Xi'an

Xi'an is dirtier and grittier than beijing. Its home to about 7 million in the greater metropolitan area. There is a 15th century Ming dynasty city wall that encircles the center of the city. It is about 8 miles in circumference and is still intact. We rented bicycles and rode one revolution around the top of it. Tom and I got a tandem bicycle and he was able to shoot video on my phone from the backseat while I steered.





Outside of the old wall is an explosion of skyscrapers. The new towers here are not quite as rich and strikingly impressive monetarily as their Beijing counterparts. However, the architecture here is much more noticeably and immediately Chinese. Amidst crumbling and decrepit blocks of soviet style, many new towers and apartment blocks and hotels are being raised in a fabulous neo classical Chinese style.

Most of the city is gritty and is not as bright and flashy as comparable commercial areas of Beijing. However even through there are lane after lane of storefronts reminiscent of Queens, most of these lanes have many very pleasant 20 foot trees between the bike lane and main roadway. I imagine in the other three seasons this area can be pleasing to the eye.

There is a long main shopping street running eastwest from the center; Prada, luis vuitton, this that and the next thing. There are also plenty of clubs in the center clearly designed to suck in wandering tourists. We passed one yesterday, near a 3 story McDonalds, a 2 story pizza hut, and amidst a rain of fluorescent lights and advertising screens, named the ‘Red Club’. Out front of it, an actor dressed up in a gray military uniform with red trim marched around comically with a rifle and a cigarette. He gestured menacingly at passerbys for laughs and to draw attention to the club.

In front of our hotel, there was an amalgam of intersections and underpasses. The Chinese, especially the old, love to exercise in public as a group at the beginning and at the end of the day. This is not just limited to tai’ji. In the morning, the underpass in front of our hotel was dominated by martial arts; In the evenings by line dancing and couples dancing. Note the Blade Runner style urban lighting, the sheer number of participants, and the second nature familiarity that has come with daily repetition.



scattered outside the city of Xi’an lay dozens and dozens of tombs of ancient emperors. The countryside shows little evidence of receiving either the fruits of modernization or access to the money generated by the tourism machine.



When visiting the terracotta soldiers of qin shi huangdi, if your tour allots far too much time (ie 4 hours when only 1 is needed) a constructive alternative additional activity:

(step 1) China is no different than the US in loving to take advantage of tourist and theatre patrons lack of options. Somehow Tsingtaos at the western coffee shop inside the gate of the museum complex are shockingly only 12 kuai. ($1.50 US)

Outside the gate is a long and wide expansive walkway approach area. The ground stones are a staggered checkered pattern of 2foot by 2foot concrete blocks. This area is haunted by dozens of poor hawkers attempt to leech tourists for trinkets. Among their trinkets are myriad miniature and reduced size terracotta soldiers of various rank and size and armament. In the winter offseason, these hawkers are desperate.

(step 2) A large collection of these warriors can be assembled at whatever assortment you desire for maybe 50 kuai (6-7 US).

(step 3) come up with a willing partner

(step 4) find a clear area on this field of checkered blocks. This is very easy in the offseason, the area is massive and the crowds are non-existant.

(step 5) denote ranks and sides and play chess with the statuettes on the blocks.