Four Days in Xian

Xi’an is really worth your visiting. My friend and I have been there for four days to experience a wonderful journey. We have visited many attractions and know about a lot things. We want to share our experience with you.

We arrived in Xian in the morning of Oct. 20 by air from Shanghai. We stayed at Grand Noble Hotel which is a new luxurious property offering comprehensive facilities and services for leisure. Located in the city centre, it has a very convenient transportation. We like it very much.

In the afternoon, we were too impatient to wait to visit the city. As tired for an air trip, we just visited several places near to our hotel. We first walked to the south gate of Xian to climb the City Wall. You would have a general view of the inner city on the Wall. Well, on the wall, you should not miss the bicycle travel on it and we did so. It was really wonderful to ride on the wall. Came down the City Wall, we strolled to Shuyuan Gate (Academy of Classical Learning Gate). There are many stores here dealing mostly in the four treasures of study; curios, jade articles, gold and silver ornaments, calligraphies and paintings of celebrities, copybooks and handcrafted keepsakes. We were in favor of Chinese calligraphies and bought one piece of painting. One Chinese student was very kind to help us get it in a bargain price. It seems to be a fake one, but it is OK. What’s more, we were lucky to see an old folk artist giving a traditional Chinese painting or calligraphy presentation in front of the site of Guanzhong Shuyuan. Get to the east of the end of Shuyuan Gate, we saw the famous Forest of Stone Steles Museum and visited it.

In the evening, we back to the Bell Tower. There are crowds around the Bell Tower at that time. Lanterns hung from the eaves illuminate the tower, making it even more enchanting. We did some shopping in Kai Yuan Shopping Mall and Century Ginwa Shopping Mall. Well, it is really expensive to buy things here, but many brands can be found here. We didn’t spend much time walking along the East Street since we were tired and would like to keep energy for the next day.
Oh, one thing to mention, the Muslim Street was really nice. Lots of delicious food can be found there. We had our supper there and bought various kinds of socks. Be careful with your things when strolled in the street.

The second day, we got up early in the morning. We were urgently to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. We caught a taxi to the railway station to take bus 306 to go to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses via Huaqing Hot Spring. Had a stop at Huaqing Hot Spring and spent a little time in it. It is also amazing with its unique charm. We went on to see the Terra Cotta Warriors after out of the Huaqing Hot Spring. It was a pity that we had no time to visit the Mt. Lishan.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are creditably the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. I believe all of you know it and should not miss it when travel to Xian. Oh, remember not to take the electric vehicle in front of the exit. It just took about ten minutes to get into the spots. If you got tired, you could take the shuttle buses traveling between the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses and the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum.

The third day, we went to visit the Shaanxi History Museum in the early morning. We were surprised that it was open publicly free, but need to show your valid certificates like ID card. You’d better hire an English commentator, or you wouldn’t understand the amazing historical culture of Shaanxi. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is not far from the Shaanxi History Museum, thus we went there after the museum. We watched the fountain performance as luck would to have it at the north square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was so exciting that we took many pictures of it. It is said that the fountain performance time was different in weekdays and weekends. I was not sure about it. You should confirm about it when you go to see it. In the evening, we hurried to go to the Tang Paradise. We got a full enjoyment there and felt as if in a fairyland. Came here, of course you should not miss the famous water film. Addition, the skyrocket made the night view in the paradise more mysterious and beautiful. Wow, what was a wonderful nightlife there!

tang paradise in xian

The fourth day, we visited the Qujiang Cool Cave Heritage Park in the morning and back to the airport to take our flight in the afternoon. The park was another beautiful scenic spots which is worth visiting. We have planed to visit the Mt. Huashan, but undid it as time limit for us. We would like to visit Xian next time and would not miss the Mt. Lishan and Mt. Huashan. Xi’an is really a wonderful tourist city in China. We love it!

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