X'citing Xi'an 

X'citing Xi'an

The first stop of the tour was at Xi'an. Its former name is Changan, that is, until the early Ming Dynasty when someone opted to change it to Xi'an. As for the reason of the change in name, I have yet to find out. It had been one of China's six ancient capitals. Now it is the capital of Shaanxi Province and it got a lot of its recognition from the numerous historical sites of different historical periods!

The Silk Road, by the way, starts off at this province that extends to Gansu Province, then to Xinjiang Province and finally to Baghdad and the Arabic countries in the west. It is called Silk Road simply because at that time silk was highly valued and it is the prized commodity that the western countries are very much interested in. Much silk was sought after by the west mainly because of the texture and beauty of the material. The secret of making silk was highly treasured by the Chinese and anyone found out to have leaked information about it was severely punished. The Silk Road has also served as a significant route whereby which economical and cultural exchanges between China and the west were conducted.

We arrived here around 8am, waited for another 45minutes for our other delayed groups. We had to take different trains because of our huge number. After breakfast we immediately set out to explore the city's sites. The first place we visited was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a huge seven-story pagoda of Buddhist origin that looks like a seven-layered building, the bottom-most layer being the biggest and slowly becoming smaller as it goes up. Unfortunately it was still closed when we got there and not even an hour's waiting made it open. Being a place of historical significance, I had my picture taken with the statue of the Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, before departing the premises. He, by the way, ranked first among the four great translators of the Buddhist scriptures because his version is the largest in number, best in quality, and greatest in influence and it was also he, who proposed the construction of the pagoda.

X'citing Xi'an (part 2)

The second place we went to was the enormous city wall. With four majestic gate towers it encompasses a perimeter of almost 12 km. 1000 years ago when Xi'an used to be called Changan, the perimeter of the city wall was 35 km! It is 12m high, the top being 15m wide and the bottom part is 18m in width. There is a tower from each gate to which one can operate a suspended bridge because of the presence of a moat, wide and deep that runs around the strongly fortified city wall. It is renowned as one of the largest, solid, and complete ancient city walls still in existence! We were welcomed with a bang that is, some people in traditional costumes danced and struck their drums upon our arrival. I think the banging of that percussion instrument still echoes in my ear, ouch! I was fortunate enough to befriend some students who took pictures of me (using my camera, of course!)

The third and last place we visited for the day was the Forest of Steles. What is meant by stele here is a gravestone-like tablet upon where there are many writings. Why write in stone in the first place when there is paper? Well, throughout the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the imperial examination system was the only way to enter an official career. The under-developed printing technology then, made copying the sole means of reading and learning which might result in the careless slips of the pen. To end such practice, the emperor Li Ang gave the order in 837 AD that the Imperial Academy get all the classics collated, inscribed on 114 separate pieces of stone (with 228 sides altogether ), and finally placed in the Imperial College as the standard for the nation. They were known as the Kaicheng Stone Classics. Believe me, they were said to be the best preserved engraving activities and the heaviest works across the world!

Since the writings on the stones were all in Chinese and the place more or less looked like a cemetery, I was hardly filled with excitement, all there was to see were rooms filled with stone writings! I managed to keep a smiling face by buying a small Chinese instrument called "xun" which I played along the tour. It looks like a clay egg with 8 holes to place your fingers on while you blow to make a sound. Guess what, I found out that this wind instrument used to be a hunting weapon 8000 years ago maybe because the sound it produces can easily lure an animal to a trap. Until now, I'm still trying to get the hang of it!

X'citing Xi'an (part 3)

I almost forgot to tell you that as you head toward the western regions, the days would be longer. It was at 8pm when I saw the sun slowly sink in Xi'an. Anyways, what I would like to tell you is about my first evening in this ancient city. I had to skip dinner with the huge crowd to be able to see the city with my own personal agendas while the sun was still up.

As you walk along its streets you would always see a section of the forbidding city wall. A lot of the establishments are quite modern, some KFCs and McDonalds can easily be spotted and skyscrapers abound, but there will always be something old you would come upon as you walk on. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower for instance are two amazing landmarks in the city surrounded by malls and parks where people flock to for entertainment and leisure. The Bell Tower is totally made up of wood and not a single nail was used in its construction. It has carved beams, painted rafters, and is roofed with green glazed tiles. It has a gold tip that extends to 5m high. It is 36m in height and was used to tell the time daily. The Drum Tower on the other hand is only 400m away from the Bell Tower and is 33 m in height. Of course, it wouldn't be called Drum Tower for nothing! Drums of various sizes can be seen from afar. Its function was also to tell time and according to historical records, it has withstood a dozen quakes without a single scratch for the last 500 years!

X'citing Xi'an (part 4)

Before coming to Xi'an, I was lucky enough to befriend a local thru the web. Her name is Daisy and it was near the Bell Tower where we had our meeting. The Bell Tower was actually only about 2.5 km away from the hotel so it was an easy walk. She tagged Angel along, a friend of hers and they took me to see some of the old sights of the city. We had our pictures taken in front of the Drum Tower. Fronting the Drum Tower is a park for doing all sorts of things like exercise, skating, and kite flying. I was quite fascinated with one of the kites, well actually, it was a series of kites linked to one string. I think there were a hundred of them the size of your head about six inches apart. It was really a spectacle in the sky!

Then they brought me to this very old street just behind the Drum Tower. It was actually a haven for tourists. I stared in amazement at the local crafts, food and souvenir items as we walked on by. The street was filled with smoke coming from the sizzling shashlicks It's actually an Arab snack made of lean mutton (sheep meat) cut into slices. They are stuck one after another on an iron skewer and are grilled over a charcoal fire, pretty much like barbecue! What makes it distinct is the aniseed powder (a kind of chilli powder) and sesame seeds sprinkled over it to enhance taste! It's to die for!

We went from one stall to another and actually tried some of the local delicacies like the sweet rice, I forgot what they called it. It is steamed and is coated with various colors and brown sugar. They helped me kan jia (haggle) over some of the things I wanted to buy. I bought some can openers, a 3d crystal frame of the terra-cotta army and very enticing scene from the well renowned Chinese classic "Dream of Red Mansions" made up of donkey fat! You just gotta see it!

Just when I was enjoying myself, my newly found friends had to leave by 10pm because their homes were like 2 hrs away from the city. As they went on their way, I couldn't believe they actually sacrificed their evening just to tour this stranger around. Friends you meet are truly gems! They shine brightly in a place not familiar to you and it is thru their light that you tend to appreciate and be fascinated by the strange surroundings!