Xi'an

AF had a day off from school on Friday the 10th so we all decided to see a little more of Chinese history and culture by going to Xi'an. Xi'an was once the capital of China during the reign of 13 dynasties from 11th century BC to 900 AD. A great website resource for us in China to better educate us on what to see and do: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/xian.htm

BF has found a good travel agent for us in Beijing to help us with destinations. The agency took care of all our travel, accommodations, and local transportation and English speaking guides. The flight is around 2 hours to Xi'an in the Shaanxi province.

The most famous sight is the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. This really put Xi'an on the map and as a major travel attraction. Tourism is really growing in this city and as a result more prosperity and growth. I think they get something like 8 million visitors a year. We visited some very ancient sites over the two days and had a very nice time. Our guide was extremely helpful and I could not imagine doing the trip without one. He was very knowledgeable about each of the places we visited.

We first did a city tour on day 1. We visited the Shaanxi History Museum, the City Wall, the Great Mosque, and the Forest of Stone Steles (tablets). The second day we visited the Terracotta warriors, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and Hua Qing Hot Springs. See webshots for all our photos: