China: Xi'an

Tuesday 3rd October

Beijing done, we now move on again - to Xi'an in the eastern province of Shaanxi. Having had a very relaxing last day, we hailed a taxi to take us to Beijing West station - a good half hour drive away. This is one very organised station, and enormous. It's more like an airport than a station. Each train has it's own waiting area and everyone has to put their luggage through a security check. Shops are all over and the electronic boards and announcements are first world - even in English! This place is true organised chaos. There are hundreds of thousands of people milling around in here, but somehow the whole system works perfectly and super efficiently. We boarded the train, dubious as to what our "hard seater" would be like. We were pleasantly surprised to find a carriage with seats a la an aeroplane. Fairly comfortable but not adjustable. Being an overnight train we would have preferred a hard sleeper but due to the National holiday week, we were out of luck. The trip was an uneventful 12hrs and we arrived in Xi'an at 7am. Having pre-booked this hostel we were treated to a free transport pickup. A blessing in disguise as we were dog tired.

Heavy Pollution, Markets and Terracotta Warriors

Wed 4th October

A relaxing, chillout day catching up on sleep and exploring this really great hostel - The Bell Tower Hostel. The view from our hostel is the best in Xi'an I reckon. We are right on the centre squre with the incredible Bell Tower as the main focus point. This 14th century tower dominates everything around and at night it's even more prominent under the spotlights. The biggest shock for us tho' is the amount of pollution in Xi'an. It's really, really bad with the day time feeling like it's early evening already. The thick haze is everywhere and is almost choking. This, together with the literally thousands of people is no good for claustrophobics. The humid atmosphere doesn't add to the general discomfort either.

Thursday 5th October

In search of the markets and the Muslim quarter. This area of Xi'an has been home to the Hui community for many centuries. When we eventually found it, it was a hive of activity. Narrow lanes, mud brick homes, shops, factories and a fascinating mix of Muslim and Chinese cultures and traditions. Somewhere neraby is the Great Mosque, but somehow it alluded us today. David had noodle lunch at a very hygienically dodgy looking place which I refused to eat at!! So far his stomach's OK tho. Hope it remains that way. On the way back we were fascinated by an old chap blowing very recognizable animal shaps out of what looked like toffee!! He grabbed a chunk of the mixture, made a blow hole and very skillfully and quickly blow-moulded an animal, then stuck it onto a stick. To admire or to eat we weren't too sure tho. We then meeandered through the bustling streets until the hostel welcomed us back. Xi'an is totally crazy right now, being the Chinese holiday wek and somehow the hostel is a temporary "safe haven" from the craziness outside. Right outside our the door is the Bell Tower and they are busy rigging up what looks like a concert arena. Some holiday festivities no doubt. We're sure to find out soon enough. Dinner time called so out we went again and found an excellent Chinese place in a backstreet behind the hostel. We sat in the dirty street, next to not such good looking drains [!] but ate the best spicy peanut chicken and rice dish we've had to date. External appearances don't count for much here - it's what inside that matters!!

Friday 6th October

The day to buy tickets for our next train trip - to Chengdu in the western province of Sichuan. We envisaged a dificult and frustrating procedure again but were pleasantly surprised. When you know how it works, the Chinese railways system is just so organised. When at first you see the 1000's of people queuing in an amazing number of lines, it's enough to make you give up immediately. However, once you've established which of these lines to stand in, the whole procedure just so smooth. Get your requirements writted out in Chinese, stand in the queue for the correct number of pre-departure days, hand it to the teller lady and she'll give you a ticket! Simple! We scored "hard sleepers" instead of "hard seats". Bonus! At least we can get a bit of shuteye this time. Being near to the station we searched out a market area we'd heard about where we could possibly buy some clothes. The area was enormous with miles and miles of cheap, trashy Chinese wares!! Shoes and jeans seemed to be the most abundant but the swarming crowds here were not at all tempting enough to make us open our wallets. Even tho' prices were ridiculously cheap. ZAR10 or ZAR20 for a pair of jeans, less for high fashion shoes and ZAR1 for ladies underwear items!! Fitting on these things just isn't possible so somehow the intial lure of filling up the suitcases was overtaken by the whole reality of the actual situation. So... bottom line... we bought nothing and justified this by telling ourselves that we can get just the same kind of cheap stuff at home! Back at base we discovered it was dumpling night! What does that mean? We all make dumplings, that's what! Cook them, and eat our works of art. Dumplings are a basic food here and in the whole of Eastern Europe too. They are basically dough packets [like raviolli], filled with a spicy mixture, which are then steamed above boiling water. Not too shabby to taste either. Well filled, we had an early night for an early rise tomorrow.

Saturday 7th October

The Terracotta Warriors - a 2000 year old army of preserved infantry men, archers and horses, once guarded the ancient imperial tomb of Qin Shi Huang. In 1974 peasants digging a well, uncovered what is now considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century. The thousands of terracota soldiers are lifesize and all dressed in battle dress. It's now heralded as the 8th Wonder of The World and it's not too hard to see why. Altho' pit number 2 is mainly still in it's excavations stage, it's incredible to see the delicate process of unearthing these treasures. Pit number 1 shows an army of 6000 figures all in perfect formation. Each figure is uniue with different facial expressions and features. Pit number 3 contains about 1000 warriors and horses. The entire complex has been carefully protected with walkways around the top, for visitors to marvel at this uncovering of over 2000 years of history. Totally incredible to imagine that there maystill be many 1000's more undiscovered terracotta warriors beneath your feet as you wander around.