Xi'an

X'ian, a former capital of China under the first emperor, is now perhaps best known as the home of the Terra Cotta warriors, discovered in the 1970s by farmers digging a well. The area has a population of 8 million, half of which live in the city. The pace appears leisurely, with very little traffic or pedestrian congestion (at least where we travelled). This ambiance was in marked contrast to Beijing and Nanjing...true metropolilses.

The Xi'an Garden Hotel was our home for 4 days - our longest stay of the trip. Did you ever see a chef make an omelette using chopsticks instead of a spatula? Do you want to take early morning tai chi classes with a master? Do you want to hear a guest tinkle the ivories? Do you want to participate with the locals doing their version of line dancing? Come to Xi'an.

The Terra Cotta warriors were one of the highlights of Xi'an (along with our participation in some line dancing), but we also saw the Sanshi Museum, a jade factory and a clay/pottery/furniture workshop which made replicas of the terra cotta warriors and inlaid and lacquered furniture.  We had wonderful dumpling and hot pot banquets, and were enchanted by the water fountain display at the pagoda next to our hotel. Our personal highlight was the Tang Dynasty Performance show (not for the show, but for the fact that it was our 39th anniversary, and Yulan and Terrianne had arranged for a very public surpirise celebration, including a cake and a huge sword cake cutter).