Zhongguo: Xi'an

We took an overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an (5pm to 6:30 am).

Four bunks to one room. Best way to travel in China.

Muslim market street, the testing ground for my bargaining skills

The Great Mosque, known to be one of the most beautiful mosques in China. It was built in the Tang Dynasty (742 A.D.) Today over 60,000 Muslims live in Xi'an.

Which is faster, the turtle or the hare? Well... how about a hairy turtle?

A strange treasure I found in a shop on the Muslim street: an algae covered turtle swimming around in a vase full of fish.

Forest of the Stone Steles. Built in the Song Dynasty (1090 A.D.), this was once the Temple of Confucius. It holds the oldest collection of existing Confucian classic texts.

The Xi'an Night Market

Roasting chuar, meat on a skewer.

Late night restaurants overspilling into the sidewalks.

pedicabs

sizzling hot veggie jaozi

the entrance to the market streets

We stopped in at an arcade and witnessed some hardcore Dance Dance Revolution.

Skyline of Xi'an

Late night drinks and ice cream

Xi'an's famous noodle dishes

The Terracotta Soldiers

The Wild Goose Pagoda

Below the Wild Goose Pagoda we encountered some elders doing calligraphy on the sidewalk using large brushes and buckets of water.

The calligraphers visit the Wild Goose Pagoda every night. When we told them that we are taking a calligraphy class they invited us to practice. We wrote simple messages back and forth to each other. For example we wrote, "We like China a lot" and they wrote, "You are my American friends." A crowd of 30 people gathered to watch us.