View from my hostel. This is the East gate of Xi'an. There is a huge wall that circles the city. And a moat.
Four streets going North, South, East, West meet in the middle at the Bell Tower, which is next to the Drum Tower. Guess what's inside each.
There are lots of stall selling things. But for the first time I saw people selling birds and grasshoppers (here) They're lucky pets. Think Mulan.
And I haven't posted any Engrish so far but this one made me pause. I really don't know what it's talking about. Those aren't even words.
So, first in Xi'an I went to the Muslim quarter to find the Great Mosque (one of the oldest in Asia, though there aren't many here) I went with a guy from Raleigh (David) and a guy from Seoul (Jay) both of whom I met on the bus from the train station. We got lost many times but saw many things.
A restaurant sign in both Arabic and Chinese. Pretty common.
A Muslim grandmother. Many women where the headdress but it's not a uniform head covering. Sometimes it's a hijab, sometimes it's a unisex hat and sometimes a hood. No one wears the full burnoose but older women wore pajama tye clothes that covered the whole body.
Four courtyards leading to the prayer hall.
The minaret
Roof of the mosque. These are also on the roof of the Taoist temple.
Inside the mosque.
I stalk monks. Here's a Taoist one. They live in the temple. I accidentally wandered through their laundry on the way out.
Inside one of the temples. You can see one of the deities sitting on his throne and a tower of lights with a little deity inside each.
The ultimate symbol of Taoism.
The garden was good and bad. It was beautiful but because Chinese architecture is so often used as a gimmick I felt like I was in Disney World.
Men playing Mahjong on the street. We walked through some poor neighborhoods trying to find the Mosque and Taoist temple. No one knew the way except some kids on bikes, who were very helpful and funny.
So, these are fakes but they're the only way I could get close enough to show you the faces. Every face is different because, like the wall, they were made by civilians. And each is sign so that if one is bad the government knows who made it.
Pit 1- So many soldiers. You really want to play dominoes. This is what everyone thinks of but it is a bit decieving. This is only one dig area (the others don't look like this) and it's not really endless, only about 100 meters. Don't get me wrong, it's very cool but I think (like always) the idea of it is greater than the actual thing. But we did see the farmer who discovered all this in the 70's. He must have had a shock.
Headless horseless men! (So, the bodies are made separate from the heads. Thus lots of these guys0
And David, an Italian I met on the bus ride to the hostel along with the NC David and Jay.
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