Xi'an

It is now a year since I first started writing a blog. Initially it was to document my summer holiday as I travelled to through China, Vietnam and South Korea. However, when I returned to Beijing I decided to keep updating my blog about life in Beijing and the adventures I have undertaken since the summer. It is nice to look back on fifty blog posts and see what I have done in one year.

I recently had to say goodbye to some very good friends who will not be returning to Beijing after this summer holiday. It will definitely be strange without them and I am sure to notice their absence. I will miss Kate and Becky a lot but have so many good memories with them. I was fortunate to spend a wonderful weekend with them and other friends in Xi’an last month.

We flew from Beijing to Xi’an on the 12th June and once we got to the hotel we managed one drink before feeling exhausted and heading to bed. The next day we saw Omar and Lyra who had flown in from Chong Qing. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast and then planned to see the terracotta warriors. 

We were lucky that our hotel could organise a minibus to take us there and back. John had visited Xi’an before and following his recommendation, we first visited the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi. I am so glad we did! It was a quiet museum and rather eerie to see the clay figurines that had been uncovered. During Emperor Jingdi’s reign, the public lived a more prosperous and happy life, therefore his tomb was filled with clay animal figurines and smaller human figures that one does not usually associate with the terracotta army. These less aggressive-looking terracotta artefacts were created to reflect the more relaxed and happy period people experienced under Emperor Jingdi's rule.

The amount of clay statues that had been unearthed is staggering. However, the smaller doll-like clay people were a little creepy in my opinion. The museum also had the option of viewing a short video about the discovery of Emperor Jingdi’s Tomb and the history of his reign. It was a really impressive 3D movie and headphones were provided to allow English translation. I would certainly recommend exploring this museum to anyone visiting Xi’an.

Eerily beautiful

Bus nappers!

After the museum, we went to the more famous and much busier Museum of Qin – Terracotta Warriors. It would be an offense to visit Xi’an and not pay a visit to the army. The first thing that dawned on me was the sheer scale of the museum. There are various pits holding hundreds of clay soldiers and horses. There are replicas and reconstructed warriors which show how the army would have been painted at the time of creation. When seeing some of the warriors in the pits, it’s difficult to fathom how they look so genuine after such a long time. The intricate details and facial expressions on each warrior is amazing and there is plenty of information to be found in the museum.

It was a great feeling to see this landmark – and another tick on my China bucket list!

In the evening, we visited the Muslim Quarter. Alcohol is prohibited but somehow we were able to enjoy a meal together. We shared some lamb kebabs and I decided to try lamb pao mo (羊肉泡馍) after my Chinese teacher has told me to try this delicacy. It is a lamb broth with steamed bread. I am not the biggest fan of lamb but this was a rather nice meal.

Later, walking through the Muslim Quarter, I decided to buy a dragon cup. My Chinese teacher had also told me a story about these cups. Legend has it that long ago, a Chinese Emperor grew tired of his greedy wife always wanting more of everything he offered her. So, to teach her a lesson, he created a dragon cup. This cup was special because if the level of liquid in the cup surpassed the dragon’s mouth, the liquid would go down the mouth and through the bottom of the cup. So, when the Emperor was giving his wife hot tea, of course she demanded more and more. When the tea reached the dragon’s mouth, it flowed through the hole in the bottom of the cup, thus scalding the Emperor’s wife. What a prankster that Emperor was! A cheeky yet valuable lesson in learning gratitude. You wouldn’t catch me drinking a hot beverage out of that cup – not for all the tea in China! 

On Sunday, before flying back to Beijing, we went to the city walls of Xi’an. We decided to hire some bikes – including tandem bikes (to the dismay of those sharing a bike with me and my terrible/non-existent balancing skills.) It was a great way to see the city and the impressive wall (not quite as good as the “great” one though…).

Before heading to the airport we had a quick feast. Firstly I had a lamb burger or 肉夹馍 (the Chinese name of this humorously sounds like you're saying Roger Moore).

Apparently this is a traditional food and some historians argue that the burger was actually invented in China. 

 

I also tried biang biang noodles. The character for “biang” cannot actually be typed on a keyboard and is considered one of the most challenging Chinese characters to write by hand due to the number of strokes it takes to complete. The noodle dish was delicious and tasted almost like an Italian pasta dish.

It was a lovely weekend with Kate, Becky, Marc, John, Omar, Lyra and Mike and one that I will remember for a long time.

Tháng trước tôi đã đến thăm Tây An. Các chiến binh đất nung là những hình tượng độc đáo!