Xian

Oct 31.

Happy Halloween! Yesterday we were reading an article in the China Today newspaper about Halloween in North America and it said, “Children in North America like to carve faces in giant gourds and then dress up in costumes.” They actually went on to include recipes for some Halloween treats involving these gourds. This photo was taken outside a restaurant in the Hutong region of Beijing.

We were on the road at 5:30 this morning, heading out of Beijing to the airport. We've had a completely hectic schedule for the last 3 days and finally today promised to slow down a bit.
Our flight to Xian on Hainan Airlines took a little under 2 hours and when we arrived it was off to lunch. We went to a restaurant where we learned that rice isn’t as big here because it is too arid. Instead they grow wheat, so noodles are more the staple. They like to serve them with a chili sauce, which I have to say we tried and thoroughly enjoyed.
After experiencing 20 million people in Beijing, it was nice to come to some place a little smaller – Xian only has 8 million people. The scary thing is that they anticipate that this population will DOUBLE in the next 10 years. Crazy!
After the brilliant sunshine of Beijing, the foggy/hazy conditions were a bit of a disappointment. We weren’t able to get any good vistas of the city. Immediately, we assumed smog, but apparently it’s dust that sweeps off a plateau north of here and this condition is the norm.
So, after meeting our local guide, Hi Fli – yup that’s her name – she acquainted us with local history, including amount other things, that this city already had a million people a thousand years ago and this was originally the capital of China because of its central location in China.

We finally got some down time at the hotel. I found a little shop next door with Chinese red wine and beer and we honkered down for a couple of hours. We’re staying in the Titan Times Hotel that only has suites. Shabby!
Then we were off. We first visited the Shaanxi History Museum, which had many artifacts dug up in the area. Most of these go back a couple of thousand years. There were an especially large number of small and not so small, models of animals made from a variety of materials. There was also a small display of Terracotta Warriors and their horses, which is where we’re going tomorrow.
Here, we were set free to explore on our own. We both like history, but in a place like this, with very little in the way of English explanations, we found ourselves sink quickly into overload.

You know how the Chinese are famous for their kites. Well, outside the museum, someone was flying what had to be the longest kite I have ever seen. There were many small equally spaced kites on a string that stretched at least 300 metres into the sky.

Next we were off to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built about 1300 years ago. This is the working site of Buddhist monks that, as well as having this massive pagoda, also had numerous temples with large ornate copper and jade buddhas on site.

The day rounded off with dinner at the Tang Palace Dance Show, where we were fed an assortment of dumplings that were shaped like the animal or vegetable that filled them.
Following dinner, we had a cultural show that, although very beautiful and entertaining, kept many of us struggling to stay awake, due to both the nature of the soothing music and the late hour. What a bunch of old farts we are!

And that was day one in Xian.