A Trip to Ancient Xi’an

Xi’an is an amazing city; it is a blend of ancient and modern China. We had a great time exploring this ancient city and it’s surroundings with our friends the Harris family. We ate street food and toured mosques and Buddhist temples. We saw a music and dance show reminiscent of the Tang Dyansty. We saw the Terracotta warriors built by Emperor Qin over 2000 years ago. We visited a family in their cave home and last but not least we shopped for souvenirs! We managed to pack a lot into a 3 day weekend!

I do not usually comment on our accommodations unless they are noteworthy. These apartments were decorated in true warrior style. Many details were put into them to remind you that you were in Xi’an, home of the terracotta warriors. They were built into the walls of every room and they created small pedestals to hold up the beds we slept on. They watched over our beds as we slept. They were even small warriors holding up the bathroom sink. Our bedroom floors were made of clay bricks similar to the ones found under the warriors feet. Our guide Clarence, who is the owner of the apartments, had thought of everything including costumes and weapons for the kids to dress up like warriors.









Our adventure began with a walking tour of the busy Muslim shopping district in search of lunch. We came across many street foods that we had not seen before in Dalian. We settled for a place that served beef or lamb sandwich between two thin flat pieces of bread and fried crispy. They were delicious but I am certain they were not very healthy!







I will definitely be bringing some “Maobama” shirts home for souvenirs… place your order early if you want one!



We toured an old Mosque, it was interesting to hear the Imam chanting prayers during our tour of the mosque.




We toured the Bell tower which was built in 1384 during the Ming Dynasty. The setting was quite remarkable as this ancient building sits in the middle of a bustling city center.






A perfect ending to a busy day, we enjoyed a feast of Xi’an style dumplings, very delicious and different from the dumplings found where we live. There were dumplings shaped likes ducks, pigs and fish.




We saw a music and dance show reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty.







Emperor Qin’s army of Terracotta Warriors was an amazing sight. It is hard to appreciate the massive size of the terracotta army without seeing it with your own eyes. It is thought that only a small portion of what Emperor Qin had built has been found. Built over 2200 years ago the warriors are remarkably preserved, although many are broken. Archaeologists have been working since they were discovered in 1974 to put the pieces of this great mystery back together. It is thought that the Emperor built his army, believed to number over 6000 warriors, to protect him in the afterlife. Our guide Clarence had some interesting theories about the warriors.








This photo shows some of the intricate details on the warriors. There are no two warriors that are alike.

We had an opportunity with our guide Clarence to visit a family living in a Yoadong (cave) outside the city. It is estimated that some 40 million people live in caves in China today. The caves are manmade carved out of the mountain side. The interior was very modest, they had a bed and a food preparation area. They had a small outdoor kitchen and we were not sure where the bathroom was… we were afraid to look! We were amused by the satellite dish mounted outside the cave. Even cave-dwellers cannot live without some modern amenities! The cave was occupied by a man and a woman that I would estimate to be in their 70’s. They were very nice and she allowed us to take her picture.







The outdoor “kitchen”



On our last day in Xi’an we toured the Big Goose Pagoda. This is a Buddhist temple that was originally built in 648AD. We had a fantastic tour guide who told us all about the temple and it’s history. The kids even had a chance to try out Shufa (Chinese calligraphy).







This last one was a sign spotted by Lauren in the women’s restroom at the airport… I could not resist sharing!



The bathroom attendant must have thought I was crazy when I came back into the bathroom with my camera to get a picture!

Our time in Xi’an went by too quickly we really wished we had another day to spend as there were some things on our list that we did not have a chance to see. Despite this we had a great time exploring this amazing city with the Harris family!