Xi’an City

View of the moat

Bell Tower in the Foreground
Drum Tower in the distance (the city center)

I can’t believe that we’ve been here more than 3 weeks, and haven’t written at all about the actual city of Xi’an!  Xi’an is probably best known for the Terracotta Warriors.   But the city itself has a lot to offer.

Hua Pagoda, or Pagoda of the South Gate

Xi’an started out with the name Chang'an, long peace – which is somewhat ironic, or maybe just wishful thinking

 I wrote a little bit about the Tang dynasty (618-907), when I wrote about the pretty park near our house.  (Aren’t these dates amazing?  Think about what was going on in Europe at this time).  That’s when things started getting going in Xi’an.  The Silk Road – a trade route between China, Southeast Asia and Europe – was established. There was wealth, multiculturalism, artistic and philosophic thought, great sculptures and scientist – a real flourishing society.

Cute couple in traditional dress --
maybe an engagement?

One of the many rampart

One cool and noteworthy fact under this dynasty: China saw its only female emperor – Wu Zetian (690-705).  Under her rule, China (and by extension, Xi’an) flourished.  But, she was wedded to the ideas of Buddhism.  This didn’t sit well with Confucius officials.  And so, she was forced to abdicate.  A man came back in power and the rebellion of An Lushan broke out  -- which was one of the biggest political debacles in the Tang History. 

Detail on South Gate bridge

We then have the Song dynasty (more conflict and rebellions).  This is when the system of examinations to determine kids’ future came about.

And then the Mongols (yep – that’s when Ghengis Khan led his attack on China).  He was good at invading.  Not so good at ruling.  This was going on in the 1100-1200. (Don’t trust my dates, kids.   Do some real research, on your own, to make sure it’s right!)  This is also when Marco Polo (1298-99) showed up, discovered noodles, took them back to Italy, and called it spaghetti.   Or maybe not.  Scholars have found his writings pretty inconsistent, so he might have completely made up his travels to China. (Maybe he didn’t eat noodles.  Maybe he just invented the blind-mans-bluff game in the pool… Again, maybe not.)

Modern Art installment at South gate park...
with modern man!

And then finally we have the Ming dynasty – which tried to re-establish some order on the conflicts, wars and rebellions.  Good things that came out of the Ming dynasty: female literacy, publishing, and the first novel.   Oh, and also Xi’an, as a walled city.

A park, as you enter the city

Xi’an is one of very few cities in China, where the walls are still completely intact.  They were built in 1370, during the Ming dynasty, presumably, to help restore order.  They are currently on the UNESCO heritage list to be added as a World Heritage.  (I don’t know why they haven’t been added yet.  They’re beautiful!

So, Xi’an is beautiful, and historic, and only a scant 4 city blocks from our house.

A few weeks ago, Dave and I walked to the East Gate, through the city to the Drum and Bell Tower, then South to the South gate, and then home.  For those of you with Fitbits, it was 23,866 steps, which isn’t bad for a middle-aged couple.  If you wanted to walk around the whole city on the wall, it would take you about 4 hours.  You can also rent bikes, which would cut that down, considerably.  The original Ming city was about 7 times the size it is now.  Thank goodness, we didn’t have to walk that!

East Gate

Dave at the moat

(Again, thanks to Lonely Planet for a lot of this background info.)