This weekend was very packed. Our flight from Tianjin to Xi'An was short and comfortable, but I was disappointed by the bad weather we experienced among arrival. It seems like bad weather always plagues our weekend trips; the rain and fog we've encountered have definitely made the experience more arduous and decreased the beauty of the places we've been to. In the end, there's really nothing that can be done about this and I can only hope that the weather will be nice for our final trip this weekend. Overall, Xi'An seems like a busier and more developed city than Tianjin. There were quite a few shopping plazas within walking distance of our hotel and the streets were lined with merchants selling random trinkets and beggars (something I haven't seen a lot of around Nankai University). I suppose it's because Xi'An is more of a tourist city - we saw plenty of foreigners during our stay. We didn't do too much the first day; we visited the Bell/Drum Towers and had dinner at a Peking Duck resturant.
On Saturday, we visited the museum where the famous Terra Cotta Warriors are kept. We first went to a government operated factory where replica statues were made; the objects that the workers produced were very beautiful, but I was a bit disappointed (but not surprised) by the fact that this factory was more like a workshop attached to a big souvenir shop. The actual museum was pretty impressive. The complex housing the statues was surrounded by a large garden and the air seemed less polluted (there was even a clear blue sky). The actual statues looked pretty much the same as I've seen in pictures, but it was cool to see them in real life. We then visited a nearby hot spring, which turned out to be a very beautiful sight. There were fountains and Chinese-style buildings set against a background of mountains. I didn't walk around too much, but it was really nice just to sit down and eat an ice cream bar with my classmates. For dinner, there was an interesting meal consisting of all kinds of dumplings, such as duck and walnut. I was feeling a little sick, so I didn't try all of the kinds availible, but the ones I did get to taste were very good (I feel much better now...thanks for getting me the medicine Dr. Liu!). After dinner, me and a few other students went to see a show at the city's fountain. I was expecting a pool with water jets, but was totally surprised by the elaborate setup that was present. There were several jets in the ground that shot water, which was given color by recessed lights, straight up into the and fireworks at the end of the night. Even though there were tons of people, I'm very glad that I took the effort to go.
On Sunday, we first headed to the city wall. I was feeling pretty bad, so I couldn't take a bike ride around the wall like the rest of the group, which made me pretty disappointed. I can't really ride a bike anyways, so it might not have made too much of a difference. Nevertheless, it was really relaxing sitting in the sahde of the Feng Shui museum and watching the toursists pass by. Next, we went Great Mosque and the Muslim Street. Although I spent most of the time in the bathroom (which were very clean), I did get to check out a few of the goods that the street vendors offered. A few of the other students bought some cool stuff (Mahjong and Go sets), but I didn't really have time to get anything. Soon after, we headed to the train station, which was extremely crowded. After being herded onto our train, we found out that our compartments were crowded and had no doors. Despite this, I didn't have much trouble getting to sleep and had a good nights rest; the ride was actually somewhat fun, partly because I learned how to play Mahjong from Monica, but it's something I hope not to go through again anytime soon.
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