Xi'an: It's Not All About the Terracotta Warriors

Before embarking on my trip to China, I didn't do much detailed research on Xi'an. All I knew was that it was home to the Terracotta Army and home to one of the best dumpling restaurants in China (according to a few friends who've been there). For some reason I assumed Xi'an would be calm quaint village. It was anything but that. The "village" of Xi'an is inhabited by over 8 million people, which is the same population as London. It's also a very modern city with it's own international airport which makes LAX look like a dump, many brand new shopping centres, plenty of globalised retail outlets and food/coffee chains (5 Starbucks shops!), and a metro system being built. Xi'an was certainly a far cry from being considered a small sleepy village that I originally assumed it would be.

The Starbucks near my hotel where I had my morning caffeine fix. The Chinese aren't really coffee drinkers, they prefer tea, so finding a good cup of joe was a mission. If I saw a Starbucks, I had to stop! It was like a godsend.

Another thing about Xi'an that took me by surprise, is the big Muslim community. I didn't think any city on our route across China would have a Muslim population, I thought it would be purely Buddhist. Islam was first introduced to China in the mid-7th century to Northwest China by Arab merchants and travellers from Persia and Afghanistan. Those travellers settled and married the local women, so that's how it started in the northwest, Shaanxi region where Xian is the capital.

The Muslim Quarter is a must see in Xian, it has an expansive market where you can find all kinds of Chinese souvenirs (silks, chopsticks, and cheesey bric-a-brack) as well as fresh fruits, sweets, pastries, and handmade art. It's a bargainer's paradise! Rule of thumb, start the bargaining at 10%-25% of the price they quote you. Yes, they inflate their prices so much in the markets as they expect you to bargain with them! It's a game they love in mainland China.



Entrance to the market in the Muslim Quarter in Xi'an

Regional folk art

A series of birdcages. Each cage would have 1 male bird, the next a female; that way they sing to each other

Me in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter

A massive stack of steamed bun pans

Vegetarains & Vegans, cover your eyes! We made a wrong turn in the market and went down butcher's alley, There was a lot of raw meat and animal carcasses piled everywhere in not the most hygienic conditions. In the 36C heat & humidity the smell was not the most pleasant.

Apart from the market, the Muslim Quarter is also home to the oldest and best preserved mosque in China. The Great Mosque of Xi'an was built in 742 under the Tang Dynasty, it features a unique combination of Muslim and traditional Chinese architectural elements. 

Me at the Xi'an Mosque

Right next to the Muslim Quarter is the famous Xi'an Drum Tower, overlooking the city. It was built more than 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. The Drum Tower, as you would guess, contained a number of drums! Back in the 1300s the drums were beaten at dawn and dust to mark the beginning and end of each day. Nowadays, it houses a drum museum and there's a drum performance put on every so often for tourists. 

Xi'an Drum Tower. This photo was taken from Starbucks -that's globalisation for ya!

The Drum Tower had a sister building called  the Xi'an Bell Tower. It was built during the same time as the Drum Tower during the Ming Dynasty. There are a few outlandish legends (all pertaining to dragons) as to why the Bell Tower was built. In these days, it serves the exact same purpose as it's sister building.

The Bell Tower performance

"What about the food?" you ask. Ah, that my friends, was something that my tummy happily reminisces at the thought of local delicacies in Xi'an. Firstly, my travel mates and I tried the famous dumpling house, which is not only claimed to be one of the best in China, but they're famous for making dumplings in the shape of what's inside them. So we had to try it out! And the verdict: win!

Me & the ginormous gold dumpling

Chicken shaped dumpling, guess what kind of meat was inside?

Seafood dumplings meant to look like sea sponges and corals

hot pot

Xi'an is also famous for their lamb soup, called "pao mo", I had to try it! The best pao mo was served in small cafs in the Muslim Quarter. My Mandarin speaking friend brought me and another Westerner to one of these hole in the wall places which according to the locals, had the best pao mo in town. The moment we walked in, everyone stopped eating and stared. Obviously, that cafe didn't get many Westerners, and not a single thing was written in English, forget trying to communicate in English. I asked my friend if she could teach me how to say, "I would like one of those please" in Mandarin, which I said awkwardly to the girl behind the counter. She giggled and smiled. I gave her my 20 Yuan ($3), and she gave me a token with the number 77. She said out loud "shee shu chi", and I repeated it. When I went back to my table, I listened intently for my number to be called. I thought I heard it, and jumped and screamed as if I got called to be the next contestant on the Price is Right. "Oooh that's me!". And yep, I got it right. The staff high fived me and the locals smiled at me. Once when I sat down to try the soup,  my taste buds were dancing and singing! It was an awesome day.

Pao Mo in all its glory

Since this is blog entry is about Xi'an I probably should mention the Terracotta Warriors, the main attraction of the region of Shaanxi. For those of you who aren't familiar, the Terracotta Warriors are a collection of 8,000 life-sized warrior statues made of terracotta clay. They were built in 200BC as burial art for the first Chinese Emperor's tomb and were meant to protect him and his wife in their afterlives. The amazing thing about the Terracotta Warriors is that they were only first excavated 37 years ago. So they have been underground untouched, no one knew about them for over 2,000 years! Now they're a World Heritage sight and the main reason why Xi'an is on the China tourist map. 

Look at the intricate details on the soldier's face.  Can you imagine how much work that must have been to create 8,000 of these?

This is a colour photo of the Terracotta Warriors when they were first excavated in 1974. Notice that the colours are still in tact after 2,000 years.

When in China, do as the Chinese do! That means take photos when there's a sign that says "no photo"

Lastly, my travel mates and I had the wonderful experience of going to a local karaoke place when we were in Xi'an. Our local guide was a big fan of karaoke, and it is a big trend in China, so might as well try it out. He knew exactly where to take us, and it was a place that resembled a five star hotel with granite and chandeliers. We had our own room which came equipped with several microphones and instruments (tambourines, maracas, etc). It was a very posh affair, that's for sure! My memory of karaoke bars back home were always in grotty cheap bars. We ended up having fun straining our vocal chords and giving each other headaches, of course, much alcohol was needed to get everyone's participation.


That's pretty much everything from Xi'an. From here our next stop would be on a boat in the Yangze River to see the famous Three Gorges. As usual, this would require 14 hours on a sleeper train to Chongqing. Followed by a 4 hour coach transfer, then a 30 mins bumpy taxi ride to the dock, and about a 4 hour wait for our boat to arrive. This is when things started to get a bit uncomfortable and not so fun....