Apart from the Terracotta Warriors, Xi'an offers a few other historic and pseudo-historic sights with pagodas, temples, drum towers, gardens, etc. Many are quite nice looking, but the influx of tourists makes some of it a bit too surreal for me. Planning well with the weather, most of the first rainy day was spent inside with the warriors, leaving the clear evening and following day for exploring the city by foot. I first stopped at the Big Goose Pagoda, built in 652 AD, now surrounded by a wall and nice gardens, along with the obligatory tourist shops and photographers. Afterwards, I headed back towards the large Drum Tower, a huge pagoda type building in the center of town, behind which is a popular night market filled with Muslim food, meaning lamb kebabs and char-grilled bread for me. Though it wasn't as good as the food from my new friend's restaurant in Geermu, it was still a nice break from noodles. During my second day, I rented a bicycle and rode the 14 kilometers along the top of the old city wall, one of the few remaining city walls in China. The 40 foot wall surrounds the old town, and at about 60 feet wide, it has plenty of room for walking and bike riding around the top, though a bit bumpy on the cobblestones. As it was a weekday, I was surprised to find that the wall was not very crowded, offering a relaxing, flat ride in the pleasant, sunny weather. I arrived back from my ride in 91 minutes, giving me just a few minutes to spare, as the bike rental allows 100 minutes for the trip and stops. So, I headed back to my hotel and took the evening flight down to Southern China, ready to again experience a bit more of the natural beauty of the country.
(The Big Goose Pagoda and a tiny temple in the late afternoon.)
(All seven levels of the pagoda. For a small price, you can climb the stairs inside to the top for some nice views of the old city, though, as usual, there is a good bit of smog to be seen.)
(Same two buildings, different perspective. Perhaps I should work on some variety.)
(Well, don't hold your breath on the variety thing.)
(One of the buildings in the courtyards and gardens surrounding the temple.)
(The view from the third floor of the pagoda, following the narrow stairs up to the top, re-routed by the occasional Chinese tourist who would refuse to move out of the way.)
(The next day, at the South end of the old city wall. That's a full-sized bus below, so you get the picture that this thing is big.)
(One of the small outposts along the wall.)
(Nothing spectacular, but this is a very, very typical apartment block in Chinese cities. My friend Kelly in Chengdu lives in a place very similar to this.)
(Biking leisurely around the wall was a great break from the crowds of the day before. Plus, as you can see, the weather was much better.)
(In case you didn't know what I look like or a bike looks like, or what me on a bike looks like, here it is.)
(The red silk lanterns lining the entire ride. You'd think these would look really nice at night, but I just remember seeing some sort of white Christmas lights outlining the wall...not so great.)
(Looking down on the wall from the Southwestern corner, leaving me just a few minutes to speed back and return the bike in time to get my full deposit back. Lots of lanterns over and over again.)
(The idea of repetition keeps repeating itself. Wow, that just blew my mind.)
(Leaving the wall, back on street level, the Bell Tower looms large as the center of the city, and also a good landmark for me, as my hostel was just ten minutes from there.)
(Some of the skewers on offer at the market street behind the Drum Tower. I usually opt for the meat that looks to have the least fat, as I have to maintain my girlish figure while here in China. Actually, some of the other meats turn out to be stomach, intestine and other chewy delicacies, so I always hope that I am choosing lamb or beef.)
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