City #2: Xi'an

When I woke up on the train to Xi’an the view outside was amazing. It was the REAL china; not the cityscape, not the crowded neighborhoods-it was the fields, the people and their everyday lives. The houses were small and falling apart, the fields were rich with green growth, the hillsides carved into tiers to create more field space, the peaks rough and jagged, the people lugging vats of tea on the way to work, the land peppered with the occasional grave marked by bright metallic designs. It was beautiful.

After pulling into the train station and making our way to our hotel in the heart of the old Xi’an walls, it was clear the Xi’an was not only a much less populated (comparatively) city, but also that the air was cleaner and the city was also much more organized and easy to walk around. We started off the trip with a bike along the old city walls, about 14 kilometers, which surrounds the old part of the city. Watch towers and four gates peppered the red lantern-lined wall as we looked over it to see neighborhoods, a moat on the outside and small parks. The view was interesting; not only did we see thousands of apartment buildings with roofs lined with solar panels (who knew?) and the busy roads that made up Xi’an, but the Sunday we arrived was also a big day for weddings. It was 10/28, which was not only even, but also had the number 8 in it, a lucky number, therefore we saw and heard many wedding parades (cars,) short firework displays, brides, and sidewalks covered with red petals!

The afternoon of our first day was spent at the Wild Goose Pagoda outside of the old city walls, where we saw beautiful jade carvings, worshippers lighting incense, and also got a great view of the city from the top. When we returned to the city we had some free time on our own to explore before dinner. I explored the Muslim quarter, home to amazing street food, markets of local and fake goods, and stands of dried fruit and nuts. After wandering around the markets, I headed back to Defachang restaurant, which is famous for its dumplings. While I quickly lost count of DELICIOUS dumplings I ate, it is safe to say that I didn’t even want to see another dumpling after this terrific dinner. We returned to the Pagoda at night to watch a fabulous light show and see the pagoda lit up at night. While we had to run to make it on time for the show, we were not disappointed by the beautiful scenery.
The next day we hiked Mount Huashan where we again got lucky with the weather. The mountain was a few hours outside of the city, and getting to the base of it involved a very windy bus ride and then a gondola ride. We donned red sashes for the trip, reading safety on the mountain, and began to climb the thousands of stairs that made up the trail. The views were amazing and the mountain was extremely crowded, making the stairways difficult to climb quickly, although my calves were burning badly enough as it was. We spent around two hours hiking up the stairs and one scarily icy ladder ultimately making it to East peak, before making our way back down to the base and heading home.

Huashan Mountain has temples on it and is also known as a place to make wishes. To do so, you buy a locket and have your wish engraved on it. You then, like thousands of others, find a piece of fencing to lock your lock to, and then throw your key off the mountain. As we passed through Golden Lock Pass, and generally walked around the mountain, the railings were covered with locks, new and old, with thousands of wishes engraved upon them. Buying a lock, picking a beautiful spot and throwing my key off the mountain was one of the most powerful experiences I had in China.
After returning to the hotel we had the rest of the evening on our own and Jose and I decided to do a little more shopping in the Muslim quarter, while munching on some freshly dried fruit.

Our last day in Xi’an included a visit to Xi’an-Janssen Pharmaceuticals. We were able to attend a factory tour, interview company workers, and learn about the company, all of which was a great way to learn more about China and its connections to eh global business world. I particularly loved talking to Anne, a quality control worker at the factory, who was very willing to share information about her personal and work life, and also out-going enough to ask me questions as well.

In the afternoon we visited the Terracotta warriors. The exhibit is truly impressive in its scope and the sheer principle of thousands of unique soldiers constructed thousands of years ago makes it hard to believe. The whole scene is full of mystery as they try to explain how the soldiers were made, understand the scope of the project, attempt to preserve the soldiers, and continue to discover more of them. There is far too much interesting information to explain here, but I definitely suggest reading up a little on the soldiers.

That evening we had dinner at a Hot Pot restaurant. The center of the table has a heated bowl of boiling liquid (mostly water I think,) which has two sides- one spicy and one mild. The table is covered with bowls of raw food including noodles, veggies and meat, which you throw into the boiling water and then eat when they cook to the surface. We finished off the night with a small get together, toasting some Chinese white wine or Baiju (?) and getting ready to head on to Shanghai the next day.