Just when the buzz has faded from the Beijing series, I chock you with a brand new thread in my ONE BIG TRIP series - Xi'An!
When it was time to leave Beijing and head south east, the Chinese new year was being celebrated to the fullest. This means none or very expensive train tickets, so we decided to fly down there instead. This way I got a chance to see Beijing's modern Capital Airport as well.
Xi'An means "Western Peace" and is the capital of the Shaanxi Province. It is known as one of the most important cities in Chinese history, and is listed as one of the "four great ancient capitals of China", because it has been a capital city for no less than 13 dynasties. It also forms the eastern end of the Silk Road.
The metropolitan area of Xi'an boasts some 7,5 million inhabitans. That, plus the 3100 years of history makes this chaotic city well worth visiting if you're in China. Today, Xi'An is mainly known for the Amry of the Terracotta Warriors, which dates from year 246 BC.
The Terracotta Army, however, is not the only historic sight to see in Xi'An. The Drum- and Bell towers are magnificent pieces of dynastic architecture, and the Ring Wall that surrounds the Old City are the longest fully intact city walls in the world. They proved to be one of the true highlight of my whole journey.
Thank you, Xi'An.
music Capital Airport in Beijing.
And we're aboard China Eastern Airlines bound for Xi'an.
Welcome to Xi'An, a typical Chinese city, where ancient temples share the urban space with supertall hyper modern skyscrapers.
And of course, a lot of gardens.
And the magnificent Army of the Terracotta Warriors.
The Ring Walls of Xi'An.
A moto is essential if you want to avoid getting stuck in the dreadful traffic.
I think she derserved a bigger audience than that.
Friends.
Xi'An is a fantastic city, and I hope I've been able to show that with this set.
We're soon in Shanghai - but first we got Wuhan, Nanjing and Suzhou coming up.
Cheers!>
No comments:
Post a Comment