Hanting Express (Xi'An Gaoxin Yi Road)

... us, it would only cost about 10 yuan (about $6.50 Canadian). Frustrated, I told Colin that we should just walk. The hotel was about 2 kilometres - not close but not unfeasible to walk either.

First, we had to orient ourselves. Luckily, I had bought the tourist map at the airport. We started to walk in the direction that we thought we needed to go. We came across a police officer and Colin was smart enough to ask him for directions on our map. To our ...

... another 40 minutes for the flight to arrive and finally got going around 21:50.
On a positive note, the Shannxi Provincial History Museum was great. With Chang'an/Xi'an being one of the four great ancient capitals of China, we were able to see the historical progression of the dyansties. Our hostel in Xi'an was also fantastic. We stayed at Shuyuan Youth Hostel just inside the south city wall of Xi'an. It is a ...

... surronded by chinese peasents, who were looking at us like we were criminals. Didnt manage to get any sleep (maybe cause i was scared for our safety!). We were sitting right in the middle of a mongolian family (about 8 of them) who actually turned out to be quite sweet. They shared all there food with us (against what we wanted!!) They made me eat an apple which made my throat itch!. Managed not to drink anything at all so didnt have to use the toilet, caught ...

... Ba Xian An Palace because when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing in 1900, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi escaped to Xian and lived in Ba Xian An Monastery. Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi donated taels of silver later to fund the renovation of the monastery and gave it the name Ba Xian An Palace. The monastery is said to ...

... aan de ontbijttafel zit. Eergisteren heb ik die nachtelijke tocht ingezet met een Kung Fushow en gisteren met een acrobatenshow. Ik moet zeggen dat die Chineeskes er wel wat van kunnen<. Helaas in slaap gevallen bij het tweede deel. Het nieuwe financiele centrum van Peking is echt verbazingwekkend, ook de kubus-mediatoren van die mismaakte Hollander is een absoluut staaltje van mega-architectuur. Peking is op weg om de grootste, de mooiste, de nieuwste ...

... before we left (more about that later.) It was in the 90s but fairly dry which was good. But we were getting HOT so we went to a Starbucks (of course there is one there!) and had a nice cool drink and resting in the lovely a/c. Then we started walking towards the city walls They are huge and thick walls that have been preserved/reconstructed through many centuries. The city wall of Xi'an is an extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure. The city wall, after its extension in Ming ...

... hundreds of warriors. We did a bit more elbowing to get some photos before retiring to the safety of the outside world. Verdict? The spectacle of the army in situ was amazing, but the lack of opportunity to get close to the warriors without a pane of glass was a bit disappointing. We left feeling that you may have had a better close-up view at the British Museum. Still, it was well worth the entrance fee and we went home happy (albeit with sore elbows).

... the time at night! what an interesting way of time keeping in the olden days before watches! i find it all quite amazing! Then this morning we got to the part i've been quite excited about and it was no let down! we went to see the Terracotta Warriors! oh my! it was amazing! Dad - i don't care that they've transported some to london, i'm 100% positive that its nowhere near the same as seeing them on the original ground where they were buried!!! It was really interesting listening to ...

... where we got to pose as and with the manufactured Terracotta Soldiers and even have the opportunity to buy a life-sized version of them, free shipping included! Finally, after a final stop for a bite to eat for lunch and to see a terrible propaganda film of the country, area and discovery, we finally got to see what we came for and we were in no way disappointed, quite the contrary. There were rows upon ...

... square metres) of which 400,000 (four hundred thousand) has buildings on it, and saw the wonderful buddha statues. This time I even got to circumbobulate (as I call it as I can never remember circumambulate!) the monastery Circumambulating is where the locals walk the parameter of the monastery in a clockwise direction, touching and turning the huge colourful prayer wheels which go about half way around the monastery. They all squeak! As ...