Xi'an

Some pictures. The trip and city were amazing... Xi'an was a city like I didn't expect in China. Unlike Beijing, Xi'an seems so authentic... still a walled city with structures standing from the 1300s, complete with thousands of terracotta soldiers unearthed just outside the city. Definitely one of the coolest places I've been in the world. I travelled with five other CTFers: Dave from here in Beijing and four teachers from Taiyuan, Mark, Susie, Vanessa and Bri. We stayed in a great place and I had my first train ride--14 hours in a hard seat. The first picture is Vanessa and Susie outside our hostel, right along the south wall of the city. Next is the center square of the city, where people were fond of flying giant kites--huge ones. On top of a mountain outside the city, Mark leans out to take in the view. We took a gondola ride to the top, where a Buddhist temple sat in the mist. The next picture is inside the giant rooms where the soldiers are still being dug out of the ground. There were three buildings this size. Last is a street in Xi'an full of food and good deals. I got a samurai sword and some wall scrolls with Scripture written on them, among other things.