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Today our Chinese tour group woke up bright and early, receiving wake-up calls around 4:30 AM. We then headed to the airport to catch an 8 o’clock plane Pudong (Shanghai airport) to Xi-An. The plane was slightly delayed, but we were finally able to board around 8:30. The plane ride lasted about two hours, and we arrived in the Xi-An airport around 12:00.
After claiming our luggage, we headed outside to meet our tour guide-- Francais. Francais taught us about the history of Xi-An and other areas of China, during the one hour bus ride to Xi-An. We were welcomed into Xi-An with another traditional Chinese meal. Most of us felt this meal was better than the vegetarian meal the previous day. After this we headed out to the South part of the Xi-An city wall. The wall was built around 600 years ago, and was originally designed to keep enemies out. At the wall we were able to rent bicycles to ride along the wall, or buy ice cream and cold drinks.
By this point in the day, most of us began to feel tired, so we decided to head to a more leisurely place, a Chinese mosque. There were several old relics, and patterns in both the floors and walls which dated back to ancient times. After this we proceeded to do a little shopping in the market of Xi-An. The vendors were friendlier and less aggressive than Shanghai. There also seemed to be a better selection of goods and the prices were slightly cheaper than those in Shanghai. Our bargaining skills appeared as if they had improved, because almost everyone ended up buying more items than all the previous shopping expeditions.
After our shopping adventures, we checked in to the Xi-An Diamond Hotel and took a little break. We then headed towards dinner at a Tang Dynasty Musical performance where we were served dumplings of all different types. Our group is very tired and still a little disturbed by the jet-lag. More than half of the group fell asleep during the performance, and two stayed in the hotel to catch up on sleep.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Terracotta warriors.
Bryan Apperson with Daniel Miller and Jason Sigmon
After claiming our luggage, we headed outside to meet our tour guide-- Francais. Francais taught us about the history of Xi-An and other areas of China, during the one hour bus ride to Xi-An. We were welcomed into Xi-An with another traditional Chinese meal. Most of us felt this meal was better than the vegetarian meal the previous day. After this we headed out to the South part of the Xi-An city wall. The wall was built around 600 years ago, and was originally designed to keep enemies out. At the wall we were able to rent bicycles to ride along the wall, or buy ice cream and cold drinks.
By this point in the day, most of us began to feel tired, so we decided to head to a more leisurely place, a Chinese mosque. There were several old relics, and patterns in both the floors and walls which dated back to ancient times. After this we proceeded to do a little shopping in the market of Xi-An. The vendors were friendlier and less aggressive than Shanghai. There also seemed to be a better selection of goods and the prices were slightly cheaper than those in Shanghai. Our bargaining skills appeared as if they had improved, because almost everyone ended up buying more items than all the previous shopping expeditions.
After our shopping adventures, we checked in to the Xi-An Diamond Hotel and took a little break. We then headed towards dinner at a Tang Dynasty Musical performance where we were served dumplings of all different types. Our group is very tired and still a little disturbed by the jet-lag. More than half of the group fell asleep during the performance, and two stayed in the hotel to catch up on sleep.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Terracotta warriors.
Bryan Apperson with Daniel Miller and Jason Sigmon
