Christmas in Xi'an

After a silly start (initially going to the wrong airport) we had a wonderful Christmas vacation in the ancient city of Xi'an.  We wandered many of the sites and enjoyed a lot of swimming at our hotel.  

Our highlight of the trip was visiting the terracotta warriors.  There are multiple dig sites that contain around 8000 statues created around 2400 years ago.  The sight of these ancient statues is amazing and we can easily see how this was declared the greatest archeological find of the 20th century.  

The next day we made a trip to the city wall.  Alongside Athens, Cairo, and Rome, Xi'an is known as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals.  Its city wall is still mostly intact and surrounds the heart of the city with a moat.  If you're older than 12, you can ride bikes atop it to take it all in, so the girls were disappointed that we weren't allowed to tandem ride the whole thing.

 

Since our riding plan was cut short, we checked out the Muslim quarter and saw all sorts of action on the street.  From food, to trinkets, to crafts, this was a lively area.  We also visited the largest Mosque in China while we wandered.

Smoky ice cream ---- pomegranates are the city flower and a symbol of the new year

The next day brought us two very different experiences.  The Wild Goose Pagoda is a massive structure and the beautiful area was serene and meditative.  Later, we headed to Tang Paradise which featured more beauty but also actors, boat rides, performers, and animals of all sorts.

 

 

On our final day we got in yet more swimming and then headed to an art and calligraphy museum.  We had a personal tour of the history of art in China and a lesson on the art of Chinese writing and characters.  The girls showed us their skills and we learned a lot.  The snow started falling as we left and made it feel like Christmases past.