Xi'an is a fascinating mix of old and new. Of course, the biggest draw to Xi'an these days is the
Army of Terracotta Warriors located about 40km east of the city.
But Xi'an ranks as one of the world's oldest and most important historic cities, with the area having
been populated for over 6,000 years. It has a sizable Muslim community, a legacy of its position
on the Silk Route through western China.
It is also typical of Chinese cities in the early 21st century, bang up-to-date with the latest technology,
as the advert on this bus shows.
The Little Goose Pagoda, built in 684AD, was the first stop on a wander round to familiarise myself with Xi'an.
The building originally housed Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by a pilgrim - but these were destroyed
during the Cultural Revolution. It is heart-breaking to think of the destruction of such valuable artefacts.
Xi'an is one of the few cities left in China whose old city walls are still visible. They form a rectangle
about 14km round. There are a number of defences and towers around the city.
The Bell Tower in the middle of Xi'an stands at the intersection of the main roads East-West (Xi Dajie / Dong Dajie) and
North-South (Bei Dajie / Nan Dajie) through the city between the main gates on each side.
The volume of traffic is phenomenal, with an incredible number of cyclists weaving their way through the
cars, buses and trucks, taking their lives into their own hands. Some of the more 'interesting' techniques for
negotiating this junction, and other less than orthodox manoeuvres led me to place Xi'an at or near the top of my
personal list of the world's worst cities for trying to cross the road, competing closely with
Delhi and Cairo.
We got stopped in the street by this official and a photographer - they were promoting a new map of Xi'an
designed for tourists, and asked us to pose for shots with him and us looking at the map together. Maybe
we ended up on promotional material or in a local newspaper!
Part of the excavations at Banpo Neolithic Village, occupied between 4500BC and 3750BC and testament to
the area's claim to be one of the earliest known settlements.
The public bathhouses at Huaqing Pool - the waters funnelled from hot springs were favoured by
emperors and their concubines. The hills behind are more recently known for the taking hostage of
Chiang Kaishek by his own generals at the instigation of the Communists in 1936.
For all Xi'an's other attractions, the main reason for most visits is to see the world-famous Terracotta
Warriors. These 2000 year old remains were discovered by local peasants in 1974, and have been continually
excavated and renovated ever since. There is now a sizeable complex of buildings built over and around the
different underground vaults which contain the 6000 figures so far discovered. They form part of an even
larger army which was created to guard the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the 'First Emperor', who died in 210BC.
Strictly speaking, visitors are not supposed to take photographs, although this rule appears to be honoured
more in the breach than the observance. It seems to be designed mostly to ensure that you buy a book of
pictures - having already done this, I didn't feel guilty about taking a couple of snaps without flash, as this
allegedly can cause damage to the remaining paintwork on the figures.
