Travels in Xi'an: City Wall

Probably the most fun James and I had during our 10 day trip to Xi'an was cycling along the Xi'an City Wall, which stands at 13.7km in length. The cost of hiring a bike is 20 dollars per 100 minutes. We were at the wall for nearly 3 hours: we cycled, we took pictures, we snacked. Overall, it was a lot of fun!

Entrance to the City Wall.

The stairs lead up to the City Wall.  The wall stands at 12 meters high

The width of the City Wall measures between 12-14 meters. Since we were there in the winter, there were few tourists.

The wall is very easy to cycle on. The cyclist in red is James.

Views from the top of the wall:

Xian Railway Station.

South Street. At the end of the street is the Bell Tower.

Looking down to the South Gate from above. South Gate is the most magnificent and beautifully decorated of the four gates on the city wall.

Travels in Xi'an: Huaqing Hot Springs

Huaqing Hot Springs is enroute to the Terracotta Warriors and the Qin Mausoleum. What is special about this place is that for thousands of years, Huaqing Hot Springs was the imperial bathing site of many emperors of ancient China. The hot springs are particularly associated with the Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗) of the Tang Dynasty and his favourite concubine, Yang Guifei (楊貴妃).



A statue of Yang Guifei, one of the four beauties of ancient China.




The Crabapple Pool （海棠汤）was built for Yang Guifei. Only Yang Guifei could bathe in this pool.


Only Emperor Xuanzong could bathe in the Lotus Pool （莲花汤).

The hot springs at Huaqing come from four sources. Here is hot spring source number two:


The water temperature of the hot springs is around 43 celcius degrees. The water contains many minerals, including sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sulphur and silicon dioxide.

Travels in Xi'an: Qin Mausoleum

The Qin Mausoleum, though historically significant, is not a must see in Xi'an (though it is enroute to the Terracotta Warriors). The reason for this is because much of the site remains unexcavated.

A series of steps lead to the top of the mound.

At the top of the tomb. Beneath this spot is an underground burial site.

Here is a description of the burial chamber:

The coffin of Emperor Qin Shi Huang was cast in bronze. Underground Palace was gem-studded replica of imperial housing above ground. Moreover, booby traps with automatic-shooting arrows were installed to deter would-be tomb robbers. Heaven and earth were represented in the central chamber of the tomb. Ceiling shaped into sun, moon and stars by inlaying pearls and gems symbolizes the sky and the ground was an accumulation point of rivers, lakes and seas, like Yellow River and Yangtze River, which stands for the earth. It is said that the underground palace was brightly lit by whale oil lamps for eternity.


There really isn't much too see at the site. Here, performers keep the tourists entertained.

Travels in Xi'an: Great Goose Pagoda

Great Goose Pagoda (大雁塔) was built in the year 652 during Tang dynasty at the request of the scripture collecting monk Xuanzang. The pagoda is located in Da Ci'en Temple: you need to pay admission to enter the temple and admission again to enter the pagoda.


Great Goose Pagoda shrouded in early morning mist.


The grounds outside the pagoda and the temple are pretty and well maintained.


This way to the pagoda.








Entrance to the pagoda.




Up the stairs to the top.


On the top floor looking up to the ceiling.


Looking out from the top floor. The patch of ground in the middle in a musical fountain.


A model of the pagoda. The model houses an extremely valuable artefact: sheli (舍利), or the relics of the Buddha.


The relics of the Buddha is the remains of the cremation of the Buddh's body. Sheli comes in different colours. The pearly white remains seen here is the relics of the bone.

Travels in Xi'an: Bell Tower

The Bell Tower of Xi'an was built in 1384. The geographical location of the tower speaks volumes of its historic significance: it is situated in the city center and at the cross section of the four main streets of Xi'an. Look to the north is North Street, look to the south is South street, look to the east is East Street, and look to the west is West Street. The four streets furthermore connect the four gates of the city wall of Xi'an: North, South, East, West gates.


Whether by day or by night, the Bell Tower makes for a pretty picture.






This bell, also called Jingyun Bell, is a replica of the original Jingyun Bell now at the Beilin Museum. The replica was made in the Ming Dynasty.


A good reason to come to the Bell Tower is to catch a performance of the Qin Chime Bells.


Can you count all the 39 chime bells?


The performer in the middle is the soloist: she is the one responsible for striking the bells.

Travels in Xi'an: Tang Paradise

Depending on who you ask, Tang Paradise (大唐芙蓉園) is either the most wonderful or the most ghastly place to visit in Xi'an. Some see it as a homage to the Tang dynasty with its Tang style buildings and gardens, others see it as too disneyesque with its theme park like feel. However one feels about Tang Paradise, one thing is sure though, the place photographs beauitfully.