Three Beaches National Park
by xbrouwer
There is a national park on the Xi'an - Chengdu train line (Jia Ling Station) which is easy to get to and offers great hiking opportunities! In fact, of its 200 square kilometres, much has not yet been explored so make sure to bring good hiking boots and a compass! It's a nice place to unwind from the stress of living or studying in China and you may even catch sight of some monkeys or other rare animals...
Brazilian Barbecue (!?!?!?!)
by ahoerner about Churrascaria Brasileira
For us brazilians is always a surprise to notice the small influence of our culture in a place like China.
That was our surprise to find that restaurant... It was during the morning, just after breakfest, and we did not get in there. The smell of grilled barbecue was just like the one you have in Brazil...
Bell Tower
by kentishgirl
So if you're visiting the Drum tower you may as well visit the Bell tower too! Both are very similar from outside, but inside they are very different. You get great views of the city from a height as well : gardens, streets, traffic etc
Oh and be sure to take note of all the small details such as the doors and handles - they're special.
Meet the Farmer who found the Terra Cotta Army
by mikelisaanna
Yang Pei Yan, the farmer who originally found the Terra Cotta Warriors in 1974 while drilling a well, is still alive and lives in the area. He is often sitting in the gift shop, where he makes money by autographing books about the warriors that people buy in the shop. Yes, it is a bit of a gimmick to extract money from tourists. However, the man did make one of the greatest archaeological finds in history and didn't loot it, so we don't mind seeing him make some extra yuan.
The countdown to the games!
by K.Knight
You just can't escape the spirit of the games. The games were in China and hust about everywhere you went you could not escape the excitement.... and marketing of merchandise.
No matter where you went, the city, country, on planes, in trains, in taxis or shopping centres, the Olympics was everywhere.
I guess they can all get back to selling cheap t-shirts now?