Xian, China - Day 24 (1st day in Xian)

Well the overnight train ride was quite an experience.  It is probably something we would never do again primarily because I’m getting way too old to hoist myself up to the top bunk.  The bunk beds were very, very hard and unforgiving.  But we did get some sleep and it was wonderful waking up, being served coffee and we slowly pulled into the Xian train station.  Later, we heard that other people on our ship had chosen to fly and sat on the tarmac for hours. They didn’t arrive until 2a.m., so it turned out they got as much sleep as we had.

Our guide and driver were waiting for us at the station and whisked us off to a local hotel for a buffet breakfast. Not the best breakfast to date but it did the trick and we were off to see the city sights of Xian. First up was a stroll around the Bell Tower which is situated in the center of Xian where the city’s four main streets converge. It was built in 1384 and formerly housed a large bronze bell that was struck each morning but now houses a collection of bells and chimes. We then walked over to the Drum Tower which was built in 1380. While there is not much to see inside of either of these structures, the city is proud of the exteriors and have built parks around them.

Next we headed over to walk the old city walls.They form a nine mile long rectangle around the city center.We climbed to the top and our guide wanted us to rent bikes so we could experience how the locals enjoy the walls.We politely declined and instead took a long stroll enjoying the views of the city.

We got back into our van and drove to the Shaanxi History Museum.This museum has over 370,000 relics chronicling Shaanxi civilization and culture from as far back as prehistoric times.The layout takes you through each civilization’s highlights and our guide was incredible in explaining the history of China.Xian served as the capital of China for 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years.If you ever have a chance to spend time in this area, this museum is worth the time.

Then it was time for lunch at a local restaurant.We told our guide we like spicy food and she delivered.There was not a Western face to be seen for miles.Yummy!

Our last stop for the day was the Wild Goose Pagoda.This Tang-dynasty pagoda was built in AD 652.It is 210 ft high and was used as storage of sutras which were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese.While the pagoda can be climbed, we chose to admire it from below.The large temple complex has some very interesting outer buildings, one containing three statues of the Buddha.We enjoyed the very picturesque visit.

We both were exhausted even though our guide wanted to keep going.She had the driver take us to our hotel located outside of downtown in the financial district.The Shangri-La Xian was one of the more beautiful hotels we’ve ever stayed in. We ordered up some dinner and then called it a night.