XI'AN, CHINA

XI’AN

I always wondered how to pronounce Xi’an, China. Once I learned, it is easy. It sounds like she han. Now probably most people in the world know Xi’an is where the terra cotta army was discovered.

During my rather extensive trip to China we arrived in Xi’an by train, and let me tell you about that train ride.

Our train was delayed so instead of wasting the time in the Beijing train station our guide took us to Beijing's  underground city---more about that another time.

       We boarded the train at 8 PM. The compartments hold two bunk beds and you could be bunked with anyone. Fortunately we had bought the entire cabin so we could sleep on the lower bunks and be comfortable with only two people per small cabin. This new train had been in service for two weeks, was an express from Beijing to Xian and had a capacity for 592 passengers. A small TV was at the foot of each bunk.

My cabin was only one cabin away from the western toilet, which was fortunate for me as I was up several times during the night. How lucky could one get! Four or five sinks lined the wall just outside the commode.The eastern toilet was at the other end of the car.

The bunks were hard. I tossed and turned all night and was mighty glad to see daylight. The train was quiet, but none of us slept well. A thermos of hot water was in our cabin when we boarded. The next morning I was stunned to find the water still hot! It wasn’t boiling but was pleasantly hot enough to wash up and even make a fairly hot cup of coffee. If only I could have found such a thermos anywhere to buy! I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee as I watched the scenery flash by and the farmers  out tending their crops.

It took eleven and a half-hours to make the 1200 kilometer (720 miles) trip.

The train pulled into the 5000 year old walled city of Xi’an, capitol of Shaanzi Province, at 8 o’clock in the morning. We immediately found ourselves in throngs of people. Somehow in the mob of humanity in a light rain our guide found our local city guide, who directed us to our bus.

Xi’an was gateway to the Silk Road that 2000 years ago connected China with Persia, Rome and the world beyond. The city is an important economic and cultural crossroads between east and west. Once called Chang’an it was the political center of China, as well as the center of Buddhists scholars, monks, and artists.

Our local guide told us, “In ancient times before clocks, a bell located on the east side of the village, rang in the new day. Xian’s 600-year-old bell tower, built during the Ming era, was re-built in 1769 during the Qing Dynasty. A drum, located on the west side of the village beat the end of the day. The Drum Tower, smaller than the Bell Tower, marks the beginning of the Muslim part of the city. One of the largest mosques in China is located in Xi’an. With a 60,000 Moslem population the 18^th century mosque is an active one today."

The walled part of Xi’an is the geographic center of the city. The old city wall (1374-1378) dating back to the Ming Dynasty is built over the old wall foundation. The 12-meter high wall is also 12 meters wide and contains four huge gates and 164 watchtowers. The 14 kilometers of the nearly complete wall are in the shape of a rectangle. It surrounded the inner city for the emperor

Air raid shelters were hollowed out of the walls when the Japanese bombed the city, and during the Cultural Revolution caves were dug into the wall to store grain. The outer city wall is nine times longer but is mostly gone. The west part of the city is home to an electronics industry and the east side houses textile, aircraft, chemical, and military factories.

The traffic was horrendous. City cabs were a lime green---different. Tourism has grown into a major industry for the city since the discovery of the Terra Cotta Army. Our adventure in Xi’an had begun! 

FOOD AND DRINK

Strudel and Coffee

When biking Austria we stopped each day mid-morning for coffee and in mid-afternoon for pastry. One day our guide told us, “I’ve called ahead to a fellow I know in Eizendorf. He makes the best apple strudel and he said to come  and have some. You can have it with or without schlag (real whipped cream). I highly recommend it.”

           He got no argument form any of us and we were on our way. The strudel  was warm, right out of the oven, as if they made it special for us. Without a doubt it was the best I have ever eaten, before or since.

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Crepes are common in France and we ate many of them. A breakfast burrito or taco was about the same only in a flatter and larger crepe. We had the equivalent of a dinner casserole in a crepe and of course we had all sorts of desert crepes. Somehow, a crepe tastes best in France and especially in an outdoor café!.

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I’d been touring Europe for nearly two weeks and had switched to drinking tea as I’d found the coffee too strong for my taste. When I entered the chalet gift shop on top of Strassehorn, Switzerland,  behind the counter I spotted coffee on a hot plate . 
“Is that hot water there beside the coffee?” I asked the young man.

            “Yes.”

            “Good. I’d like a half cup of coffee and then I’d like you to fill the cup with hot water,” I instructed.

            “No, no. This coffee, we make to put  liqueur in. It is good.”

            “Just the coffee please.”

            “OK, if you insist.”

            I sat in the sun on the terrace 6000 feet up  a mountain enjoying the only really good cup of coffee I had on the entire trip. It was worth the three dollars to just enjoy my brew while listening to the cow bell serenade from the alpine valley below.