Xi'an

December 27th - 30th, 2009

We arrived at Xi'an airport from Chengdu at midnight, and glad still have the airport bus to downtown
Xian (last stop at Bell Tower Hotel) which was actually very close to our hotel, Bell and Drum Tower Hotel. It was quite difficult for us to find our hotel in the middle at night, nobody knows where's the hotel, even we had asked McDonald's staffs and the hotel just a couple minutes walk behind that McDonald's.
Overall the hotel location was really good, only old. Near to many tourist attractions such as Muslim Street, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, just few steps to a famous Yang Rou Pao Mo restaurant (Tong Sheng Xiang).

Things that you have to do in Xi'an :

1. Try the "Yang Rou Pao Mo"
Yang Rou Pao Mo is a type of mutton stew. Some People believe there are two things that you must do when you visit Xi`an: one thing is visiting the terra cotta warriors and another is to taste Yang Rou Pao Mo.
A highly seasoned mutton gravy in which bread is soaked, Yang Rou Pau Mo smells and tastes great. When the weather is cold, this dish is a sure way to warm you up! Many restaurants in Xi'an serve Yang Rou Pao Mo but among the best known is the Lao Sun Jia, established in 1898 and the Tong Sheng Xiang where they have been serving excellent food for almost a century. Both establishments can be recommended if you wish to try this special dish.

Lao Sun Jia (Xian Lao Sun's Restaurant)
Chinese name: 老孙家/西安老孙家饭庄 

There is a particular way of eating the Baked Bun Soaked in Mutton Soup.When the customers are served, the restaurateur will first offer the kind of hard dried pancake and the customers will break the pancake into small pieces, then give it back to the restaurateur for cooking the shredded pancake with mutton in delicious soup. The finished dish is steaming hot with an unusually sweet smell.

 

Lao Sun Jia should be the most famous restaurant in Xian servicing the authentic beef/lamb stew of bread. Originally opened at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the long history has turned Lao Sun Jia to be a noted landmark of the ancient Xian City. Besides of the time-honored Pao Mo, the skillful cooks here also have created a series of tasty Moslem dishes to meet customers' various kinds of needs. Additionally, the well-decorated restaurant is an ideal place for you to try the elaborate local snacks.

Tong Sheng Xiang (Prosperity & Fortune Restaurant)
Chinese name: 同盛祥

This Moslem restaurant has enjoyed the same fame with Lao Sun Jia for a long time. Its delicious Pao Mo has been listed in the Chinese Top Snacks in 1997. By the way, occupying the advantageous position in the city center, this two-storied restaurant is always crowded by locals and travelers.
Other Specialities: various kinds of Moslem dishes, dumpling, snack banquets
Average cost: CNY20-CNY60

2. Terracotta Warriors Museum

From Xi'an Railway Station, we took Bus No. 306 to Terracotta Warriors museum and get off at the final bus stop.

Entrance fee RMB 110 per person and half price for Students (but you have to show your student ID)

The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.

Number 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994.Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses.

Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.

3. Bell Tower, center of Xi'an City

The Bell Tower of Xi'an (Chinese: 西安钟楼), built in 1384 by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang during the early Ming Dynasty , is a symbol of the city of Xi'an and one of the grandest of its kind in China. The Bell Tower also contains several large bronze-cast bells from the Tang Dynasty. The tower base is square and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. The tower is a brick and timber structure and close to 40 meters high.
The Bell Tower, is a stately traditional building, that marks the geographical center of the ancient capital. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the Tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the city wall of the Ming Dynasty. The wooden tower, which is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China, is 36 meters (118 feet) high. It stands on a brick base 35.5 meters (116.4 feet) long and 8.6 meters (28.2 feet) high on each side. During the Ming Dynasty, Xian was an important military town in Northwest China, a fact that is reflected in the size and historic significance.

4. Drum Tower, center of Xi'an City

The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower of Xian, across the Bell and Drum Tower Square.
Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations.

It was initially built in 1380 during the reign of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was renovated twice in 1699 and 1740 in the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911). It is a two-storied post and panel structure, 34 meters (about 112 feet) high and 52.6 meters (about 172 feet) long from east to west as well as 38 meters (about 124 feet) wide from north to south. The architecture style of the Drum Tower is a combination of the styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Qing Dynasty.

View Bell Tower from Drum Tower

When you finish visiting the Tower, you may round off your trip, by tasting a number of delicious snacks of Shaanxi in the Moslem Street Market adjacent to it.




Moslem food and souvenir market is another feature of the area. The Beiyuanmen Moslem Market located just to the north of the Drum Tower is a great choice after the sightseeing in the city center. About 500 meters (about 547 yards) in length from south to north, the street can be reached through the archway under the Drum Tower. This street is paved with dark colored stone with green trees providing heavy shade during summer; the buildings on both sides of the street are modeled on the styles of both the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). Some of the constructions are restaurants; while others are stores. But here there is one thing in common: the owners are all Moslems.

Emei Shan & Leshan

Emei Shan (Mount Emei)

Mt. Emei is located to the southwest of Leshan City and is one of China's four mountains sacred to Buddhism. It is regarded as the 'wonderland of celestial being' and many scenic spots here are worthy of a visit.

Four Scenic Regions: These are the Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, and Golden Summit. From the Golden Summit, tourists can experience the magic of the 'Buddha Rays' which can be viewed between 14:00 to 18:00 during fine weather in autumn and winter. When you climb Emeishan Mountain, you will find dangerous paths, steep rocks, surprising springs and waterfalls. These all may give you the feeling that your journey is as difficult as reaching for the sky. However, you are sure to be delighted by the flocks of monkeys on Mt. Emeishan as they are very lovely and well-mannered. When the tourists give food to them, they pick it up turn and turn about and never squabble to be first.

The snow scenery on Mt. Emeishan is very attractive as winter arrives.

Emei City and Leshan City, with a distance of 40 kilometers are connected by a freeway, and there is a regular bus every ten minutes.

Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area

The world-famous Giant Buddha is carved into the western river cliff face of Lingyun Mountain overlooking the confluence of the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers. This classic statue is of great religious significance and was created in the belief that it would influence the turbulent waters of the rivers and protect shipping. It stands as a great tribute to the skills of the stone carvers who created it and is part of a long tradition of religious stone-carving works.

Taking bus is very convenient to go from Leshan to Mt. Emei or back to Chengdu.
Leshan Port Sight-seeing Bus Station.
Address: located in the city center
Destination: New South Gate Bus Station (Chengdu), Mt. Emeishan, Shawan, etc.

Chengdu (Panda Research Center)

December 27th, 2009

Located just 10km (6miles) away from downtown Chengdu, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center has been created and imitated the pandas' natural habitat in order that they might have the best possible environment for rearing and breeding.

Taxi fare from Chengdu New South Gate Bus Terminal (Chengdu Tourist Distribution Center) about RMB 50-60 (30-45 minutes)

Entrance fee RMB 30

Open from 07:30 to 18:00

In Chengdu you have to be careful with the weather during winter, in the morning sometimes it very foggy, so you will get very difficult to get to Panda Research Center from downtown by taxi/car, it will be only around 2-5 meter visibility on the road and will be very dangerous. It happened to us when we planned to go there in the morning at around 08:00 AM, we took a taxi, when almost reached the Research Center we had to turn back to the city, because of heavy fog on the road, and it was okay after we came back in the afternoon.