May 11
Today did not start with a long bus ride. Instead, we woke up even earlier than usual and took a long train ride! At least it’s easy to get up and walk around. But it was my first experience riding a bullet train. The train itself is definitely made to go fast. Both the front and back of the train are very aerodynamically designed. I am not sure how fast regular trains travel but during our six-hour trip I saw the speed briefly reach 302km/hr and sustained a speed of 301km/hr for a significant period. That works out to a little over 180mph. Even though the train was traveling so fast the ride was exceptionally smooth and at certain speeds, not while at top speed, but still moving fair quickly, it felt as if the train was not even in contact with the ground. Our final destination was Xi’an.
Unfortunately, the night before some members of the group got sick and had to go to the hospital. Because some guys needed to stay the night in the hospital everyone who had gotten sick were unable to make the train to Xi’an.
When we arrived in Xi’an I was so excited to see the blue sky for the first time since landing in China. We all piled in a bus that took us to our hotel close to the city’s center.
After dropping our bags in our rooms and taking a quick nap, the group met in the lobby. We were introduced to our new tour guide, Rocky (yes, he chose his English name after Rocky Balboa). It was a little funny because he also mentioned that he “is Rocky three” because he liked that movie the best. Rocky had a flag for us to follow and, in case we got separated, look for in crowds. The whole group thought the flag was a little silly and very touristy.
Rocky took us for a walk through the Muslim Quarter on our way to dinner. All of the streets were packed shoulder to shoulder and for some reason, people had the idea to drive mopeds and cars through here. So, the vehicles were pounding on their horns constantly in an almost futile attempt to get the people walking to move over. Both sides of the street were full of street vendors and restaurants and shops. People were yelling to get your attention, there were bright blinking signs above many of the stores and the blend of spices, different foods, and trash reeked. It was total sensory overload. By the time we reached dinner, everyone in the group was thankful for the flag as well.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant that was known for its dumplings. They made dumplings in a style that has been around for over 1300 years. We had a dumpling banquet of fourteen different types of dumplings, all of which were artfully made. Some were made to look like the type of animal that filled the dumpling and I think one or two were meant to look like flowers. It suffices to say that they were very good.
After dinner, we visited the Drum Tower in the center of the city. The tower was constructed during the Qin Dynasty to tell time. Someone would pound different drums during different parts of the year and three times each night to signify the city gate closing, a guard change, and dusk. During the day a bell in the nearby bell tower was wrung.