Xian, China

          After an overnight train ride, I arrived in Xian on the morning of May 29.  A large, diverse metropolis surrounded by ancient walls, Xian turned out to be one of my favorite cities in China.  The main hub of Xian seems to be the train station plaza, from which the rest of the city fans out.  Just a few blocks from the station I found a nice hotel within minutes of getting off the train and, although it was still early in the morning, they let me check in right away.  For the equivalent of about $86 a night (the most I spent for lodging on this trip), which included a fantastic buffet breakfast, I stayed two nights at the Long Hai Hotel.  As is my usual habit, I spent the first few hours getting cleaned up and relaxing a bit while I studied the map of the city and oriented myself.  Before setting out to explore I like to take care of business, so I reserved my train ticket for the next leg of my trip to Chongqing and then looked into how I would get to the Terracotta Warriors the next day.  With a little bit of investigation, I learned that I didn’t have to take one of the tour buses offered by the many hawkers at the train station plaza.  Instead, for about a dollar, I could simply take a regular bus, #306, which goes frequently to and from the site of the Terracotta Warriors throughout the day, and then I could be on my own schedule.

The Muslim Quarter in Xian

          Chores completed, I headed out into the city and soon found that one of the most interesting parts of Xian is the Muslim Quarter.  Its narrow streets are bustling with activity and one could easily get lost wandering amongst the many small shops and food vendors that crowd the area.  The Muslim Quarter is home to the Hui Chinese Muslims, dating back to the 7^th century.  The men wear the traditional white skull caps and women wear scarves.  I ended up making the trip back to this alluring area on each of the three days I was in Xian, each time braving the wide, traffic filled boulevards that I would have to cross to get there.

          The streets in Xian, like in most of the major cities of China, are filled with cars, buses, motorbikes, three-wheeled taxis and pedestrians.  Somehow they all seem to coexist as they zip in and around one another, all very politely and seemingly with some order in the chaos.  Perhaps it is the constant sound of horns that keeps everyone aware.  After a few days in China I began to think there must be a law that requires each driver to honk his horn at least once every 30 seconds, whether they need to or not.  I recall an amusing scene when I was walking along a wide street, completely deserted except for a single motorbike at the far other end of the street coming my way.  The driver honked his horn continuously all the way down the street even though there wasn’t another vehicle in sight.  As he passed I noticed he had a package on the floor by his feet that stuck out  the side a bit and I guess he figured it gave him an excuse to honk his horn even through there was no one to hear him…except me.