Be*mused

If you find yourself in Xi'an...

Xi'an City Wall main gate

Don't think that the Terracotta Warriors are the only reason to visit Xi'an. There is so much more!  I've already mentioned that on our second day there, we visited the Shaanxi History Museum, which was chock full of fascinating historical artifacts from the area.  In contrast to our previous soggy day, the weather was sunny and comfortable and we got an early start, the better to see as much as possible before our departure on Monday.

After grabbing a quick bite, we headed to the main gate of the magnificent Xi'an City Wall, an ancient defensive fortification built around the perimeter of the city in the 1300s.  When I was getting ready for the day, my son suggested wearing something that would be suitable for bicycling.  Really?! 

I hadn't ridden a bike since the kids were in grade school but this sounded like too much fun!  Guess what?  It's true what they say...you never forget! 

We all saddled up and spent the next hour and a half peddling the whole 9 mile loop, stopping to take photos of the fantastic views and indulging in an occasional cold drink.

View of the Xi'an Bell Tower from the wall

Whee!  I'm ten again!

We had so much fun that we actually ran over our rental time but by mid-afternoon, we turned in our bikes and descended the wall to explore an adjacent artists' neighborhood.  It was our second but last day in Xi'an and we still had quite a list!

Street of galleries

After a quick visit to the interesting Xi'an Beilin Museum, we wandered among the many booths and shops nearby, all featuring artists' work or supplies.

Framed papercuts

Calligraphy brush stand

Handcraft booth

I ventured past the handcraft booth just a few yards into this local neighborhood which I think is a good illustration of how sharp the contrasts are in China.  One minute you're in a refined, high-end area, the next block it's quite different.

The local restaurant, menu posted by the entry


Restaurant cook, facing street, working over coal-fired stove

As I was snapping this shot, I heard my DIL exclaim, *whoops!* and glanced up to catch a naked guy strolling by, to little local notice.  Despite our momentary loss of appetite, we were getting hungry and headed off through the neighborhoods to have an early dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the world.

Xi'an version of the Amish clothesline shot

When we ate at First Noodle Under the Sun (love the name!) the night we arrived, we knew we'd have to come back one more time before we left.  It was that good!  Recommended by Lonely Planet, we were initially surprised at how 'basic' it was.  Kind of like a cafeteria.

But believe me, what they lack in ambiance, they make up in taste!  The menu is thick, the selection varied and...a help for foreign travelers...photos are provided, with English subtitles. 

Hungry?

Something for everyone! 

The selections are served family style, so we chose some repeat dishes from Friday night, added in a few new ones and sat back with some Tsingtao beer, waiting for our feast.  None, may I add, from the options above.

Here's the biáng biáng miàn ~ 4 meter noodle ~ which is the house specialty.  Yum!  As we worked on this course and the deliciously seasoned sliced cukes, others were delivered, one after another.

Kung Pao Chicken

The Kung Pao Chicken was out of this world, as long as you carefully pushed the little Sichuan peppercorns to the side.  If you missed one, it felt like a real sparkler going off in your mouth, followed by total but temporary numbness.  Once I mastered peppercorn avoidance, it was one of my favorite dishes!

Sesame-filled, fried pumpkin cakes

Despite bursting at the seams, we couldn't resist ordering the most delicious pumpkin cakes for dessert.  This is only what's left of the order, after finally saying *uncle*. 

The price for our feast?  $22.00.  For everything!

You might think that we were done in by our busy day, but no!  We had one more thing on our list.  After a quick stop at our hotel to freshen up, we hailed a (wish I could say 'cab') tuktuk for yet another hair-raising ride.  Off to the Muslim Quarter, a vibrant section of the city surrounding the Great Mosque, which we did not see, due to time constraints.

It was mobbed when we arrived, several seemingly non-ending streets filled with souvenir shops, dried fruit & nut markets and food booths.  The smells of so many exotic foods and the throbbing of middle eastern music wafting through the air made this such a memorable end to our visit.  It was loud, raucous, colorful and fascinating.

We finally, reluctantly, called it a day.

Am I excited that I've just taken my final tuktuk ride and lived to tell about it?  Or am I happy to have just had the most fun and memorable day ever? 

You decide!

China

Honestly, I just don't know where to start.

We've been home from China for a week now and I'm at a loss to convey the experience.  I took 670 photos.  Usually I have no problem pulling a post or two from my travel pics but I've sat here the last few days, challenged to organize my thoughts.  China was just as described to us, yet it was so much more.  It's raw.  Pulsating.  Chaotic.  Rude.  And endlessly fascinating.

I guess I'll just have to jump in.

We spent most of our two weeks in Shanghai, where our son and daughter-in-law live.  We arrived at Pudong Airport in the evening and the 35 minute ride into the city from the airport was mesmerizing.  The city is huge. Huge!  What struck me was the almost surreal sizes of the apartment complexes along the highway, one after another, after another.  Groups of 50 or more identical buildings clustered together, 40-60 stories high, stretching out to the horizon.  Almost a little creepy.  Science fiction-ish. The above photo is about half of a 1:500 scale model of the downtown area of the city that fills the top floor of the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.  

Xi'an Belltower, built in 1384 to provide early warning of impending attacks

After a few days in Shanghai, decompressing from our trip, we all traveled north for a long-weekend visit to Xi'an, the first capital of China and the last stop on the Silk Road.  Xi'an is a large city of over 8 million, located in the northern central plains of China, up toward Mongolia.  Within a short time there, it became clear that although it aspires to be a first-class destination (due to the discovery in 1974 of the famed Terracotta Warriors), it has a little work to do. 

Here is where we stayed ~ the Xi'an Grand Noble Hotel, lovely in every way.  Highly recommend! 

And here is how we got around the city...in motor-cycle driven tuk tuks, because taxis are almost impossible to hail if you are a foreigner.  This is a relatively high-end model.  It has doors!  And a bit of legroom.  And a foot-long piece of old clothesline rope dangling from a crossbar to hold on to as you careen in a driving rainstorm through oncoming traffic, the wrong way on one way streets. (Breaking out in a cold sweat just remembering that ride...)

On our first morning, we boarded a local bus for the one hour ride out to the Terracotta Warrior site.  Our fare was around $1.50 and when we arrived, the bus let us off on the side of the highway, which we were left to dash across in the rain, dodging four lanes of traffic.  No crosswalk, lights or walkway.  In fairness, these would not have made a lick of difference.  Crossing any street in the cities we visited was a leap of faith.  Chinese traffic may have inspired the phrase, 'He who hesitates is lost'.  Keep moving, even as a city bus is barreling right at you.

We spent most of the day out at the site, which was positively fabulous.  Unseen for 2,200 years, this lifesized army was buried near the tomb of the first emperor of China, Emperor Qin, to protect him in the afterlife. The treasure trove was discovered in 1974 by a local farmer who was digging a well on his property.

He's signing autographs these days.  :-)

Sign designating location of the well.

Can you imagine?  If he'd dug just a few feet to the side, this may never have been discovered!

Pit 2

There are actually three pits, all in different stages of excavation and restoration.

As yet, untouched.

 
You can see that Pit 1 is enormous.  About 2,000 of the life-sized warriors have been reassembled, with another 4,000 as yet unearthed. 

There were throngs of people here, one of China's most famous destinations, but because it is so enormous, it seldom felt really crowded.  Most pressed in to capture the best views of the pits but several approached my DIL to get photo with her, something that happens regularly when she's out and about. She had mentioned that being blonde, she sometimes feels as odd as a unicorn in China. Throughout our visit, we noticed people taking her picture from a distance or walking deliberately near her while a friend waited to capture a shot.

Shanxxi History Museum exhibit, Xi'an city

Though the actual site had some of the restored warriors on display, we thought the best views were found at the Shanxxi History Museum, which we visited the next morning.

Here the exhibits are in plain view, not behind glass, so you can more easily examine the staggering detail.

Each of the thousands of figures are different!  Warriors, horsemen, archers, soldiers, each with individual stances, facial features, clothing details.

 
The figures were originally painted, but exposure to air have caused most of the polychrome finishes to disintegrate.  What a magnificent sight that must have been for the last workers who closed up and buried the army at its completion!