Headed to Xi’an the next day, on an overnight sleeper. Didn’t have the car to myself this time however, had to share with 3 Chinese folks! I was actually able to sleep reasonably well…hurrah! Xi,an has an incredibly well preserved city wall, my hostel is near the south gate of the old city, so quite neat to be able to look out the city gate and see the new city with all of it’s concrete. First day was spent walking around the Muslim quarter (Islam in China? Who knew!), which was good, ate lots of street food, including loads of sweets. I thought the staring in Beijing was obvious, but it worsened in Xi’an. Didn’t anyone teach these people that it’s impolite to stare at others! I actually was walking down the street near my hostel and there was this young girl, probably about 13, who actually shrank in horror when I turned my head and looked in her general direction. I know I’m no beauty queen, but come on people! I had hoped that visiting China would somehow endear the Chinese people (specifically the Han-Chinese) to me, however the opposite seems the more likely result.
The highlight in Xi’an is the terracotta warriors, very, very cool! However it was pissing it down rain the entire day, which made for a less than pleasant outing, but had company in the form of Alana, this English girl that was staying at my hostel. Day three was more rain in the morning, but thankfully cleared by mid afternoon and the sun actually came out. Unfortunately, it’s a national holiday for 3 days (the dragon boat festival) and thousands of Chinese tourists have descended upon the city, so even more congested than normal…not thrilled! Need to get out, but have to stick it out for another day until my morning flight to Chengdu.
Susan S. Singh Art 
Leave a comment