After a day of pretty chill travel and a quick tour around the Muslim district the day before, it was our first full day in Xi’an. We had to leave a bit early to head outside the city to the Sun Village, a place where kids live who have parents in prison. Driving out into the more rural areas it was easy to see that it was a place famous for it’s cherries. The roads were lined with local farmers selling their cherries for the season, and it reminded of the Farmer’s market and Apple festival we have back in my hometown.
Once we got to the children’s village we were given a tour of the place were told a bit about the history of the place. We then sang a horrible rendition of Baby Shark and gave them some Hershey kisses, however I felt bad because I didn’t want to spoil their lunch.
Some of the guys from our group played basketball with the kids, and we witnessed an awesome showdown between Dr. Li and one some of the kids in a ping pong match. We then got to have a pragmatic lunch with the kids and then had to leave to head back to the city. This trip kind of gave me a weird vibe not gonna lie. There were other groups of people there seeing the village as well, and the whole thing felt more like a tourist attraction than an interaction. The kids were obviously very used to visitors like us coming by regularly, and it made me feel a little bad if nothing else. Anyways, we then hopped on the bus and made our way to the Greater Wild Goose Pagoda, as opposed to the Lesser Wild Goose Pagoda (really). At this point in the day it was really hot and I had a headache from the sun but I still tried to make the best of the day. Buddhist monks still live and practice at this pagoda, so there were some places you couldn’t go because they were living quarters.
We got to walk around a bit and see where they practiced. We then headed to a calligraphy class of sorts, where a man taught us a bit of the history of how the Chinese written language, the oldest written language, has evolved and changed over time. He also showed us traditional prints and what they symbolize. For example, there is a set that parents traditionally keep in their home, one representing the mother, the other the father, and they should bring harmonious family life to the house. We then had the chance to buy some prints or have our name written in Chinese characters. Afterwards he went back to the hotel and chilled out for a little bit before getting dinner. We then all went back to the Muslim district, where we had discovered a whole street full of knock off stuff. There we got fake Supreme gear, fake Gucci stuff, fake Kanken backpacks, and you get the idea. Half the fun is bargaining down the price with the people, and seeing how low you can get stuff for. Audrey, Nancy, Diana, and myself then got some delicious ice cream and got a horrifying taxi ride back to the hotel to end the night.
