Xi’an Part 2: Hua Shan

Written April 08

Hua Shan, known as one of China’s 5 greatest mountains, famous for its steep slopes and beautiful scenery, is located an hour outside of Xi’an by train. Unfortunately, the tickets that we bought were seatless, so we tried our usual tactic of going into the dining room, where you have to pay extra for the food, but more importantly, seating. So at 7 in the morning, Alain and I found ourselves in the dining room, being served a bland breakfast of Chinese congee (watery rice), man tou (steamed bread), a boiled egg and salted vegetables, that made me think of the military camps (in the movies), where you are served portions of crappy unflavored unidentifiable food and you are expected to eat it. We ate our bread from the bakery on Hui Ming Jie instead.

Upon arrival in the city of Hua Shan, we boarded an overloaded bus that took us over dirt roads into the valley of the mountains. The majority of the people on the bus got off at the first stop, where you can take a cable-car halfway up the mountain. Only 4 of us chose the second stop, where you hike up the entire mountain.

So, wondering if we’d made the right choice, we ventured up the hill, through the entrance, and began our hike up. Our goal: to climb up to the 5 peaks (South, North, Middle, East, and West peaks) and back down before sunset. I think it was better that we didn’t realize just how far we had to go.

The scenery was beautiful as the fog began to clear and the sun accompanied a beautiful blue sky. There were sections of steep and narrow steps where you had to hang on to the rails on each side. We climbed thousands of steps, before we reached our first peak, the South Peak, which is more than 2000 meters high. The view was indescribable. It was an incredible feeling to look around, and see the mountains surrounding us and below us. It was 5 PM by the time we’d climbed all 5 peaks, and began our descent down.

Since our train was at 7 o’clock, we were worried that we wouldn’t make it, so we literally ran down the mountain. The people that we passed surely thought we’d lost our minds, because as they climbed down backwards, step by step, while holding onto the chains, we jogged and hopped down them. We reached the bottom within an hour, and found ourselves on a train after a quick bite to eat. Thoroughly exhausted, we were disappointed to find that we again didn’t have seats, and we had to walk 6 cars to the dining room, where we paid, were served cold food, and fell asleep. Suddenly someone was yelling at me to get up, and get out, because there were other paying customers who wanted to eat. Alain and I stood the remainder of the time, about 30 minutes, found a taxi after many tries, and rested our tired, sore, and limping legs.

Xi’an Part 1: Terracotta Warriors, City Wall, and Chinese Muslim Street

Xi'An Clock Tower

(Written April 08)

Last weekend I went to Xi’an, one of China’s oldest capitals where emperors lived for dynasties before they moved to Beijing. On our agenda: the Muslim district (Hui Ming Jie), the Terracotta Warriors, the Ancient City Wall, the Big Goose Pagoda, and climbing one of the steepest mountains in China: Hua Shan.

The Terracotta Warriors, sometimes known as the 8th Wonder of the World, is the main attraction for tourists going to Xi’an. There, protecting the tomb of the first Emperor for the last 2000 years, are more than 6000 life-sized warriors, each unique in face expressions, dress, and decoration.

On Friday morning, we headed to the train station to take a bus to see the famed warriors. We went to our bus stop and got in the back of the line. Or at least that was the plan. In fact, we followed the line of people around loops and turns and under the city wall. There were literally hundreds of people waiting for the same bus, a side effect which we can only attribute to 1.3 billion people living in one country.

We decided to get a taxi. We negotiated for 100 yuan (15 bucks), and we were on our way.

The soldiers were well worth the trip. There are 3 large pits that are now protected by rooftops. As you walk into the first and largest pit, you see hundreds of warriors facing you, some smiling, others intent, but all-together breathtaking. The floors of the pits are built with bricks, that after 2000 years, are still sharp edged and in tact. Some sections of the pit have been damaged by fires and natural disaster, but the majority of it has withstood the test of time.

Back in Xi’an, we found our way to the south section of the City wall, where we rented bicycles and rode along the top of the city wall at dusk, for about 14 kilometers. Xi’an is one of the only cities in China with its city walls in tact, still protecting all four sides of the original city.

We ended the night on Hui Ming Jie, the famed Chinese Muslim street of Xi’an for souvenirs and xiao chi, or street snacks. It was past 9:00 PM, and the street was packed with locals and tourists. There were stands selling sweet rice cakes, different breads filled with lamb and beef, noodles, soups, dried fruits, skewers of meats and vegetables, and different cakes.

Walking on the street is quite dangerous, despite the fact that there are no cars on the road, because of the san lun che, or tricycles, that come flying by you almost silently, driven by people dressed in traditional Muslim attire. On a side street, we bought some knock-off polo shirts for 40 yuan (6 dollars), and browsed for replicas of the terracotta soldiers, before purchasing our breakfast for our hike in Hua Shan (Hua Mountain) the next morning, and finally retiring to our hotel room.

House Inspection

(Written May 08)
Due to the upcoming Olympics and the recent Tibetan riots, security as been tightened around the country. The other night, I was cooking dinner in my apartment when the doorbell rang.

Usually, the doorman downstairs calls me if it is someone they don’t know coming to visit me, to get my permission to let him/her up. If it is a friend that they recognize, they are allowed to come up without ringing.

So I assumed incorrectly that the doorbell meant that a friend was waiting, as there was no call from downstairs. I opened the door, however, and there stood 2 men in uniform, asking me for my identification. I asked them to please wait outside, and I closed the door and locked it. I first called the person from our company who is responsible for expatriates and asked if this was normal procedure. She confirmed that it has happened more often lately due to the heightened security.

Meanwhile, I heard the officers go next door. I opened my door up and saw that my Chinese neighbors were giving their ID numbers and personal information as if it were normal procedure. Then I called the management of my apartment to confirm that they were legit. My doorman confirmed called me to confirm.

(I didn't take a picture, but the green uniforms and face expressions are pretty representative...)

So in the end, after 5 minutes of stalling, I gave two strangers who knocked on my door my passport number, date of birth, address (obviously), and cell phone number, and I was left to finish my cooking with an uneasy feeling that I broke a number 1 rule: to not give your personal information to strangers, especially if they are the ones to solicit it, and especially if they come knocking on your door. Somehow, this tightened security makes me feel less safe than ever.