Chimento Blogs: Xi'an

Chimento here... Wanted to share some experiences on this portion of the trip before we left for Shanghai. Coming to Xi'an yielded some unforgettable memories that will long leave a burning impression on my mind. Xi'an, China's original capital through a multitude of dynasties, is the source of ancient Chinese history. It's a city completely surrounded by a very thick wall, with 4 major gates (N,S,E,W) that provide the threshold for entrance to and egress from the city. In some ways you can't help but feel safe, and become part of the city when you enter, no matter your culture. It's a city with a beautiful mixture of old world history, splashed with the “vibe” of a modern Manhattan. Although Xi'an sports a hurried culture, its people clearly take the time to nod and smile, or graciously help a few American visitors as guests in their city.

The Terracotta Warrior Soldiers were an incredible surprise for me, as I was largely (actually embarrassingly) unaware of what they were all about. A farmer who was digging a well in 1974 found a few pieces of pottery and bronze weapons, and from that point on, the rest was as they say, “history.” Little did he know that he had discovered what is now deemed the eighth wonder of the modern world-- a myriad of life size soldiers buried underneath acres of land. My take on it is that these were crafted for two reasons, one being pride, in an emperor's attempt to continue to rule with power in the afterlife with this army of terracotta warriors, and second, he was an emperor who liked to play with warrior dolls, and commissioned any number of workers to craft them life size for him. (That's quite a bottle cap collection!) Despite the issues of pride, or even a child like want for life size ceramic toys, I couldn't help but feel I was standing on absolute hallowed ground Check out the pics that I hope will give you a sense of how grandiose this world wonder is.

The Hot Pot Dinner was like Fondue on steroids, and the kids described me as a “freight train” not stopping eating the ENTIRE meal, boiling every thing they put in my reach like shaved meats, mushrooms, and fabulous noodles, in a wonderful stock pot of assorted vegetables, and herbs, and heaven knows what else. Anytime I had had fondue, it was the fried kind, rather than the healthier boiled kind. (apparently my arteries are not hard enough) Nevertheless, I was on a mission to try it ALL. When it was time to go, they had to pull me away, as I was still groping for more boiled artifacts in my pot. Perhaps after seeing the terracotta warriors, I was inspired to be on my own archeological dig to find where that last noodle was lost in my own pot of boiled mess. The kids were floored that our server needed to fill up my pot with more water, as I depleted all of my natural resources before dinner was over.

After the hot pot dinner, we had the chance to walk home from the middle of the city to the North Gate, where the Jinyuanfurun Hotel lies. What a tremendous exposure to their culture, with a few familiarities along the way. (a couple of stops at McDonalds, Baskin Robbins and Starbucks). Beautiful trees, buildings and gates, electronically dressed in lights. Xi'an is a city that I could honestly say would be on my list to visit again. - MC²