I have a few moments free this morning, so thought I would try to continue my posts on my not so recent trip to The Middle Kingdom. The second city visited was X'ian, southwest of Beijing, and a trip I was really looking forward to. The beginning of the adventure was not that auspicious, as we arrived at the Beijing airport in the middle of a snow storm. Two hours early for our flight, we were told by a very helpful agent that our flight might not leave due to the snow, but she could get us on the plane leaving in about 10 minutes, if we hurried.
Our luggage was taken from us and we literally ran through the airport, accompanied by two uniformed security guards, through security and to the gate. Onto the plane, pulled away from the gate, and then sat on the taxiway for 5 hours due to a shortage of de-icing facilities. Not happy! At any rate, we arrived in X'ian in late afternoon and were met by persistant rain. We checked into our hotel in the 'old city', and prepared to take in the sites the next day.
Our first side trip was to the Ming Dynasty tombs, which they wouldn't let tourists into, but the little museum and the local entertainers were both fun and informative. The weather had improved, now it was just misting as opposed to raining, so we spent the better part of the morning here.
Then it was back to X'ian for an afternoon of sightseeing. The city is one of the oldest in China, and was the site of the Qin Dynasty, the first Emperors of a unified China. It remained the centre of Chinese political and cultural life up until the time of the construction of the Forbidden City in what is now Beijing. In 1370 AD a new wall was constructed around the main city, and remains to this day. Obviously repaired and reinforced, we circumnavigated the top of the wall (about 12 km) and were able to see much of the ancient city. Although the ancient city has now been replaced by a very modern metropolis.
This is the entrance to the South Gate. From here we were able to get to the top of the wall, and begin our rather chilly and wet trip. We saw both the new and the old from the wall, a pub, an outdoor market (protected from the rain by tarps), the old buildings and the new.
This a photo of the outdoor market. These can be found almost everywhere in China, and are quite fascinating places to visit, if you can stand the crowds. Many times I had to step aside and find a little space to call my own, just to get my breath back. Whatever one is used to, I guess.
This of course is the pub, which unfortunately did not stock my brand of ale, but it sufficed!
Then off again around the wall. We did discover the X'ian Railway Station. Not a fun thing to find, as M. Cortes informed me that she had no interest in flying to Shanghai, not after our last experience from Beijing. We were going to go by overnight train! God Bless - I cannot even describe this experience. I suspect I am not one of those travelers who wants to immerse himself in local culture. I much prefer my human comforts. Anyway, by train we went. But Shanghai is another story. We still have to visit the Terracotta Warriors just outside X'ian. That is for another day.
