Prince International Hotel Xi'an

... day off, followed by 4 nights and a day off. I am too polite to ask what she gets paid. I do wonder why she is doing factory work as she is clearly a smart girl. She has an amazing knowledge of Chinese history and regales us with details of dynasties and dates. Although her English pronunciation can be a bit odd she has a good vocabulary. It is truly wonderful to see her delight when she learns a new word or how to "speak it" as she ...

... iced tea without sugar for 18 yuan ($3). We wandered through the lower mall to the Drum Tower. <br><br>The Bell Tower and Drum Tower are called the sister buildings. The drum tower was built during the Ming Dynasty in 1380. The bell tower is the center of the old city. It was built in 1384, also during the Ming Dynasty. They are very imposing buildings and are beautiful when they are lit up at night.<br><br>Bill took some pictures of the drum tower and of the kites that were ...

... performing troupe, and was introduced to some slightly more authentic Xi'an cuisine than a tour might provide. As if that wasn't enough for one day, we also squeezed in a traditional Chinese foot massage, as my parents' 6-person tour group was very agreeable and open to trying new things, so the tour guide convincing them to give it a shot rather than relaxing for a couple hours at the hotel was quickly approved by everyone. A bit pricier than the 25 kuai ($3 ...

... in front of the butcher's shop. I had "Yang ruo Pao Mo" for lunch, which is basically mutton with bread in soup. I followed my Chengdu friend's recommendation of a shop but I didnt think that the dish was anything special. Later in the afternoon, I visited the Bell and Drum tower. These two towers are located in the very centre of the city, surrounding by shopping complexes, traffic, and giant TVs on the buildings. The clash between the new ...

... n'avons pas vraiment pu nous en rendre compte. raison ? un pseudo tempete lol pluie, neige, vent incroyable, brouillard, temperatures proches de 0 degres. Bref, un vrai bonheur et un temps ideal pour une excursions en montagne !! Nous avons quand meme fait une belle balade et nous avons fini trempes jusqu'aux os malgre nos k-way. Du coup, en rentrant, quel bonheur la douche chaude !!! Et ...

... the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC). Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in ...

... small shellfish are an abundant source of food. Many of the crafts here were also hand made. <br><br>Marketing Perspective: <br> Although the majority of the city was filled with tiny craft shops and food stands, there were still a few strategically placed ice cream stands specifically marketed to the tourists of the village. It was here that I noticed an interesting difference from the states: apparently chocolate ...

... into the computer and then shouted over another girl who spoke English who told me that there were no sleepers available today and that there were only standing seats left did I want to go on the next day instead...I thought for a minute but I had told Dave would be there so had to take the standing ticket....walking away I started to think about what hell on earth might be like and imagined that it could probably be quite close to 36 hours sitting on ones ...

... I wasn't one hundred percent sure where I was going and a Chinese girl, who was intrigued by my height, ended up talking to me in poor English. We happened to get off at the same stop and she tried to help me. As we were struggling to communicate a young Chinese guy came over and asked me if I needed help. He couldn't speak English any better than the girl, but he happened to be going to the Beijing West Train Station, which was exactly where I was ...

We have spent the last 4 days in Xi'an, China. Xi'an is 2 hours flight south west of Beijing. Naturally the first thing on our list was going out to the countryside to visit the terracotta warriors - it is a bit of a rigamarole to get there on your own, but worth the effort. We decided against taking a tour and went solo. There is a local bus from the train station that is worth the experience and only $2.40 return trip. Navigating ...