatre, had a dinner of dumplings, and then watched a play about Emperor Xuanzong and his consort. It was pretty nice.
The next day we went to the Provincial Museum in Xi'an. It was very similiar to the Banpo Neolithic Village museum, but bigger. After that we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
The pagoda is very tall, and I went up to the very top along stairs that got narrower and narrower as I went up.
Here one of the views of Xian from the top of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda...
On Tuesday we had a quick trip to visit the city wall of Xi'an.
After climbing around on the city walls we visited the Great Mosque.
Next stop... Off to ChengDu!
posted by Steve Harms at
12:42 PM
1 Comments:
I swear I took the exact same picture of the terra cotta warriors. I guess there are only so many angles to shoot. Amazing, isn't it?
If you're still in Xi'an, I really recommend going up Hua Shan mountain, about two hours outside the city. Take the cable car up and enjoy the view from the summit. Climb higher if you feel up to it. It's unrivaled.
By
Chris, at 10:24 AM
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