A WEEKEND IN XI'AN: DECEMBER 2019

Last week I rather spontaneously decided I wanted to go on a trip to Xi’an with a couple of friends (Usama from Bangladesh and Chelsea from America) who invited me to come along with them. It was a very last-minute trip that normally I would have shied away from, but the confidence I have gained since coming to China made the idea of a small unexpected trip sound like a delight rather than a nightmare! It was also my first official time using the famous high-speed train in China. The journey from Chengdu to Xi’an was 268 RMB (£28) each way taking about 4 hours there and back. 

Only stayed in Xi’an for 2 days but wanted to share some photos and information of our trip. Enjoy!

We arrived in Xi’an at about 10am on Friday morning, headed straight to our hotel on the metro to check-in and dump our baggage. The metro in Xi’an (like the metro I have used in Chengdu, Beijing and Shenzhen) is so cheap, about 4-8 RMB for any journey (40 – 80p). After we left our hotel, we took a short walk to find the famous food street of Xi’an. 回民街(Huimin Jie) is known for being a great place for street food. Selling everything from kebabs to frozen yoghurt, we spent a while here trying as much as we could. 

Usama, Chelsea and I in the city centre

Some of the food on 回民街

肉脂膜 (Rouzhimo)

Some of the food on 回民街

Yours truly on 回民街 (Huiminjie)

We ventured straight from here to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔). Our plan was to stay until the sun set to see the light shows. Unfortunately, we came on the wrong day for the show, but still saw the streets at night in all their glory. They could have been a light show on their own! 

 We found some beautifully decorated buildings!

 Me with the 大雁塔 (Dayanta - Giant Wild Goose Pagoda)

  Lights near the Pagoda 

   Lights near the Pagoda 

   Lights near the Pagoda 

   Lights near the Pagoda 

   Lights near the Pagoda 

We started early on our second day to see the world-famous Terracotta Army. We took a taxi there. It cost around 115 RMB (£12.35) for this one-hour journey. This exhibition was truly magnificent to see. I had always heard it was a spectacle to behold, and it really was. A very educational visit! Entrance to see the burial pits was 120 RMB (£12.88), which was more expensive than we thought it would be, but a lot of work and manpower goes into restoring these marvellous statues! Definitely worth the visit! In total there is a mini museum there and 3 giant burial pits, the first one being the largest. 

   Terracotta Army in burial pit 1

    Terracotta Army in burial pit 1

   Terracotta Army in burial pit 1

We came back to the centre of Xi’an and took a visit to the city wall to take some pictures before heading back to catch our train. 

A small but eventful trip. Not long now until my next visit to another famous Chinese city! 

B x