Posts from an Australian lost in the Middle Kingdom
Travel guides and articles on the Shaanxi Province of China
Xi’an was one of my favorite destinations and I place I highly recommend to anyone touring China. You can read more about my journey here. These are top rated hotels in Xi’an that are also convenient to all the major attractions such as the Drum and Bell Towers, the Mosque, City Wall and so on, also they are highly suitable for foreign visitors. For the Terracotta Warriors, no matter which hotel, you’ll need to organise transport, for which the concierge at these hotels will be able to assist.
My first time on a train in China was on the overnight trip from Xian to Beijing. China has many different classes of train and this one was the ‘Z’ train. This Z train (the Z20) was no old rattler, it was near new modern, clean and very comfortable train!
It’s a crazy name that just peaks the imagination and leaves you wondering exactly what you are in for, but the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a must visit on the Xi’an tour. So what is it exactly?
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses really is one of the wonders of the world (actually, it’s officially the 8th world wonder). You couldn’t say that this site was a must visit on a trip to Xi’an as it possible the reason that many people come to China in the first place.
Built during the Qing dynasty, it remains the largest mosque in China covering over 12,000 sqm. While it is a popular tourist attraction it is also still a place of worship particularly for Chinese Hui Muslims.
It’s such a fascinating city that not only holds the very birthplace of the Chinese civilization and having a continuous history of over 3000 years, it also holds a long-running co-existence of Hui Muslim culture and Han Chinese culture. It was the first city in China to be introduced to Islam in 651.
Stupidly, I hadn’t booked a hotel when I went to Xi’an and by the time I got on the bus from the airport I was starting to get a little nervous. Fortunately, as I got off the bus in the center of Xi’an it stops right out the front of the Melody Hotel. I walked straight in and booked a room, probably paying twice what I would have had I booked via the net….
Look at any half-serious planned tour of China and the city of Xi’an will be on the list of destinations, and for good reason. It’s a city that has a depth of historical attractions rivaling that of Beijing, and many believe the jewel in Xi’an’s list of attractions is still yet to be revealed.