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We woke up at 7 a.m. and took nice showers in the modern, marble and glass shower stall. There was also a separate bathtub, but I didn't have time to make use of it. At 8:30, we went down to breakfast. It was a buffet with a variety of eastern and western food (I've never seen sushi on a breakfast buffet before!) We had bacon, sausage, lemon pound cake, homemade cinnamon sugar donuts, mushrooms in cheese sauce (!!!), pineapple, dragonfruit, waffles, French toast, pancakes, chocolate chip muffins, and hash browns. The coffee was served in mugs and featured spoons which gracefully balanced on the lip of the mug. We enjoyed refreshing pineapple juice as well.
We stopped back at the room to get our gear for the day, and we met Mary at 9:30 in the lobby. We drove to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist pagoda built in 652 A.D. As we approached the pagoda, we passed a statue of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang from the famous story Journey to the West. He was frustrated by the poor quality of the Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures. So he decided to go to the source. He left China in 629 A.D. to travel the Indian subcontinent, visiting important sites, studying, and collecting scriptures and relics. When he returned, he supervised the building of the Wild Goose Pagoda to house the scriptures and relics that he collected, and he established a foundation to translate the scriptures. According to Wikipedia: The original pagoda ...[stood] at a height of 54 m (177 ft). However, this construction of rammed earth with a stone exterior facade eventually collapsed five decades later. The ruling Empress Wu Zetian had the pagoda rebuilt and added five new stories by the year 704; however, a massive earthquake in 1556 heavily damaged the pagoda and reduced it by three stories, to its current height of seven stories... The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was extensively repaired during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and renovated again in 1964. The pagoda currently stands at a height of 64 m (210 ft) tall.When we got to the pagoda complex, we explored various buildings containing Buddhist shrines. We did not go into the Wild Goose Pagoda itself, but standing next to it, Craig was completely dwarfed. They were doing renovations on the site with modern equipment. An adorable 82 year old man Chinese tourist approached us to practice his newly acquired English skills. He was very sweet and asked where we were from, where we were traveling, etc. He said that he loves to travel and learn. We hope we are stll that active, inquisitive, and ambitious whenwe arein our 80's! Later he approached us again for a photo. Other buildings at the site were newer (non-historic), so photography inside was allowed. One temple had a large statue of Buddha, and there was a place for burning incense right outside. There was another hall with three entire walls carved from jade. It depicted the life of the Buddha (known here as Sakyamuni) - from his mother having a dream of a white elephant which foretold his birth, to the baby Buddha taking 7 steps right after his birth, etc. It was beautiful, and had only been carved around 5 years ago. It is nice that this country which has such an historic tradition of art is still creating such magnificent masterpieces, and that it is not a dying art. We spent quite a few moments admiring the beautiful craftsmanship. We went into a pavilion that had a large statue of the God of Wealth, with oversized coin replicas adorning the ceiling. There were "1000" very shiny miniature replicas of the large statue in niches on all of the walls. We walked through the beautiful gardens, where there were many statues and plants. Monks were buried here, and there were carved stone stelae to commemorate them. Before leaving the site, we visited the gift shop. It is illegal to promote religion in China, so it seems that temples like this can't solicit monetary donations. But artists donate goods to the Buddhist temple and they can be sold to raise money rather than collecting donations. A woman showed us some Chinese zodiac books, and told us that Craig is a water horse and I am a water rabbit, so we are compatible. We had known our signs, but not the water aspect. She gave each of us a complimentary printout of zodiac facts. Next, she led us into a room which served as a gallery of paintings as well as a demonstration area. A man gave us a demonstration of traditional calligraphy, writing our names on rice paper. He then showed us all of the various paintings for sale, both traditional and modern. We wanted to purchase something as a donation to the site. Some of the modern paintings were reminiscent of Matisse, only a bit more realistic. Many featured elegant women with cats (in a bathtub with cats, cats hanging off a woman's legs, 6 cats on a woman's lap and one on her head). Cats are a symbol of wealth. As much as I liked this twist on the cat lady stereotype, when selecting a painting to purchase, we chose a more traditional spring landscape. Next, we headed to the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, which traces the history of the province from pre-history (1.5 million B.C). through the Tang Dynasty. We arrived at noon. Mary gave us the lay of the land and said that she would meet us in the gift shop at 1:30. There were 3 galleries. The first was on the first floor and went from pre-history through the Warring States period. There were skull replicas of 2 ancient hominids found in China and there were evolution drawings. There were replicas of stone tools from the prehistoric period as well. We moved chronologically through the history of Shaanxi province. Very early on, there were anthropomorphic representations in the art. Gallery 1 progressed through theWarring States period. There were various coins from the different states in this period. (pre-Emperor Qin, who had unified China and standardized money as well as weights and measures). Gallery 2 contained some gold objects and culminated with a selection of terra cotta warriors, a horse, and some weapons. This was so long ago yet we were at the 2/3 point of the museum chronology! What a long history! We didn't spend much time looking at the warriors. It was nice to have them here in the city if you don't have time to visit Lintong, but since we had spent much of yesterday there, we focused on the other artifacts in the museum. The final gallery featured the Tang Dynasty (Silk Road, 618 - 907 A.D.) and reflected Chinese interactions with foreigners. Foreigners were represented in statues with physical characteristics very different from the way the Chinese were depicted. There were coins from far-flung civilizations, including a coin from Persia and a gold coin from the mid-7th century Eastern Roman Empire which was unearthed during airport construction. It was obviously a very important period in Chinese history. Prior to this, most of the artifacts had had a distinctly Chinese feel. But outside influences could now be seen in art and artifacts. I have never been to Italy, but I studied Classical Rome during five years of high school Latin. Seeing this Roman coin, which had traveled so far, so long ago, really blew my mind. The culmination of this gallery was a Buddhist grotto originally located at the Grottoes of Zhongshan Mountain. The Buddhe statue is one thousand years old. It was beautiful, and a perfectly serene way to end this trip through the history of the province. We had just enough time to see everything before meeting Mary. But after a quick bathroom break and a slight problem locating the gift shop (when do they ever let that happen?) we met her about 10 minutes late. Next we visited the Muslim Quarter. As the easternmost point on the Silk Road, Xi'an hosted many traders and merchants from along the trade route. Islam arrived in China via the Silk Road in the mid 7th century. The Arabs intermarried with local women, and now, 1500 years later, Xi'an's Muslims are virtually indistinguishable from the Han Chinese except for their dress and customs. On the drive to the Muslim Quarter, we passed the city wall and its south gate with moat and drawbridge, and the bell tower.Driving in this city is crazier than anywhere else thus far. People will go the wrong direction if they have to. The driver suffered from a little road rage at times. When we arrived, Craig asked for more water. The driver pointed to the seat back where this morning's empties were. When he realized they were empty, he sighed and was annnoyed that he actually had to get out of the car to get them out of the trunk. All other hired drivers always open doors for us, etc. Not this guy. He got out the last two 350 ml bottles from the trunk, and we realized that these would need to last us all day unless we purchased some ourselves. We have never had to worry so much about procuring water. Whenever we have a private trip, guides and drivers have always had a supply of bottled water available. We didn't understand why it was so difficult in Xi'an. As we walked through the Muslim Quarter, we saw a young boy wearing a Muslim cap. Mary took us straight to a restaurant for lunch. We asked her for a soft drink and she came back with glass bottles of a locally produced orange soda called Ice Peak. It was very refreshing! We had no idea what we wanted to eat. Mary said, "You eat beef; I'll get you beef." She had gone up to the counter before we had a chance to respond. Yes, we eat and enjoy beef, but what were the other options? Well, beef it would be. When it was delivered to the table, we saw that she got us two portions of the same dish. We thought we might have wanted to try two different things and shared... But we needn't have worried. Mary once again knew the perfect dish to order. We both absolutely loved it, and were glad to each have our own portion. It was a very interesting hot pot, delivered to the table boiling away in two single-serve cast iron pots. It contained beef meatballs, boiled quail eggs, greens, and glass noodles. It was so piping hot that we couldn't take our first bite until we gave it a chance to cool down. Even then it was too hot, but we couldn't wait any longer. It looked and smelled so delicious that our mouths were watering. It was absolutely delicious, with lots of Middle Eastern spices. It almost tasted like some Indian lamb dishes we have had. Craig ate way more than he should have, because of his love of spices and peppers. A large table of Chinese tourists came and sat at the table next to us. One of them stopped right next to our table and stared at our food, seeming surprised to see westerners eating this. This has happened to us often; we are often stared at when we eat. But it is not meant rudely. In fact, it even seems to be a sign of approval, that we are eating local food. When we said nihao they all smiled and waved. One of the female restaurant employees sat down at a table on her lunch break. She was wearing a gold embroidered hijab and her face was pale from makeup. She wore thick mascara and bright red lipstick. Her look was captivating. After we had finished eating, Mary asked if we wanted to walk around or go back to the hotel. We definitely wanted to explore this enclave of interesting culture. She said that she would take us to the X'ian Great Mosque, and that then we could have time to explore on our own. We walked to the crossroads of the two main pedestrian streets which were lined with food hawker stalls, and ducked down a narrow alleyway. This alleyway contained many souvenir stalls, selling just about anything you could imagine. We took a right partway down the alley and found ourselves at the entrance to the Great Mosque complex. When Mary bought our tickets, they almost confiscated her iced tea, confusing it with alcohol. Despite being within the hustle and bustle of the Muslim Quarter, the mosque sits in a peaceful courtyard oasis of 13,000 sq meters, where you can hear birds singing and enjoy the beautiful gardens. There are many structures, including a minaret shaped like a pagoda and square archways, some made of wood and some made of stone. Some of the wooden structures featured very nice architectural details, and Craig enjoyed studying their solid construction. The worship hall dates back to 742 A.D. It sits on the western end of the mosque complex, facing toward Mecca. Its architectural style is distinctly Chinese, but with Arabic lettering on the outside and Persian carpets on the floor. We could peek in from outside, and we could see chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There were loudspeakers and TV screens which showed 4 views of the mosque interior to the courtyard, indicating that the number of worshipers probably exceeds the capacity of the building itself. There was an analog clock which told the current time, and there were five additional clock faces, outlining daily prayer times. Next we had a couple of hours to explore the Muslim Quarter on our own. Mary walked us to the crossroads of the two main streets, where she said she would meet us in 2.5 hours. The sights and smells were intoxicating. Men pounded sesame and honey into candy with large wooden mallets. A man pulled taffy by hand using a massive hook on one end. He pulled it out into the street while passersby watched in amazement. Bouquets of wooden sticks sat next to a shish kebab vendor. We needed to watch our step on the sidewalks. Some of the stoves had pipes venting flames right onto the sidewalk. Everything seemed very Middle Eastern, and there were few Western tourists here. There were dates and figs for sale, as well as various fancy flatbreads. We passed a man stirring an enormous pot of red chilies which made our mouths water. I got a photo and he and his friend gave us the thumbs up. As we walked around, I was afraid of straying from the main road because there were few landmarks and all signs were in Chinese. If we got lost, we would have no idea how to even tell where we were, let alone where we needed to be. I got more relaxed when I saw a street sign that we recognized. There were no cars in most of the Muslim Quarter, but there were motorbikes and carts whizzing by. There was a Thai fish parlor where the fish eat the dry skin off of your feet. Most merchants were on their phones and not bothering with us at all, so we were free to browse without pressure. We returned to the small alley leading to the mosque, where more touristy items were sold. We saw a man in what appeared to be Saudi dress hurrying toward the mosque. I bought a reverse painted snuff bottle with pandas on it for 60 yuan. The guy wanted 90 but I was firm and walked away. I was proud of my bargaining skills, as I usually don't do so well. As we followed the alley around a corner, a young American man said to his girlfriend quite loudly "Taliban terrorist!" in reference to one of the locals. He then repeated it and she laughed. Talk about "ugly Americans." What are people who are that prejudiced doing visiting the Muslim Quarter anyway? They obviously aren't learning anything. And then they wonder why some Muslims hate Americans. We popped out at the larger of the two main streets. It was now 6 o'clock and the place was mobbed with people eating food of all kinds in the hawker stalls. We walked down to the Quarter's entrance gate, admiring some bronze statues. We the went back to the crossroads, where we met Mary at 6:30. Together, the three of us walked back to the gate to meet the driver. On our way, we ran into several more "ugly Americans", who were very disrespectful to the locals. A group of young "frat boys" repeatedly shouted obscenities in English, thinking themselves to be very clever, and assuming that nobody else could understand what they are saying. A young lady with them was dressed very provocatively, which seemed very culturally disrespectful in this area. We were disgusted by their behavior, and Craig gave them such a dirty look that we heard them comment, "Man, those people were pissed!" We don't understand why people who are closed-minded and prejudiced against Islam would even bother visiting the Muslim Quarter, if they only wanted to mock it and use it to reinforce their own ignorant stereotypes. Travel is about learning about other people and how despite our differences, we are all human beings. We were ashamed of these countrymen of ours. There weren't a lot of Western tourists, so it was sad that the majority of them were setting such a bad example. Regardless, all of the locals had been friendly towards us and we had felt very comfortable and safe wandering around the area and exploring on our own. We got in the car and drove back toward the center of town. We went through a tunnel through on of the crenolated city walls. We had seen the city walls on television, and we know that there is a walking and bike path up there that gives good views of the surrounding area. We were a bit disappointed that we wouldn't get to explore the city walls and bell towers, but our time in Xi'an was limited and we couldn't fit everything in. We drove past the city wall and bell tower to the venue where we would see the Tang Dynasty Show. The show has been running since 1988, and is a must-see experience. We had seen it featured on Samantha Brown's Passport to China, which aired around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and we had been blown away by what we saw. We were very excited to experience it firsthand tonight! We started off in the dining room, and enjoyed a "Dumpling Banquet". Craig had a glass of beer and I had a glass of Sprite. There was cold noodle salad and beef on the table, and we were served dumpling broth and three dipping sauces. We were then served 2 bamboo baskets full of dumplings which were formed into very whimsical shapes. The ducks contained duck meat, the hedgehogs contained red beans (very tasty!), frogs contained egg, and there were also fish, shrimp, tomato, etc. There was also a plate of sweets (jellied red beans, sugary pastries with meat inside, munchkin-shaped filled pastries, etc.) for dessert. We were thirsty, and tried to order another drink, but we were told that only one drink was included, and Mary had already paid the bill. Just what was the deal with drinks in Xi'an? Are they a precious commodity? I went to the restroom and an attendant was quite...attentive. She turned on the sink for me, poured soap into my hands with a teapot, and gave me a paper towel. Very fancy place! I could see into the theater and there were musicians performing on stage, so we made our way from the dining room to the theater. We were seated at a table with some Canadian tourists. Mary said goodnight and told us that the driver would meet us in the lobby at 9:30. We barely knew what he looked like as he never made eye contact or even looked our way. Oh well, I guess we would figure it out! The show was extensively researched: the costumes, choreography, music, and instruments are authentic to those used during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.) While we all got settled, the musicians played and a woman in elaborate costume sang. We partook of complimentary tea and popcorn. The show started at 8:30. Each act began with a clear (British) English narration with Chinese subtitles projected onto the gorgeous silk stage curtain. There was an instrumental number, and then the musicians left the stage and set up to the left of the stage, in a little nook and balcony. Then dancers took the stage. The first dance numbers featured women in dresses with ribbon-like sleeves of ramie cloth. These sleeves made intricate flowing patterns as they danced. It was so elegant and mesmerizing! Then there was a wizard dance that reminded us of some of the festival dances we had seen in Bhutan. Next was a dance choreographed by Yang Yuhuan, one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China and the favorite concubine of Emperor Xuanzong. It featured a concubine bathing in cascading waterfalls. Panpipe master Gao Ming performed an amazing rendition of "The Oriole Singing in Spring." It is said that an oriole had interrupted the emperor's speech one time, and its song was so beautiful that the emperor commissioned this song. We recalled seeing Samantha Brown interview this musician on television. That was seven years ago, and he is still performing in the show. We were honored to get to see him perform. His command of the panpipe truly sounded like birdsong. This was followed by a high-energy warrior dance which included kung fu and acrobatics. The grand finale was the spring festival, where the emperor walks among his people. It started with a very cool dragon dance, with people donning traditional Chinese dragon costumes as well as manipulating dragon stick puppets, undulating to the music. The ladies then danced and the emperor entered. A woman was carried in on a giant lotus blossom and danced with a saber (similar to the saber tai chi that we witnessed at the sports school). It was a grand finale indeed! We were absolutely blown away! The production values of the show were top-notch. The scale of the production (number of performers, costumes, lighting, sound quality, narration and explanation of the acts, beauty of the theater itself, and variety of performances) was staggering. It exceeded all expectations and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting Xi'an! On our way out, we noticed that they were selling the DVD for 100 yuan...yes please! After purchasing a copy, we emerged in the lobby. Guides were meeting their clients and ushering them to the car. We didn't see anyone to collect us, but then we looked out the revolving glass door and saw a guy motioning to us. Guess he was our driver. We followed him to the car and he drove us back to the hotel. The hotel security guy opened the car door for Craig. At least somebody did! I love the uniforms of the hotel hostesses - they are so fitted, feminine, and elegant. I asked one of the women if I could get a photo. Her name was Athena and she was very sweet. She complimented my skirt and was disappointed that I had bought it in the USA so that she couldn't get one. We chatted for a while. She has worked at the Shangri La for 2 years. We got a photo together. We went to our room, where turndown service had been provided. Housekeeping had left us 5 complimentary botttles of water! Now this was more like it! Complimentary slippers were arranged on mats on either side of the bed. And they had placed bookmarks on our turned down duvet. They contained a quote about the hotel's namesake Shangri La from James Hilton's Lost Horizon (which I read in high school). It would be a short night's sleep, as we would be flying to Wuhan in the morning to begin our Three Gorges Yangtze River Cruise. We went to bed shortly after 1:15 a.m. |
 Statue of Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who oversaw the building of the Wild Goose Pagoda in the mid-7th century to house the scriptures and relics he brought back from India  Jade carving depicting the mother of Sakyamuni (Buddha) dreaming of a white elephant, foretelling his birth  Craig in the hall of jade carvings of the life of Sakyamuni (Buddha)  1,000-year-old Buddhist grotto originally located at the Grottoes of Zhongshan Mountain.Shaanxi Provincial History Museum  A delicious individual hot pot consisting of meatballs, quail eggs, greens, glass noodles, and delicious Middle Eastern spices  Shish kebab in the Muslim Quarter  Great Mosque of Xi'an<  Men hammer sesame and honey into candy with wooden mallets  Bubbling vat of spices and peppers, cooking on the sidewalk in the Muslim Quarter  A bouquet of wooden sticks waiting to hold shish kebabs  The dinner rush begins in the Muslim Quarter  Xi'an Bell Tower  Dumpling banquet!  Musicians perform on period Tang Dynasty instruments  Dancer with ramie ribbon sleeves, Tang Dynasty Show  Dancers with ramie ribbon sleeves, Tang Dynasty Show  Fan dancers, Tang Dynasty Show  Flutist and dancer at the beginning of "The Oriole Singing in Spring", Tang Dynasty Show  World famous panpipe master Gao Ming performed an amazing rendition of "The Oriole Singing in Spring", Tang Dynasty Show  Dragon dance, Tang Dynasty Show  Dancer is brought onstage on a giant lotus, and gracefully dances with a saber for the emperor, Tang Dynasty Show  Dancers perform for the emperor, Tang Dynasty Show 
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