Here's a run down of some of the best bits (*Note: very photo heavy post):
Motorbike Taxi
I’d arrived a day earlier than both Daisy and Charlotte, meaning I was relied upon to figure out the way from the airport to the hostel and relay this information to the girls. The directions given by the hostel seemed pretty straight forward so I’d anticipated it wouldn’t take more than just over an hour. But I got pretty lost - so much so that when I arrived in Xi’an it was daytime but by the time I arrived at the hostel, it was dark. After getting dropped off from the airport shuttle bus in some unknown location, I ended up hopping on the back of a motorbike taxi (who knew they were even a thing??), precariously hanging on as my driver darted around the city. The ride was freezing, but it was a pretty funny and memorable way to begin my Xi'an adventure.
Muslim Quarter and Food
I think hanging out in the Muslim Quarter was probably one of my favourite things about Xi'an. Never a dull minute, the streets are lined with food stalls and small restaurants. It's busy pretty much all day, but I recommend a visit at night when it's all lit up and stalls play funky music, shouting over microphones to attract customers. I don't think there is any other way to describe the street food in the Muslim Quarter as anything but amazing. Needless to say, I ate very well during my weekend in Xi'an and could have quite easily haemorrhaged all my money there.
One of my favourite things I had was meat on a stick. It's probably not the most sophisticated sounding delicacy, but there's really no other way to describe it. Chunks of lamb meat are skewered onto sticks that look like tree branches, covered in tasty spices like chilli and cumin and roasted over a charcoal flame right in front of you. And at 10 yuan a stick (£1), they're an absolute steal!
I was also adamant not to leave Xi'an without having sampled a Chinese meat burger (roujiamo), a delicacy particularly popular in Shaanxi Province. We went to the Muslim Quarter one last time to grab some lunch before Daisy and I were due to head to the airport to go home. One thing I've learnt about buying street food in any country is that you should always buy from stalls with queues because it means the food is clearly the best in the street. We queued for a little while to get our hands on a burger. It was totally worth the wait and the perfect pre-flight meal but admittedly, the wait almost made Daisy late for her flight (oops).
There's no way I could write this post without including the above picture of us posing with some steamed glutinous rice desserts called Jing Gao. Keen to try pretty much anything and everything on the food street, we satisfied our sweet cravings with these colourful, jam covered rice desserts on sticks. We'd kindly asked the lady on the stall to take a photo of us holding them and she seemed absolutely over the moon with her efforts, handing back my phone with the a massive grin on her face. It's always a bit awkward when you ask a stranger to take photos for you and they stick their thumb over a good portion of the picture... Still a cracking photo though, I think.
Terracotta Warriors
Of course, no trip to Xi'an would be complete without going to see the Terracotta Warriors. I'm so glad that I've been able to tick this off my China bucket list. It was a bit touch and go actually getting to the museum. It's located about an hour long bus drive outside of the city centre but we got a little lost trying to find the right bus station. Eventually we were shepherded onto a bus by ushers who just repeatedly shouted "Terracotta! Terracotta!" at us, clearly seeing from our confused touristy faces that we must be heading that way.
Upon the advice of my friend Andrew, we visited each of the excavated pits in reverse order (from Pit 3 to 1) because this was supposedly the best way to build up the impressiveness of the main site. It was a great piece of advice. Pit 2 is possibly the most visually underwhelming, mainly for the fact that you can't actually see many of the warriors. But thanks to Daisy who was full of fun facts about the warriors, she explained that excavation is still continuing. Many of the warriors are yet to be uncovered as museum owners and archaeologists wait for technology to catch up in order to keep the artefacts as well preserved as possible.
I can't really understate how amazing it is to see the Terracotta Army up close. The sheer size of the pits with all the life size warriors lined up, all uniquely posed in combat positions - it's all massively impressive when you consider that this was created to protect the first emperor of China in the afterlife. All in all, a visit to the Terracotta Warriors is an absolute must if you're in Xi'an.
Shadow Play at Gao's Grand Courtyard
We had plans to stop by the hot springs area of Huaqing on the way back from the Terracotta Warriors, but after accidentally missing our bus stop, we ended up back in the city centre having to think on our feet about what to do with our evening. Whilst researching things to do in Xi'an, I did come across a suggestion to go and see a shadow play so we headed back to our beloved Muslim Quarter to hunt down Gao's Grand Courtyard. We took a hilarious ride in a rickety tin rickshaw taxi and headed straight into the hustle and bustle of the Muslim Quarter lit up at night.
Gao's Grand Courtyard is easy to miss if you're not looking for it, but again, thanks to Daisy's keen eye, we managed to track it down. Tickets cost about 25RMB for entry and the chance to see a shadow play. For an extra 5RMB, you're also entitled to a short tea ceremony inside the courtyard. Having first disregarding the tea experience as probably a bit of a rip-off experience tacked onto a higher ticket price, I'm was pleasantly surprised by it and actually really glad we paid a little extra.
The courtyard is quite charming. It was well into the evening when we arrived so the whole place had a slightly eerie vibe. You can explore the rooms of a wealthy family. The nice thing about the whole place was the complete contrast the Courtyard had to the buzz of the Muslim Quarter just outside. You can explore each room at your leisure away from crowds of tourists.
The shadow play was a pretty cool experience. Although we didn't really understand what was happening in the storyline, it was still really enjoyable to watch - even if we were laughing when the rest of the room were laughing too.
After the shadow play, we went for our short tea ceremony experience. We were given a sample of a variety of tea; Jasmine, Ginseng and 'Concubine' tea. Our host took the time to explain the differences in taste and was all round, a lovely lady to serve us some teaEach were incredibly tasty and it took a lot for me not to want to buy a pot of leaves for myself at the end. In any case, it was well worth the extra 5RMB I'd say.
City Wall Cycling
I really have to give credit to my friend Andrew for giving us some cracking advice for our trip to Xi'an. When I'd asked him a few days earlier about the must-see and do things for my trip, he told me, "1,000,000,000% - cycle around the city walls".
Naturally, this suggestion made me feel a little nervous. As my family, ex-work colleagues and close friends know, my bike riding abilities are pretty questionable and, although it's not something I'm always keen to admit, I couldn't really ride a bike until just before I came out to China. Even now, I'm pretty shocking on a bike. I'm certainly not a road safe cyclist. But I am incredibly chuffed that despite my lack of confidence in my cycling abilities, we went for a cycle around the city walls on my last day in Xi'an because it turned out to be really great fun. And, cheesy as it sounds, a really liberating experience for me.
Until next time!
Of course, no trip to Xi'an would be complete without going to see the Terracotta Warriors. I'm so glad that I've been able to tick this off my China bucket list. It was a bit touch and go actually getting to the museum. It's located about an hour long bus drive outside of the city centre but we got a little lost trying to find the right bus station. Eventually we were shepherded onto a bus by ushers who just repeatedly shouted "Terracotta! Terracotta!" at us, clearly seeing from our confused touristy faces that we must be heading that way.
Upon the advice of my friend Andrew, we visited each of the excavated pits in reverse order (from Pit 3 to 1) because this was supposedly the best way to build up the impressiveness of the main site. It was a great piece of advice. Pit 2 is possibly the most visually underwhelming, mainly for the fact that you can't actually see many of the warriors. But thanks to Daisy who was full of fun facts about the warriors, she explained that excavation is still continuing. Many of the warriors are yet to be uncovered as museum owners and archaeologists wait for technology to catch up in order to keep the artefacts as well preserved as possible.
I can't really understate how amazing it is to see the Terracotta Army up close. The sheer size of the pits with all the life size warriors lined up, all uniquely posed in combat positions - it's all massively impressive when you consider that this was created to protect the first emperor of China in the afterlife. All in all, a visit to the Terracotta Warriors is an absolute must if you're in Xi'an.
(And just for funsies, I really like this photo Daisy took of Charlotte and I at the Terracotta Warrior Museum)
Shadow Play at Gao's Grand Courtyard
We had plans to stop by the hot springs area of Huaqing on the way back from the Terracotta Warriors, but after accidentally missing our bus stop, we ended up back in the city centre having to think on our feet about what to do with our evening. Whilst researching things to do in Xi'an, I did come across a suggestion to go and see a shadow play so we headed back to our beloved Muslim Quarter to hunt down Gao's Grand Courtyard. We took a hilarious ride in a rickety tin rickshaw taxi and headed straight into the hustle and bustle of the Muslim Quarter lit up at night.
Gao's Grand Courtyard is easy to miss if you're not looking for it, but again, thanks to Daisy's keen eye, we managed to track it down. Tickets cost about 25RMB for entry and the chance to see a shadow play. For an extra 5RMB, you're also entitled to a short tea ceremony inside the courtyard. Having first disregarding the tea experience as probably a bit of a rip-off experience tacked onto a higher ticket price, I'm was pleasantly surprised by it and actually really glad we paid a little extra.
The courtyard is quite charming. It was well into the evening when we arrived so the whole place had a slightly eerie vibe. You can explore the rooms of a wealthy family. The nice thing about the whole place was the complete contrast the Courtyard had to the buzz of the Muslim Quarter just outside. You can explore each room at your leisure away from crowds of tourists.
The shadow play was a pretty cool experience. Although we didn't really understand what was happening in the storyline, it was still really enjoyable to watch - even if we were laughing when the rest of the room were laughing too.
After the shadow play, we went for our short tea ceremony experience. We were given a sample of a variety of tea; Jasmine, Ginseng and 'Concubine' tea. Our host took the time to explain the differences in taste and was all round, a lovely lady to serve us some teaEach were incredibly tasty and it took a lot for me not to want to buy a pot of leaves for myself at the end. In any case, it was well worth the extra 5RMB I'd say.
City Wall Cycling
I really have to give credit to my friend Andrew for giving us some cracking advice for our trip to Xi'an. When I'd asked him a few days earlier about the must-see and do things for my trip, he told me, "1,000,000,000% - cycle around the city walls".
Naturally, this suggestion made me feel a little nervous. As my family, ex-work colleagues and close friends know, my bike riding abilities are pretty questionable and, although it's not something I'm always keen to admit, I couldn't really ride a bike until just before I came out to China. Even now, I'm pretty shocking on a bike. I'm certainly not a road safe cyclist. But I am incredibly chuffed that despite my lack of confidence in my cycling abilities, we went for a cycle around the city walls on my last day in Xi'an because it turned out to be really great fun. And, cheesy as it sounds, a really liberating experience for me.
(A shaky start from Daisy and I)
(But I did it!)
Thanks to some very supportive and motherly encouragement from Charlotte, cycling around the city walls was made a lot easier and it turned out to be a really nice chilled out way to spend my last morning in Xi'an. The weather could have been a bit nicer, but it was still a nice ride and a good way to see a little more of the city beyond the main tourist attractions. I totally recommend it as a must-do because if even novice cyclists like me can do it and enjoy it, everyone can!
I can't end this post without saying a little thank you to the lovely ladies who joined me on this weekend getaway. I had a hilarious time catching up with both Charlotte and Daisy - silly touristy photos and all!
So here's to you superest supers! Thanks for making Xi'an one of my China highlights so far.
Until next time!
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