China's DNA---Part 1 

My plan for Shaanxi

Xi’an or Shaanxi is an amazing place for everyone, either Chinese or foreigners. She has long history, and it seems you can find every ancient thing in there. I made a plane for the province one month in advance. It includes from Beijing to Xi’an, and visit there 3 days(Downtown, west line and east line), and then to Huangdi Tomb for worship our ancestor, go to Yan’an, the RED city or our Holy Revolutionary Place, visit Hukou waterfall, and return Xi’an for the lost places, go home. At first, I wanted to go to Yulin, but I have no enough time to get there, so pity that I only had 7 days off. This time, I wasn’t alone, and with my Spanish friend who is called Pablo.

Happy Train to Xi’an

Usually, I book my train ticket by telephone, in Beijing, we call 962586 and book the ticket. It was a busy number, if you can talk to them and ask for your tickets, it means you are so lucky. I only got two hard seat tickets for Xi’an. It was really hard to us, but no ways!

I had no attention to my work on 30th April, maybe it was same in every year on this day. My heart has flied to Xi’an, and I though so much of that city……

I met Pablo in Beijing West Railway Station, the crowded place in Beijing at that moment. We just had our simple supper in KFC, and hurry up to get on the train.

Usually, I think train is a happy “world”, you can meet many kinds of persons, smile, angry, complain, laugh, chatting, noise, snore, sneeze……And also many kinds of food, I enjoy it. We sat on a three persons’ seat, and a beautiful and soft girl besides me, and three man on the opposite, one was about 45 years old, and always smile; one was a handsome man who like an armyman, the last one was a boy like a professor, he read a very special computer books and nearly didn’t chat with us.

The persons around us were all conversable, and they told us so many stories and history of Xi’an, and everyone seems a historian. Pablo listened to them carefully, and asked so many questions. By the way, he can speak very fluent Chinese, even his mandarin was better than me. They came from the different places of Xi’an, and the handsome man came from Qianxian, where is famous for Qian Tomb(Wu Zetian and Li Zhi’s Tomb). He told us please don’t forget to eat a local food called Guokui. I was interested in it, and wrote it down on my notebook. The older man loved eating, and he took many food with him, and ate one by one, including Liangpi, Roast Duck, Pork, Beef……I just found it is comfortable when I saw him. We all felt tired and slept in turn. I can’t sleep very well, and read my books. But Pablo can sleep very well, he slept all the night, and like a pig.

Psychic Xi’an

We arrived Xi’an in the morning of the first day of May holiday. Of course, it was crowded in the hot tourist city, especially in the railway station. I found the girl who pick up us to the hostel, I have booked the youth hostel by telephone 1 weed in advance. It was named Shuyuan, inside of South Gate of Xi’an. The girl was very kindly, and she studied in the city, and only took this part-time job for the holiday. When we got on the small bus, the driver smiled to us, of course, he has interests in my Spanish friend,
“Where are you come from?” He spoke Chinese loudly, I don’t know why some Chinese spoke so loudly to the foreigners, it seems they are deaf mutes, Haha!
“Spain!” Pablo showed off his fluent Chinese to him.
“Oh, your Chinese is very good!” the driver was surprise.
“Just so so!” Pablo said humbly.
“Do you know Real Madrid?” the driver asked.
“Haha, of course! I also know Barcelona” Pablo smiled. It sounds everyone knows Real Madrid when we talked about Spain.
“Do you know Laru?” the driver asked.
“Haha, yes! He is handsome!”
We chatted with each other during the period from railway station to the hostel. When will arrive there, and was no room for us, we have to wait till 12 o’clock.

We saved our bags in the hostel, and decided to visit some places first. Our hostel was very near the Stele Museum and the City Wall.

After our simple breakfast, we started our traveling in this city. Xi’an is a special and important city in China, either in old or at present. She was as the 13 dynasties’ capital in our long and splendid history. When I decided to come to visit the city, some persons said that it was dirty and nothing, the weather was bad……And now, it proved that they are stupid, they don’t know real Xi’an and China, they are foolish!

We walked along Shuyuan Street, and there was a tower near Shuyuan Gate, it seems everything was old enough. The street was similar to Liulichang Street in Beijing. There were some shops which sold handwriting and Chinese pictures. We both have interests of this street, because I practiced my Chinese handwriting everyday.

I usually follow by a tourists group when I visited the historical place, because they have a professional tour guide, I can listen to him or her freely. So I followed by a Chinese tour group, and Pablo followed by a French family, he can understand French, it was so easy for him. We visited a few exhibition room, and the handwriting from dynasty to dynasty, amazing!!! The Chinese handwriting was one of important parts of Chinese culture. In my opinion, it is very very very beautiful, it is a courtlike art.

When I finished visiting, I can’t find Pablo, maybe it is a bit difficult to explain in the other languages. The steles were old, and washed by rains and winds…… But they were still standing in Chinese history forest. I sat on the steps and waited Pablo, and listened so carefully. I don’t know what’s the feeling of him when he saw this. I shocked by the heavy and deeply culture, maybe he was dizzy.

By the way, you can buy some works in there, especially the rubbings. We spent two hour in there, and enjoy the sunshine, green paths and stones. There were also some sellers around the museum, of course they all sold some handwriting or paints products.

We decided to visit the city wall for our next purpose. One gate of the city wall was near the museum, named Wenchang Men. It isn’t expensive to go to the top of the city wall.

In China, there were city wall in many cities, but Xi’an was famous for its whole city wall. It is so difficult to save it in every different kinds of periods in China. And some gates’ name were same to Beijing’s. Maybe I should say Beijing’s were same to Xi’ans’. Because Xi’an is an elder brother in China, I think. It’s not strange for me, because there was also a whole city wall in my hometown, but it was more less then Xi’an. The city wall was large in Xi’an, you can ride bicycles on it, interesting…….I was happy to stand on the wall and overlook the whole city, even you can see the Bell tower.

We didn’t walk around the city wall, it was too long for us. We took a taxi to a mosque near Drum Tower. When I arrived the tower, there was a local food or muslem food street, and many persons in there, a bit crowded. We decided to come here in the night and found some delicious food. The mosque was very strange. From the appearance, it likes a Chinese temple. The architecture was Chinese totally. I can’t believe it is a mosque. So amazing!!! It was very quietly inside, and less tourists in there. I just though it was noisy in a mosque, because they usually discuss many things and pray together in it.

It was nearly noon, and we felt a little tired, because the whole night on hard seat. We had our lunch in a small restaurant, and ate the most famous food called Yang Rou Po, so delicious. And then, We returned our hostel, and checked in. There was only bed left, and we have to stay in a 6-persons room. It isn’t matter for us. The most important for us that we had a place for sleeping.

In our room, there were two German girls, and one Swedish, including Pablo and me, about 5 persons. We have to chat with each other in English. But I spoke Chinese to Pablo, because he has told me that his English was not good. Haha, it is surprise that a European can’t speak very fluent English. Maybe there were many persons spoke Spanish in the world. They don’t need another language. After some complimentary words, we slept and decided to wake up at 14:00.

A City,A History!

We started our trip again on time, and the destination is Shaanxi Museum. It was 35RMB. It is amazing that you can find many curios which in our history book. The museum was the best one I have been to. You can view that from 6000 years ago, and from Banpo Society to Xia, Shang, Xi Zhou……Qin---Han---Tang……It was nearly the whole Chinese history. We met a group of French students in there, and talked with them. They came to Xi’an for communication, and a boy told me they had many chance to go out for visiting. It was so good for youth. I hope more and more Chinese youth can go out for viewing. I also introduced so long history and stories to Pablo, he seemed indulge in the shocked culture. I know Xi’an is a historical city, and it stands by China for a long time. But I still can’t image when we see the terra-cotta warriors tomorrow, what about our feelings.

After this splendid museum, we walked to Big Goose Temple. It was one of the symbols of Xi’an. The temple was built in Tang Dynasty, and for a monk named Xuanzang who went to India for real Buddha bibles. He spent a long time, from Xi’an and throung Gansu, and so on, arrived India. He studied and translated some books in there, and then return Tang. Then, he taught and translated the books in this temple. Actually, most parts of this temple were the same as the other Chinese temples. In difference, there was a tower in the temple was called Big Goose. There was a small garden in the temple, and many peony in it, it is my favorite place in there. We don’t climb the tower, it needs 10RMB. It was a little darkness when we came out from the temple, and many persons around the south square and played kites with children. The statuary of Xuanzang stood in the square and face to the south, does he want to start a new trip to India?

We had our supper in a restaurant near the north square of Big Goose Temple, and Pablo didn’t like his noodle. And he changed a restaurant for some dumplings. LOL~~~~~~ He said the noodle was too bad, but it looks very good. Poor foreigner! We heard a song when Pablo was eating, and the fountain was open. Amazing!!! Pablo was finished his supper at once, and then we covered a good place for watching the performance.

The performance was splendid, the fountain was dancing with the Tang music, higher and higher, as one falling, another rising, wiggly and swinging……It usually opened on 20:00, and last for one hour.

We finished our trip in the first day of Xi’an. And return our hostel for a rest. Then we went to the local street. Sooooooooooo crowded in there!!! Even we had to share one table with the other two boys. One came from Yan’an, and the other came from Yulin. They talked about the two cities for me, and very kindly. Pablo chatted with them by his fluent Chinese. Of course, they talked about Real Madrid. Too bad!!! We ate so many Yang Rou Chuan, more than 100, I think. It is a nice place for nightlife, and we enjoyed the crowded, noisy, yo-heave-ho and simling.

We returned our hostel very late, and after bathing, we slept deeply. Even we didn’t say goodnight with the our roommates.