During October holiday we went to the city of Xian, in Shaanxi province. This was one of the old capitols in ancient China, during the famous Qin-dynasty (221-207 BC), the Han-dynasty (206-220AD) and the Tang-dynasty (618-907AD). It was a beautiful city, but quite big for two western Norwegians with its 3,2 million inhabitants. We heard there that during the holiday it is supposed to be exceptionally crowded, which we found out was true. Crowded it surely was:)
We took the night train from Yinchuan to get there. This was the first train experience in China for both of us, and we enjoyed it alot. We had hard sleepers, in an open wagon, which was surprisingly comfortable. Except for Tom who for some reason never fits into China's when it comes to doorways, lamps, and in this case, beds. Travelling with the train ("firewagon") in China is a social event and it was a great opportunity for us to practice our Chinese. The journey took approximately 13 hours.
In Xian we visited the Shanxi History Museum, The Terracotta Warriors, The Calligraphy Museum, A Silk factory, The City Walls,The Big Goose Pagoda, The Muslim Quarter and The Bell Tower to mention some of the sights. Xian is a more Chinese town as we know it from movies and books, with the typical traditional architecture and ancient tourist sites. It is a city with a lot of history and many of the places preserve history very well.
We had a great time during our first Chinese holiday trip. Xian is definitely a city worth visiting. Drop in at the city's home cozy youth hostel if you are there, a really neat place with people from all over the world. Highly recommended by Chris and Tom.
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