陝西 | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 1 – NIGHT ARRIVAL, Xian, China

In Mid-October, we had the opportunity to reunite with two of our travel buddies for a short trip to China. It was the week after the week-long Chinese National Holiday. We had a simple travel plan consisted of two distinct parts: Xian (西安) for history and Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝) for natural scenery. Xian, historically known as Changan (長安), was the ancient capital of China for 13 different dynasties, spanning a total period of over 1200 years, including the golden age of Han and Tang Dynasty. The ruins of ancient royal palaces and tombs, such as the magnificent Terra-cotta Warriors of the First Qin Emperor, revealed the former glory of ancient China. Jiuzhaigou, on the other hand, has been renowned for its out-of-this-world alpine scenery. It is located at the north of Sichuan Province (四川) where the plains of Eastern and Central China begins to give way to the Tibetan and Qinghai Plateau.

After a minor delay, we flew out of Hong Kong in a Saturday afternoon. It was already dusk by the time we landed at Xian Xianyang Interational Airport. We took an airport bus into the city, and taxied the rest of the way to our hostel south of Xincheung Square (新城廣場). Our taxi passed by the well-preserved Ming city wall and the brightly lit historical Bell Tower. After getting off, it took us a while to find the alleyway where our hostel was located. We were delighted to find our hostel room clean and comfortable. After checking in, we headed out immediately to grab a quick dinner. According to guidebook, an old famous restaurant of Shaanxi Muslim food called Lao Sun Jia (老孫家) was just five minutes of walk from our hostel. We found our way to the restaurant at the fourth floor of a retail centre. It was about 21:00 and there was only one table of guests finishing off their beer and noodles. We sat down and ordered the popular paomo (泡饃), or crumbled flatbread in either mutton or beef stew.

After dinner, we wanted to checked out the beautiful Bell Tower (鐘樓) right at the historical heart of Xian. It was another five minute of walk from the restaurant. The tower was already close for the day, but we could still admire the historical architecture across the street from the tower’s roundabout. This handsome piece of traditional architecture was an icon of Xian. In the old days since the 14th century, the tower’s main function was to mark the moment of dawn with its bells. A few blocks away, we noticed another historical building prominently lit up. It was the Drum Tower (鼓樓), the building that originally housed 28 drums to mark the day’s end at dusk. Around the corner from the Drum Tower, we entered a busy pedestrian streets packed with snack vendors. We had entered Beiyuanmen (北院門) Street, the core of Xian’s Muslim Quarter. It was almost 10pm but the street was still busy with visitors. There were a number of vendors selling barbecue lamb kebabs, mutton or beef sandwiches, local pomegranate juices, traditional sweets, nuts, persimmon cakes, and many other kinds of desserts. After the filling meal of paomo, we gave it a pass for the street food. We slowly walked back to our hostel, hoping to get some good rest. In the next morning we would exit Xian and head eastwards to the foot of Lishan Mountains to check out the most popular tourist attraction of Xian: the First Qin Emperor’s Terra-cotta Warriors.

Mutton paomo (泡饃) at Lao Sun Jia Restaurant (老孫家).

Beef paomo (泡饃) at Lao Sun Jia Restaurant (老孫家).

Heading towards the icon of Xian, the Bell Tower (鐘樓).

The Bell Tower stands at the centre of a large roundabout.

The 14th century structure is lit up with atmospheric lighting.

The Drum Tower at a distance, and in front, the public square between Bell Tower and Drum Tower. The square is flanked by local restaurants, a department store, and a Starbucks.