西安: Fun and Final Thoughts

This last post of the longer-than-anticipated Xi'an series is just a general wrap-up of my second day in the City of Western Peace. While Joanna and Lucy had to get back to Beijing the day before, Liz and I stayed for an extra day to see what we could see.

The morning started off a little like this...

...and maybe it was the great night's sleep I had at the hostel, but it just felt like a jumping kind of day, so...

西安: The Terra Cotta Warriors

I was originally going to begin this post with the bold statement that the Terra Cotta Warriors are, well, fake. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't suggesting that the Chinese government fabricated an entire archeological find. Rather, I was of the opinion that the warriors on display were replacements of the originals. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for the government to do this: preservation, research, presentation. But when I mentioned this opinion to my friends back at Yale, the response was unexpectedly strong outrage. Who was I to say that such a massive archeological discovery was fake? After all, my majoring-in-archeology friend pointed out, I was not an archeologist. 

Fair. BUT STILL THEY WEREN'T THERE.

So, for those who have yet to see the Warriors firsthand, here were my original arguments. This also gives people opportunity for rebuttal if they so choose... 

西安: DUMPLINGS!

There are really no words to describe the dumpling demolition that went down on Friday. Eighteen different kinds of dumplings were served, friends. EIGHTEEN. I barely made it through all of them. To tell the truth, I had to admit defeat at the very end, and of all the dumplings that were served to me, two remained unfinished :(

Please don't judge; it was a pretty intense meal. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the dumplings of Xi'an:

First... the appetizers

Now for some lucky pearl dumpling soup. Tradition says whoever has the most pearls in their soup is the luckiest person at the table... guess who that was?!

And now...

the dumplings.

A final note:

Not all dumplings made it onto the SD card.

But trust me, there were eighteen.

西安: An Evaluation, Part 3

Oh, food. It is literally the best way to explore an unfamiliar land. You deal with the language, the people, the culture, the flavors… all at the same time! There were really so many different food experiences in Xi’an, some that would be familiar to the Western reader and some that definitely wouldn’t. To do the food experience justice, we’re going to go back to the tried-and-true method of photo-blogging. Other than one experience that merits a post all its own, this is a recounting of most of the notable food of Xi’an. Enjoy!

Note: With the exception of the last picture, all of the pictures below were taken in the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an. The last one was taken at Pizza Hut.

西安: An Evaluation, Part 2

Now on to people….. oh my goodness, so many people. I thought I’d be used to it right now, I really did, but every new place in China I go, it’s the same incredible crush and the same upswell of frustration as I try to fight my way to my goal. Honestly, I think the only place in China I’ve never felt crowded is the grazing land of Inner Mongolia, but that’s just because it’s GRAZING LAND. I think it was the last hour of our time in Xi’an that got me…

First, getting a taxi was impossible. So many people were vying for taxies everywhere. My friend Liz even got into a struggle with one girl as they both tried to get into the same taxi. Hilarious from my viewpoint, but frustrating all the same. Then, we tried to board the bus. I, being used to the Beijing system of boarding on the back, boarded the back of the bus… and waited. The bus wasn’t going, and there was an automated message repeating on the speakers. I couldn’t quite understand the stilted speech in the automated message, but everyone was looking at me, and I flushed, beginning to realize maybe the message was for me. Liz had gone up to pay our fare, so I didn’t know what the problem was, but as I began to understand the message (as it repeated for the eighth time), I realized it was saying, “People who boarded the back of the bus, please get off and board up front.”

西安: An Evaluation, Part 1

After spending approximately 36 hours in 西安 (Xī'ān), the City of Western Peace, I’ve reaffirmed a few things in my mind:

1. I love hostels. They are God’s gift to the frugal traveler.

2. There is absolutely no escaping the crush of people in China.

3. Food is the best way to get to know any culture.

Let’s talk hostels. Our hostel, the Shuyuan Hostel, apparently has been ranked among the top ten hostels in the world by Hostels International, and I think I can understand why. A private room for Liz and me cost ¥160, or ¥80 ($12) per person, per night. This private room came with its own bathroom (Western toilet!), shower, towels and shower shoes. The hostel itself had free Wi-Fi (not the greatest), on site laundry services, a restaurant, a large bar and great décor. 

from the lobby
credit: Liz Lee

They also had pretty good service, aside from a minor passport issue. I had forgotten that you are required to show your passport when checking into any overnight accommodations in China. What’s worse, my passport was still being processed back in Beijing for the addition of a visa (allowing me to go to South Korea next weekend). This looked like it was going to be an issue, as in the lady said, “You can’t stay here,” but another super-kind lady intervened and asked if we had any other paperwork. Luckily, I was travelling with copies of every official passport/visa-related document, as well as the receipt from my visa purchase, so they were able to use that information to check me in. Moral of the story: ALWAYS BRING YOUR PASSPORT/INFO WHEN TRAVELLING. Thanks Mommy :)

Another benefit of staying at the hostel was that one of the employees, seeing as we were in a rush to see lots of things before two in our party had to get back to the train, offered to drive us where we needed to go for a pretty reasonable fee. So we actually had our own private car for the day, which was greatly appreciated as we went off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and whatnot.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to take advantage of their organized excursions, but the literature was really promising. For anyone thinking of spending time in Xi’an, there’s the added bonus of it being one of the closest modern Chinese cities to Tibet. I really wanted to skip on over to Tibet, but class on Monday kind of discouraged me from taking that option. Anyway, hostels. They’re great.