Old City

Rest Day in Xi'an
October 30th
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Xi'an is a former capital of China, and was once the largest city in the world, It was also the primary “end” of the Silk Road for many years (at the other “end” was Rome). Thanks largely to the Terra Cotta Army, it is the most popular city for domestic tourism by the Chinese.

I spent much of the day walking around the old city, although it was overcast and eventually poured with rain. The huge city walls and moat were impressive and there were a lot of exciting little alleys full of local life. The street venders' coal stoves burst with orange heat.

It was strange to see a few other non-Asian tourists. The main streets were overbuilt, commercial and boring - dozens of McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

Xi'an's old city wall now has extra holes in it for traffic:


A local cyclist with a small bike and a big load:

The Bell tower in the center of the old city: