When George was asked to take his job (himself and his wife) to Beijing, China he searched his mind for what he knew about China. He came up with an article he had read about the Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an. If he accepted this opportunity to live in China he could see the Terracotta Warriors. This idea of Xian and the Terracotta Warriors become a motivating factor in our journey to Beijing. We lived in Beijing for three years and saw much in that city. We also traveled to several other cities in China. But we moved to Hong Kong without seeing Xi'an and it's famous warriors. Currently, we've had an apartment in Hong Kong for 8 month. And it seems that there has been the shadow of an incomplete check-mark next to the the box marked Xi'an. This shadow has increased in density until George finally cracked, got tourist visas and bought airplane tickets for Xi'an. We went on our own without the security of a tour guide making all of our plans and purchasing all of the tickets. It was an interesting experience for two introverts mingling with 6 or 7 million Mandarin speakers.
Xian City Wall
Xi'an's walls are still in tact, forming a 9-mile long rectangle around the city center. These wall have been rebuilt several times. It is interesting that while the wall themselves are old (and the idea of city walls is even older) the city center inside the walls and the city surrounding the walls are new. Many low-rises and high-rises and even sky scrapers abound. We rented a tandem bike and rode around the city. And yes, George did almost all of the work.
Moun Hua or Hua Shan
Hua Shan is one of China's five holy mountains. We were looking forward to seeing this mountain and all of the surrounding mountains. Sadly, it was raining. We spent the day walking around in a cloud.
George has "Locked our Love" on Hua ShanXi'an Warriors |
Xi'an--a big check-mark |