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Pro
City Walls, the warriors, dumplings and the large goose pagoda
Con
Bus drivers, roads outside the city walls and the dust in winter
In a nutshell
Everyone should see the warriors but it's a long journey for a couple of hours
See the Tang Dynasty Performance
jerokee_528 Says: The Tang Dynasty evening meal and song and dance performance was excellent. If your on a tour or not, it is well worth scheduling to see this colorful performance.
mccrorj Says: You have to take a walk on the city walls. They were amongst the most peaceful places I went on my trip to China. When you've had enough of the crowds and bustle of the city street these are and oasis of calm. It is inexpensive to get on to them and when your up on top you...
The great mosque and muslim quarter
mccrorj Says: Possibly the wrong section but a warning. The guide books tell you that the GREAT mosque is easy to find. It's not! And, when you do find it don't be surprised if your are less than impressed. I think the Xian tourist board was trying to find things to sell to tourists. If...
Tina-Perth Says: We visited the South Gate of the Great Wall at Xi'an, also known as Yong'an Gate. This is the most complete and solid city wall left in China. The day was misty and wet, as you can see by the photo. Consequently, we did not journey along the wall, but had a look at the...
Bell Tower Hotel, Xian: Central Xian
mccrorj Says: Very pleasant hotel right in the centre of the city. Obviously caters for a lot of tour parties and has high turn over of guests. Decor pleasant staff friendly good value mid range hotel. The location is the real selling point it is dead centre of the city. 10 mins from...
Helpfulness
Cheapest and nicest dumplings I ate in china. Can't remember how much they cost but it was pennies (or cents if you like). Very popular with the locals. There a number of stall located about 150 metres from the Bell tower hotel crossing the road past Macdonalds on your right hand (yes they are everywhere).
Favorite Dish: steamed Pork dumpling
Written Aug 24, 2005
Helpfulness
We were very lucky to have a Chinese friend with us to interpret, but this lady can also supply an English speaking guide. She was fabulous to us and we found her to be fair, trustworthy, prompt and helpful. You negotiate a daily rate with her which saves money.
If you need the guide (Holly), you will only be able to fit a maximum of 3 passengers in the car.
Her name is Li Yue Ai, but she told us to call her "Zafu" which means a kind of guide. If you can speak Chinese, (not sure of dialect) her number is 13991 828 685.
Updated Feb 25, 2005
Phone: 13909 229 505 (Holly)
Helpfulness
There's very little western influence here and not as many tourist travel this far north. I was contstantly stared, pointed and snickered at. Extremely rare to find anyone who speaks English and if you go up to someone to ask something next thing you'll know you've drawn a sizeable crowd in which you're the source of amusement.
Updated Oct 27, 2006
oceania26 Says: If you're not staying at 5 star hotels - you may come to find that there is no indoor heating. Not just hotels but other public buildings like the the train station.I had to wear all the pants and tops I brought with me and I bought some clothing while I was there - the...
mccrorj Says: Read my entry for beijing on this subject. Your tour may consist of an 8 hour bus trip, 2hours travelling 2/3 hours at sites and the rest walking around pointless shops and factories. In reality Xian was a victory for people power, they took us to a really rank jade factory...
Be careful when you fall in the lake
easyoar Says: As is quite customary in China, official translations don't always end up saying exactly what they meant.(Sorry this wasn't meant as a serious warning...)
Helpfulness
Every organised tour I went on followed this format. You get on the bus and are taken to a factory, silk, jade or even medical. You will spend as much time in these places as you do on your destination. In reality this was only one stop in Xian but in Beijing you couldn't go more than a couple of miles before you were being offered something else to buy
Unique Suggestions: I think you have to be blunt with the rep who sells you the trip. Make sure they have told you what stops will take place and for how long. At least you'll know.
Fun Alternatives: I suppose you could try and take a taxi out to the warriors. Make sure you agree the price before you set off and that the driver hasn't wired the meter up to his rev counter. It depends on your command of the language I suppose. It is possible to take a public bus to the site but I didn't check that out. I got the feeling from others that it is not a straightforward option
Updated Aug 24, 2005
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Flat comfortable shoes
Hat or umbrella
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Immodium and gastrolites
Miscellaneous: Don't eat the lettuce, even if it is washed in bottled water, it gave us both tummy upsets.
Written May 7, 2005
I like most tourists visited Xian for one reason only and that was to see the terracotta warriors. In reality I left feeling a little deflated. Impressive though the site is it's a long way to travel...
Xi'an - still working on this one
An example of the incredible works from Xian's Terracotta Warriors site. These horses are full size. Each one different.
We went up on the wall surrounding the inner city, one of the last remaining in China and visited a laquer factory. But the most interesting was a tour of the Terra-cotta Warriors. Every thing I read...
Day 1 How excited were we, today we go to see the terracotta warriors. Because our son and his wife came with us we hired a car and driver for the day which worked out more convient and cost...
First of all, I must apologise to any residents of Xian, for I'm sure the town is fantastic, but this was taken from my actual diary notes at the time, and I was feeling pretty miserable...
Build your own Xian Shan page
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