Xi'an

Before all the madness overtook our time in Xi'an, we actually had a pretty good nose around.  Arriving on a 1pm flight, we dumped our gear and made for the sights.  I backdate this post in haste--pictures will have to suffice. 

The Bell and Drum Tower

From what I can work out, most ancient cities host one of each of these.  One houses bells, the other, drums.  Go figure.  In each tower, a host of professional musicians put on a short show.  The drum show was rather impressive: 

Mine wasn't quite as impressive

The Muslim Quarter 

The drum tower flanks a part of town dubbed 'The Muslim Quarter', essentially a series of pedestrian streets that are filled with food and shops run by China's Muslim minority.  Just people watching was fun but we also found lots of local delicacies, a street market and a beautiful ancient mosque/garden. It was disorientating to see writing in both Chinese characters and Arabic:  

Neon lights everywhere

Sweet, dense bread

Making some kind of toffee-esque concoction

Behind the bustle of the market, a labyrinth of streets led to the old gardens and ancient mosque.  History has it that the mosque changed hands several times in its lifetime.  Regardless, it's been immaculately preserved.

The Ancient City Wall 

Forgive the historical ambiguity, but Xian's city walls were once the stuff of protection and legends.  Gaps in my memory make it impossible for me to elaborate.  What's remarkable about the walls however, is how well they're taken care of.  Today, tourists can hire bikes at the top and ride the wall in something like an hour (no stops) or two/three/four hours taking in the scenery of the city, both in and out of the walls.  Our entrance and exit point: 

Temple below: 

Gathering dusk: 

 

 Sunset:

 Okay, so in retrospect, maybe I'm giving Xian too hard a time.  It was pretty lovely. And minus one angry tuk-tuk driver, the people had quite the sense of humor: