Solo Travel (❤️ Xi'an Ancient Capital
Jan 10 Xi'an. I had booked my flight on Ctrip, but they told me I needed to reschedule. I quietly accepted. Who knew I'd end up waiting an extra hour in Jinan! They didn't even notify me—how infuriating!!! After five hours, I safely arrived at Xi'an Xianyang Airport! Coming from Harbin to Xi'an, the world felt so much warmer!! No more freezing hands and feet!
After dropping off my luggage, I immediately charged over to the Muslim Quarter!!! It absolutely lives up to its reputation! Reminds me of Shanghai's old Pengpu Night Market!!!
The inn is so close to the Muslim Quarter! So for breakfast, I went for soup dumplings!
First stop, the Drum Tower. The Drum Tower is connected to the Muslim Quarter, very close! You can buy a combo ticket for both the Bell and Drum Towers, 50 yuan per person!! Personally, I think going up is just for photos!! Also, guys, don't bring lighters; they'll be confiscated. Security is quite strict here.
Leaving the Drum Tower, cross the underpass to the Bell Tower!! Both are in the city center. The Bell Tower sits at a roundabout where major roads and large department stores converge. If you have time, you can wander around.
There's a subway station at the Bell Tower, very convenient. You can take the metro to Daming Palace National Heritage Park.
Some parts of the Daming Palace Heritage Garden are open to the public, so you'll see lots of kids playing and flying kites outside! But other sections require a ticket!!!
Daming Palace is really huge; I recommend renting some sort of transportation.
After three hours at Daming Palace, I was exhausted!! Then I moved on to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda; transportation was easy, take bus 22 directly!!
Last stop of the day, Xi'an City Wall! From the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, take bus 214 directly to the West Gate of the wall, but note: if you rent a bike in the evening, you can only return it at the South Gate!! Ticket is 54 yuan.
For the east route tour, I joined a day tour group, because traveling alone I was afraid of taking wrong turns! I have to say joining a group was smart—visiting Xi'an is 30% seeing, 70% listening! It's definitely a crash course in history. First stop: Banpo Museum.
Second stop: Huaqing Pool!
Yang Guifei's bathing place has been protected. Because people threw coins into the pool, damaging the jade walls, what you see now are stones laid by people outside!! But soon they'll remove the stones and build a protective glass shield; future visitors will be lucky!!!
Third stop: Terracotta Warriors! Xi'an's most famous attraction, a national heritage preservation zone! Worth the visit.
At the Terracotta Warriors Museum, if you go alone, you must hire a guide. It's not expensive—90 yuan for a 2-hour tour, and they explain things really well! They're museum staff, professionals! Otherwise, you'll wander in alone and not understand anything, wasting the 120 yuan entrance fee!!
The Terracotta Warriors Museum has four pits! Pit No. 4 hasn't been excavated yet, and Pit No. 1 is only one-third excavated; two-thirds remain untouched!
For dinner, after having too much Muslim Quarter food, I switched to Hanming Street tonight. Across from the Drum Tower, opposite Zhonghuan Plaza on Zhubashi Street, there's a shop called 'Mian Mian Mian' where the biangbiang noodles are really delicious! Across from it is Fanji Cured Meat shop; their Chinese burger is superb. If you're not used to the lamb taste, give this place a try!!
Last day in Xi'an! My flight was at night, so I had some free daytime hours. I didn't get up early and planned to spend two hours at the Xi'an Museum, but it turned out to be closed on Tuesdays. What a bummer!
I had to head back downtown, and with that Chinese burger from last night on my mind, I went to get another one.
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