lakbayOnline : CHINA LIKE NEVER BEFORE 6

XI'AN THE WALLED CITY

July 2013

After 5.5 hours of journey from Beijing via bullet train, I arrived at Xi’an North Station at around 3:30 PM. I took Xi’an Metro Line 2 and alighted at Bell Tower Station, wherein my hotel is located.

Bell Tower Hotel

I stayed for 3 nights at Bell Tower Hotel located at the middle of the Walled City.

Xi’an is one of the oldest cities and formerly the capital of China. Now it is the capital of Shaanxi Province and a sub-province city of China.

The city has many important historical sites and it is surrounded by a well-preserved city wall, based on the imperial palace of Tang dynasty and re-constructed during Ming dynasty in the 14^th century.

In Xi’an, many of its attractions are accessible by foot; among the hundreds of tourist attractions I visited the following sites which are just a short walk from my hotel, except for the Terracotta warriors Museum and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Bell Tower

Bell Tower is the symbol of Xi’an and one of the most magnificent of its kind in China. It’s located at the walled city’s central axis and just in fronts of my hotel and the view from my window.

How to get there:

Almost every corner of Xi’an has bus going to Bell Tower and it is also accessible by Subway line 2, just get off at the Bell Tower Station.

Drum Tower

Drum tower is also located in this area, just a short walk going west from Bell tower. Drum tower is also a symbol of the city erected in 1380. Like the Bell Tower there is also a museum inside the Drum Tower.

At the top of these two towers, is panoramic view of the city.

Muslim Quarter

The street behind the Drum Tower is the Beiyuanmen Muslim street, where tourist can enjoy variety of delicious and exotic street foods. Souvenir shops are also located in this area. Passing through this area, you would find a large complex of the old and huge architecture, which is the famous Islamic mosque in China called, Xi’an Great Mosque.

Xi’an Great Mosque

The mosque was set up in 742 AD during the Tang Dynasty, so it has already had a history of over more than 1,200 years. Because of special funds allocation from the Government for renovations of the mosque every year, it becomes a great and gleaming complex of the historical architecture, with gorgeous storied buildings, pavilions, platforms and halls.

Aside from Islam, Christianity is also practicing in Xi’an so I visited the St. Francis Cathedral.

St. Francis Cathedral of Xi’an

It was first constructed in 1716, expanded in 1884, closed in 1966 and reopened in 1980, located at Number 17 Wuxing Street, also known as Tianshuijing Catholic Church.

Xi’an City Wall

The City Wall was the best-preserved and being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. It has four major gates, South, North, East and West gates that are accessible by foot from my hotel.

There are lot of buses passing through these gates, but only the South and the North gates are accessible by Subway line 2, get off at Yongningmen and Anyuanmen Station, respectively.

To have an interesting and enjoyable experience, visitors can try biking on the wall or hire a sightseeing battery car, but I just used my feet to tour above the wall.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

A Buddhist Pagoda that built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty. Also known as Dayan Pagoda, a symbol of Old line Xi’an, a best preserved ancient structure.

The Pagoda is located at the southern part of the city. I took subway line 2 from Bell tower Station and alighted at Xiaozhi Station (Exit C) and walked forward to the North Square until I reached this holy place for Buddhists.