Xi'an! Xi'an! (Part 1)

When asked which is the oldest city in China, people may think of Beijing since it was the capital of 5 dynasties in the history of China. But, Xi’an, also known as Chang’an, was not only the capital of the most important dynasties in Chinese history such as Qin, Sui and Tang, but also the east terminus of Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army. Personally, I love it a lot and am proud of it being my hometown.

One of the places I must go every time I visit my hometown is Xi’an City Wall. Locating in the downtown area, it provides you with both the scent of a modern city and its deep cultural details. Of the four gates it has (South, North, West, East), I highly recommend the South gate (Bei Lin Qu Nan Men) . Not only because it is the oldest gate among the four (it was built in Sui Dynasty, about 1,600 years ago), but also because you can rent bikes (about $8 for every 100 mins) here and take a ride on the ancient wall.

Inside the City Wall, there were no longer ancient palaces. Instead, many pseudo classic architectures were built in recent years. Tourists were walking around and taking photos, old people were playing chess or Taiji, and streets were crowded with cars and buses. It was somehow hard for me to imagine how it looked like thousands of years ago. But standing on the ancient bricks alone let me feel the profound cultural heritage. Outside the City Wall, Xi’an looks nothing different than a modern city—sky scrappers and busy traffic. I started my bike touring from the South Gate, and spent about 30 minutes riding on the wall and got back to where I started.

Feeling a little bit hungry after the “long” bicycle ride, I indulged myself into trying different kinds of  tasty food. It’s good to be back home!