Xi'an Oct 19 - 23

Second stop: Xi'an!

Ruth, Pete, Thomas and I arrived mid afternoon in Xi'an by bullet train and easily found our hostel in the center of the city. We found a delicious fried dumpling restaurant for dinner that was recommended in Ruth's guidebook and had an early night.

On the 20th we took a bus out to see the terracotta warriors. They were discovered by farmers in 1974 and are currently still being unearthed. While some were intact, many were crushed and were being put back together. The sculptures represent the army of the first emperor of China and were funeral art for him. They were meant to protect him in the afterlife and were buried in 210 BCE. In the three pits, researchers estimate there are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. Many are still buried and there are also sculptures of entertainers and officials. It was really amazing to see terracotta sculptures so well preserved from such a long time ago.

In the evening we returned to Xi'an and went to the famous Muslim food street for dinner. We sampled sweet bean cakes, stir-fried potatoes and pomegranates.

Off to the mountains on the 21st! We left early on a bus to Huashan mountain where we then hiked for 5 hours to the North Peak and another hour to the East Peak. It was a great hike and probably the most strenuous activity I've ever done. Sometimes we had to climb vertically using chains and steps cut into the sides of the mountain. We stayed in a 10 bedroom dorm at the top of the East Peak. Unfortunately the sunrise was foggy the next day so we were unable to see the sun. However, it was still beautiful. We decided to take the cable car down as we were exhausted and the hike down would be slippery. At the bottom we took a bus back to Xi'an - arriving in the early afternoon.

After a much needed shower we went to a fancy food street on the posh side of town for dinner and happened to catch a free street theater performance before heading back to our hostel.