Xi'an What to Pack

Photo Equipment: I always travel with my Minolta SLR camera with 2 lenses (1x 35/80 and 1x 75/300 zoom), a two times converter, a polariser for both lenses, a spare battery and 10 spare rolls of 400 asa film (36) with 1 loaded into the camera.

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Photo Equipment: You surely won’t forgive yourself if you travel China without a camera. I personally have ton of memory space, not to mention I have my notebook around because I needed it for my training in Beijing.


If you're a shuttle happy guy like me, you probably need to bring one of this photo storage (see 2nd picture) to store your high resolution photos. Why deprive yourself from clicking the shuttle?

Luggage and bags: Minimal at best. Can be purchase at North Main Street between 10-30RMB.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Can be purchased cheaply at North Main Street (of Bell Tower). Leave most at home if you intent to travel light.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Toilets are decent and not as bad. Tissue paper or toilet paper should be an essential item to bring along.

Photo Equipment: Digital Camera and/or Camcorder

Luggage and bags: If you are flying within China, there is a weight restriction of 20 kilos per person for checked luggage. You can carry up to 150 kilos, but you will be charged extra (not a lot) for the overage.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Kleenex and anti-bacterial wipes. For restroom use. A must take! Our family doctor also gave us Rx's for Lomotil and Cipro in case we contracted a stomach bug. We never did, but it was comforting to have along. He also recommended that we buy Pepto Bismol tablets and take one every morning and every evening as a preventative measure.

Photo Equipment: Remember to take enough memory cards for your digital camera. I ended up taking over 1000 photos in 18 days!

Luggage and bags: A small backpack: you will need it to carry bottles of water and the stuff you will end up to buy in the many local markets...

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Comfortable pair of shoes is indispensable.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Band-aids help if you forget your comfortable shoes at home...

Photo Equipment: For sure.

Miscellaneous: If catching the train into or out of Xian it is highly recommended that you pack some toilet paper, as this little essential is not always available, and when it is, is usually of the grade 2 sandpaper variety.

Luggage and bags: The Great Mosque of Xian. Located at Huajue Lane, the mosque in Xi'an possesses much Chinese tradition in both its design and its artistic outlook. Different from the style peculiar to Islamic mosques, this mosque also has characteristics of Chinese pavilions, with painted beams and engraved ridgepoles.

Luggage and bags: During our 2-1/2 week stay in China, we each had a backpack. Not one of those large backpacks with sleep mats and metal rods to support your back, but a small school-size backpack. Talk about being minimal.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: We originally had brought a rain jacket, but tossed it in Beijing. However, Murphy's Law struck in Xi'an--of all times, it rained the day after we threw out the jackets. My friend and I only had one pair of knock-off TEVA sandals (and I know this sounds so un-hygienic) au naturale. No socks. Luckily, we didn't pick up any fungi.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Insect repellant--all I remember, outside the rats, are mosquitos.