Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Xian, the former capital of China


Xian is a very historic city, we were quite excited about staying at the Mecure within the old city walls. It was quite a trip from the airport but the city was fascinating. We went to check in but they upgraded us to the Sofital next door. Well what can I say, luxury plus. We adapted to our new lifestyle very quickly. The suite had an emperor size bed, bigger than 2 double beds combined. We were presented with fresh fruit and meringues on arrival.  We went downtown to explore the ancient Bell Tower and Drum Towers. The city was vibrant, affluent and friendly.

Next day off to the Terracotta Warriors in a small mini bus with couples from Canada, USA, Germany and UK. A really good group, we had fun. We finally saw the Warriors after a morning of seeing how they are made now in a factory, shopping, lunch, video and the oral history of the area. But it was worth it all, they really are a great wonder of the world. So many thousands have not been dug up as the technology has not been developed which will prevent them from losing the incredible colours they are covered in. We saw Mr Yung who was the farmer who discovered them about 20 yrs ago.
We had a real WOW moment here.  Back to Xian and into the city to hear the drum performance, very impressive as was the Muslim quarters where hundreds of food stalls, and other stalls were colourful, noisy and vibrant. Then the rain came, every taxi in Xian was not to be found so we walked and walked until we were lost. Retraced our steps, had advice from a friendly Xian resident and we were still lost. Rain ceased then more taxis were available so we arrived back at the Sofital for a delicious cocktail or two which was a fitting  end a fantastic day.

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