Xi’an (Shaaxi)
Our next city – after a comfortable four-hour high-speed train journey is Xi’an, the capital of Shaaxi Province. Once we get off the train, we become aware of the sheer size of this railway station. It is huge!
Anyway, we quickly get our bearings and head towards the DiDi-taxi pick-up point. About half an hour later, we arrive at our hotel, just a few metres away from the Bell Tower, and happily take a shower before heading out for dinner.
Sightseeing
We are tired but hungry. Luckily, only a few minutes from our hotel, we find a restaurant serving local Shaaxi food.
There are still plenty of mushroom dishes on the menu, but we also see a lot of “roujiamo“, also known as Chinese Hamburgers. A mixture of lean and fatty pork, braised for hours with spices, is served in a small, round, crisp-edged wheat flatbread. Very tasty, according to Dave. I also have a bite!
My choice for today’s dinner is a portion of Biang-Biang Noodles. What a spectacle! The Chef in the kitchen is hitting the dough and throwing it into the air. For an instant, I almost feel like I’m in Italy! My very wide, thick, hand-pulled wheat noodles are served with fresh vegetables. A real treat!
We have almost finish our food when the waiter puts two roujiamo on our table. We look confused.
“That man“, he says, nodding in the direction behind him – where all the tables are full of Chinese families including man! – “pay for you”.
Our expressions haven’t changed. We are still confused, who’s the generous man.
“It’s a gift“, he adds, making sure we understand.
As we are already full, we take them as takeaway and look thankfully across the restaurant. It could have been anyone! No one seems to respond to us.
So kind, so weird, so generous.
Another act of unexpected kindness, we experience in China.
Later I notice someone, I would describe as “homeless”, who is obviously trying to be invisible while looking for leftovers on plates in a food parlour. I tap him on his shoulder and say “Ni hao” and hand him our little bag with two still-warm Chinese hamburgers inside.
Now he looks confused.
I nod friendly while we keep walking.
It feels good, to have found a good “home” for our hamburgers – andto be able to pay the kindness forward!
Drum Tower
Dave is tired and takes a rest, so I continue on my own. I walk towards the Drum Tower, following the crowd through a busy, narrow street.
The hazy air is filled with all sorts of scents: fried duck, Turkisch ice-cream, rose-flower tea mixed with the fruity smell of freshly pressed juices. It’s overwhelming! What a lively city.
I just arrive before sunset at the Drum Tower and decide to buy a ticket. The views are amazing, and soon the colours of the sky start changing.
It feels good to be on my own! Even though I enjoy company, I am simply more relaxed on my own.
Slowly, I take each moment in, watching the crowds in the streets beneath the Drum Tower, while feeling simply happy and grateful.
Bell Tower
The Bell Tower is situated in the middle of a large square and is accessible through an underground pedestrian passage. The traffic around it is just crazy! The next day, I take Dave to see it.
It’s beautiful and impressive to watch how the traffic finds its way around the Bell tower. I go all the way up, while Dave enjoys the view from a lower level, next to the enormous Jing-Yun bell.
Great Mosque of Xi’an
We pass the Great Mosque of Xi’an in Huajue Alley by chance and decide to go in. A very good decision, it soon turns out.
What serenity. So peaceful and quiet. It’s hard to imagine that we have only just left the busy streets of the Muslim Quartier, where Dave scored some souvenirs for his grandchildren.
We stroll around, admiring the beautifully carved stone walls, full of instricate details, the ancient furniture in the side rooms and the precisely tiled roofs.
It is a stunning mosque and so very different from the Buddhist temples we have seen around Shaxi!
Gao Family Mansion
Only one shopping street further, we discover the entrance to the Gao Family Mansion.
Today seems to be our “culture day”! Again, without hesitating, we pay the admission fee and are soon exploring the different buildings and courtyards.
The City Wall
Even though the temperature has reached 36 degrees, making walking around rather challenging, I still feel like seeing more. Dave has had enough and stays at our hotel.
I set off from our hotel towards the Bell Tower, passing the Baoqing Temple Flower Pagoda near Shuyuanmen. I admire this 23-metres-high brick pagoda dating from the Ming-dynasty from a distance and continue walking towards the South Gate of the Xi’an City Wall.
After paying the admission fee, I start walking. This City Wall offers also performances at night. That must be very special!
It is hard to choose which way to go, so I decide to walk anticlockwise. You can rent a bike too, but I have the feeling that would probably be my last ride, since I would get a stroke if I cycled in this crazy heat in the middle of the day!
I am so happy that I brought my UV sun parasol today.
The eldery of Xi’an
From the high city wall, I have a perfect view over the river. There’s a lovely path gently runs alongside it, with several little parks offering shade for the eldery.
I hear some music. The singing is not exactly great – but the atmosphere seems to totally make up for it!
I don’t need to think twice and decide to walk back along the bottom of the City Wall, exploring this peaceful sidewalk. It’s wonderfully peaceful, and the trees offer me some very welcome shade.
