Wednesday, July 25th
Xi’an, China
This morning we started our day with a bike ride along the city walls of Xi’an. We started at the South Gate of the wall and rode all the way around, covering 8.5 miles. However, in attempting to enter the South Gate we had to play our own game of Frogger to get to the Gate. Most of the intersections in Xi’an have underpasses so that pedestrians can safely walk across this street, but unfortunately this one didn’t so we sprinted across the crosswalk. Remember, motor vehicles don’t stop here for anyone even when you are in the crosswalk! Our mini-game of frogger definitely got my blood flowing and woke me up.
Valerie and I decided to ride a tandem bike. It was hilarious trying to get started, but once we did it wasn’t difficult. Valerie took the controls for the first half of the ride and then I got to take the lead at the North Gate for the rest of ride back to the South Gate. It was very cool riding on top of the city wall which is 40 feet high surrounding the city. Unfortunately, our views were not the best today as it was overcast and foggy, but it was good weather for biking.
We ascended all the floors of the pagoda to the top. It wasn’t has hard as the Duomo in Florence, Italy but there was no air circulating in their so it was hot. We spent some time walking around the grounds and found the “Magic Bell” of the Small Goose Pagoda. I paid 5 yuan to ring it three times to bring happiness and good luck. It was so fun! Supposedly, the bell can be heard from 5 kilometers away, which is 3.1 miles.
Valerie and I then took some fun pictures with some of the statues on the grounds. We really enjoyed walking around the park because it was so much less crowded than any we have been to so far, so it was nice to enjoy the down time.
Lastly, we headed to the Xi’an Museum. The Museum illustrates the growth and development of Xi’an as a city from its central point in the Silk Road to present day. It has have hundreds of artifacts from all the ruling Dynasties that controlled Xi’an.
One of the funniest things I saw at the Pagoda complex today was a fountain of little boys on each other’s shoulders with the boy at the top peeing! Unfortunately, the fountain wasn’t running the time, but it just reminded me of some of the social norms that are very different here compared to home. Here’s just a few…..one I’ve seen several times is the split bottom shorts for boys. I actually saw it for the first time at the Shanghai Museum and couldn’t tell if his pants were just ripped or it was on purpose. Then Valerie told me that she was told by a friend to watch out for young children just peeing on the street. Fortunately, we haven’t seen that yet, but we have seen the split bottom pants.
Another thing that is different is that many people overtly spit and hock loogies anywhere. I mean, I understand that sometimes you just have to spit, but Claudia saw a man spit on the airport terminal floor! Secondly, the men always pull up their shirts and expose their bare bellies in public. I even saw a man at a restaurant pull up shirt and wipe the sweat off his chest. That really just grossed me out! Valerie and I have determined it’s part machismo and part the “cool” thing to do. I can understand if it is extremely hot, but it hasn’t been as hot as Taiwan. To be fair, I am sure there are plenty of things that I do that the Chinese find weird, but I wanted to share some of differences I have seen with you.
Valerie and I have spent the day on our feet, training for our Great Wall hike, so we are going to just relax in our hostel, the Han Tang Inn. The hostel is great by the way. It’s my first time in a hostel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the people are wonderful, they have a café with plenty of food options and seating areas all over for us to rest our weary feet and catch up on emails, blogging, and the news of the world.
Tomorrow we are off to Beijing!
Xi’an, China
This morning we started our day with a bike ride along the city walls of Xi’an. We started at the South Gate of the wall and rode all the way around, covering 8.5 miles. However, in attempting to enter the South Gate we had to play our own game of Frogger to get to the Gate. Most of the intersections in Xi’an have underpasses so that pedestrians can safely walk across this street, but unfortunately this one didn’t so we sprinted across the crosswalk. Remember, motor vehicles don’t stop here for anyone even when you are in the crosswalk! Our mini-game of frogger definitely got my blood flowing and woke me up.
Valerie and I decided to ride a tandem bike. It was hilarious trying to get started, but once we did it wasn’t difficult. Valerie took the controls for the first half of the ride and then I got to take the lead at the North Gate for the rest of ride back to the South Gate. It was very cool riding on top of the city wall which is 40 feet high surrounding the city. Unfortunately, our views were not the best today as it was overcast and foggy, but it was good weather for biking.
From what I’ve learned, the wall was built during the Tang Dynasty, is the most intact city wall in China and one of the largest ancient defense systems in the world. As I rode, I imagined soldiers patrolling the walls defending their city. It was a great way to start our morning! I consider it training for our Great Wall hike on Friday.
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| I did it! I biked the City Walls.....Great Wall, here I come! |
After our bike ride, we headed outside the city walls to the Small Goose Pagoda and the Xi’an Museum. The pagoda is located in a large park area with the Chienfu Temple and the Xi’an Museum.
Valerie and I then took some fun pictures with some of the statues on the grounds. We really enjoyed walking around the park because it was so much less crowded than any we have been to so far, so it was nice to enjoy the down time.
Lastly, we headed to the Xi’an Museum. The Museum illustrates the growth and development of Xi’an as a city from its central point in the Silk Road to present day. It has have hundreds of artifacts from all the ruling Dynasties that controlled Xi’an.
One of the funniest things I saw at the Pagoda complex today was a fountain of little boys on each other’s shoulders with the boy at the top peeing! Unfortunately, the fountain wasn’t running the time, but it just reminded me of some of the social norms that are very different here compared to home. Here’s just a few…..one I’ve seen several times is the split bottom shorts for boys. I actually saw it for the first time at the Shanghai Museum and couldn’t tell if his pants were just ripped or it was on purpose. Then Valerie told me that she was told by a friend to watch out for young children just peeing on the street. Fortunately, we haven’t seen that yet, but we have seen the split bottom pants.
Another thing that is different is that many people overtly spit and hock loogies anywhere. I mean, I understand that sometimes you just have to spit, but Claudia saw a man spit on the airport terminal floor! Secondly, the men always pull up their shirts and expose their bare bellies in public. I even saw a man at a restaurant pull up shirt and wipe the sweat off his chest. That really just grossed me out! Valerie and I have determined it’s part machismo and part the “cool” thing to do. I can understand if it is extremely hot, but it hasn’t been as hot as Taiwan. To be fair, I am sure there are plenty of things that I do that the Chinese find weird, but I wanted to share some of differences I have seen with you.
Valerie and I have spent the day on our feet, training for our Great Wall hike, so we are going to just relax in our hostel, the Han Tang Inn. The hostel is great by the way. It’s my first time in a hostel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the people are wonderful, they have a café with plenty of food options and seating areas all over for us to rest our weary feet and catch up on emails, blogging, and the news of the world.
Tomorrow we are off to Beijing!
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