ItchyFeetBlog

The second part of my trip was a short trip to Xi’an. This was from the 16th to the 18th May. Again, click on the photos to see more on my huge-and-growing photo gallery on Flickr!

Travelling to Xi’an on a Soft Sleeper Train

This was my first overnight train trip in China, and was actually quite a fun experience! I opted for a soft sleeper (rather than hard sleeper) cabin from Beijing so that my friend and I had our own room with bunk beds, and most importantly, our own little bathroom. Don’t get me wrong, the beds are still pretty hard, and it’s not the most luxurious place to sleep in the world… BUT! The views are amazing!

I woke up with the sunrise at about 5.30am and am so glad I did as I caught a glimpse of some amazing mountainous views and rural villages of China as shown above.

Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Warriors were well worth the trip, but not as stunning as I thought. They are very hyped up, and I won’t say ‘over hyped’, but it was all very ‘perfect’ there in the museums and pits. There were even archaeologists working away very conveniently in view. Even the guy who discovered the warriors due to digging a well was there to sign books for $30 USD a piece. I did love seeing the detail though, such as the horses bridles, the differences between the ranks of warriors and why their armor was made the way it was.

Opera, dancing and dumpling banquet

The tour guide at the Terracotta Warriors was really sweet and she told us about the opera house back in Xi’an. She even booked it for us for that evening. along with a Xi’an speciality – a dumpling banquet – with her staff discount. It was AMAZING! Some of the best food in China, besides the Peking duck at Da Dong Restaurant in Beijing! I highly recommend finding this and booking it – it worked out to be about £30 GBP each.

Around Xi’an

There were some fascinating views in and around Xi’an, especially since it has a large Chinese Muslim community that has had influences on everything including the food – I highly recommend a hot pot of mutton. It might not sound appetising, but trust me, it’s well worth the mess you get into, and as with a lot of China it’s incredibly cheap and delicious!

Xi’an was where I realised the Asian habit of keeping song birds in cages on the streets! The street above was lined with birds, many of which looked familiar as birds you’d find in the UK. I’m not sure what I think about this on a personal level since I’m an animal lover – I’d much rather see these birds in the wild.

Well, that’s Xi’an, stay tuned for the rest of China