Destination: Xi’an, China

Xi’an (西安) is the capital city of the Shaanxi Province, located some 1000 kilometres southwest of Beijing. It’s known not only for being the starting point of the Silk Road, but it’s also one of the “Four Ancient Great Capitals” of China (along with Beijing, Nanjing, and Luoyang). This city’s history dates back centuries, rich in history and culture, but it also is making a name for itself as one of China’s “mega-cities” in the modern era.

Geographically-speaking, Xi’an (pronounced “shee-ahn”) is landlocked in the central-northwest part of the country. Due to its strategic position, the city hasn’t been subjected as much to foreign invasions as those closer to the coast, like Beijing or Shanghai– however, it has also seen its fair share of civil unrest over the centuries, including clashes with ethnic minorities like the Manchus and Hui people. Interestingly, the city was one of the first to be introduced to Islam by the Hui people, and there are a few mosques in pockets of town that remain today.

As mentioned, Xi’an is considered one of China’s “mega-cities,” with a total population of over 12 million people in its metropolitan area. Since the mid-20th century, it has also taken steps to preserve and revive its history, arts, and culture, especially those of central-northwest China. At the same time, however, it has emerged as a leading city for the tech and aerospace industries, which plan to research and develop quality ideas to go head-to-head with other countries in software development and space exploration, respectively. From this, I found that Xi’an resembles Toulouse in that regard, as the French city is also an up-and-coming place to live and work in said industries (tech and aerospace). That was the atmosphere I felt when I was there, at least!

My family and I headed with our guided tour to Xi’an after a three-day visit of Beijing. We had spent a night up at the Great Wall, and we had to drive all the way back to the Chinese capital to take a plane over to Xi’an. It was only a two-hour flight, but it saved us an infinite amount of time than if we were to have taken either the train (about a 5 to 6-hour journey with high-speed rail) or by car (a whopping 11 hours). Again, it was over 1000 kilometres in distance, and we were short on time, so plane it was…this goes to show that China is really that massive!

We arrived at Xi’an Airport close to lunchtime, and our tour treated us to a local meal– inside the airport! It was inside one of the airport’s fancy restaurant-lounges, and we got to try some of the local dishes that were distinctive to the Shaanxi Province. One of them was biang biang mian, which are freshly-made and hand-pulled noodles. Broad and thick in size, chewy and doughy in texture, these noodles were originally a poor man’s dish, but have since become world-famous. I absolutely love any kind of noodles, and I had a fun time observing the chef slap, twirl, and hand pull the dough in front of our eyes. After topping the noodles with plenty of red hot peppers (Shaanxi cuisine is known for medium-hot spicy dishes), it was ready to be served. PS no photos of the dish, because I ate it too quickly!

PPS The name “biang biang” is unique in itself, for two reasons: 1) it’s an onomatopoeia, as the hand-pull technique used to make it results in a rubbery “biang” sound. 2) the Chinese character is one of the longest and most-complex to write out, consisting of 58 strokes. For such a simple phonetic sound, it really is a complex character to write for the average person!

After our fulfilling meal, we were ready to start our two-night visit of Xi’an. On our way into the city center, we stopped at our first spot to check out the Yangling Mausoleum. Dedicated to Emperor Jing (the sixth emperor of the Han Dynasty) and his wife, Empress Wang, the mausoleum consists of two burial mounds, along with almost 90 pits that display over 50,000 terracotta figurines that depict life in the court back in the day. Visitors can only access 21 of the pits, but the amount of figurines within those were already impressive. While small in size (no more than a few inches tall), these terracotta figurines served as a solid introduction to the life-size Terracotta Warriors we would see the next day.

We arrived into Xi’an city center, where we then explored the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Along with the Terracotta Warriors, this pagoda is a well-known and recognizable symbol of the city. It was built during the Tang Dynasty (6th century CE), and it experienced notable damage during a big earthquake in the mid-16th century, to the point that three of its stories were destroyed. Although no new stories were added afterwards, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was restored and renovated during the Ming Dynasty, and today it offers great panoramic views of Xi’an from its seventh floor.

Night was falling while wrapping up our visit of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. We had hotpot for dinner, and we went to our hotel where we rested after a long day of traveling and sightseeing. The jet-lag wasn’t too bad anymore, since we had been in China for over 72 hours at that point– that said, a good night’s sleep actually came true.

The next day was a big one, as we would dedicate most of our time to the Terracotta Army. It was rise-and-shine, having an early hotel breakfast before heading straight over. The place is part-museum, part-excavation site, with many of the warriors restored, but even more being excavated to this day. Archaeologists have unearthed over 8000 statues so far, but it’s speculated that there are even more to uncover. Not only that, but there are also hundreds of chariots, horses, and weapons that have been discovered to add to the vast collection that visitors see today.

Commissioned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the 2nd century BCE, the Terracotta Army was made to “protect” the emperor in the afterlife, as well as show his power and legacy in Chinese history. What makes the statue warriors (even horses) unique is that no two look alike: each differ in terms of uniform, hairstyle, even facial structure. The sheer detail to each soldier is mind-boggling, on top of having over 8000 of them standing at attention! The excavation room in which many of them were place was pretty vast and expansive, and we spent over two-and-a-half hours touring each of the pits in which the warriors were, all the while learning about the historic and artistic details of the afterlife army.

We had lunch afterwards and spent the afternoon first walking along the Xi’an City Wall. It is a 14-kilometre fortification that was built during the Ming Dynasty, and it’s considered one of the best-preserved walls in the country. The wall is also quite complex, with a series of drawbridges, moats, and watch towers to keep the city safe at all costs. Because of this system, the City Wall has protected the people throughout the centuries, with almost no heavy damage or casualties as a result. Today, people can stroll or bike on top of the fortifications, as its distance is more than enough for a good workout.

Our final stop was at the Xi’an Art Museum, where we spent the rest of our day checking out artifacts dating from the Neolithic Period all the way to the 20th century. I’m not one for general history museums, but I did appreciate gaining more insight into my ancestral country’s past, especially when I was taught a glossed version of it in school. We had dinner afterwards, and we ended our last day in Xi’an then.

It was a compact two nights in town, but a rewarding one. Xi’an is a smaller city compared to our previous stop in Beijing, but just as rich in its history and sights to see. It’s a must to check out, especially for the Terracotta Army, and it’s also a good gateway to discovering more of the country as the journey progresses.

Thanks for reading, and more of my time in China to come soon!

 

— Rebecca