April 27, 2026

Next up on our China tour is Xian, located geographically in the center of the nation and considered the cradle of Chinese civilization, as it served as the capital off and on for over 1100 years, starting in 221 BC. With a population of some 13 million, it is still quite a large metropolis but, within China’s oldest and best preserved city wall fortifications, our hotel location put us in walking distance of most everything we could wish to experience. The Bell Tower is a 3 minute walk north and the historic Drum Tower a 10 minute walk west with China’s most fabled Muslim quarter at its doorstep, providing fantastic street food and the most elaborate mosque complex in all of China. But, the real bucket list, exciting destination near here for us is the site of the UNESCO listed Terracotta Warriors.

The countryside views from the bullet train 4 hour journey here highlighted the beauty of the many wheat fields and tidy towns backed by mountains, not unlike our ones in western NC. We hit the ground running trying the local food specialties, such as rou jia mo (BBQ’d shredded pork stuffed in a bun), biang biang mien (hand pulled noodles with spicy beef or lamb—crazy good!), and yan rou pau mao (a Muslim lamb noodle soup with shredded bread added).

The next morning we bused an hour out to the enormously popular mausoleum site of the first Qin dynasty emperor of the same name, who started an enormous memorial site to himself some 30 years before he died at age 50 in 206 BC. It consists of some 6000 (only 2000 unearthed thus far) terracotta fashioned, individual army guard members, including chariot forces and their horses, common soldiers, archers and generals, all with individualized facial features and expressions drawn from portraits of his real army battalion. His son finished the project some three years after his father’s death to cap off the honor guard project that took some 33 years in total and more than 700,000 slaves in labor to complete. Despite a 100 meter tall burial mound that loomed behind them in the countryside with mountains as a backdrop, it wasn’t until 1974 that local farmers discovered the site when digging a well. The rest, as they say, is history. The massive scale and detail of this human endeavor is simply dumbfounding and the whole site is a modern example of efficient crowd control and excellent museum display.

After several hours communing with the Terra Cotta Army, we visited a nearby primary school which was a charming experience as O.A.T. has made modest contributions to this institution for over 15 years and it has improved this village’s life. The kids were 10 and 11 years old and we practiced their English with them after they welcomed us with an interpretive song. Then we played basketball and pingpong outside with them, they were quite dear.

The following morning we visited the local Taoist Temple of the Eight Immortals, which was under renovation unfortunately, but outside the entrance we had an hourlong teaching experience with a Tai Chi master which was quite revealing, especially as she demonstrated how this ancient health practice stems from one of the Chinese arts of self defense.

Then we split off from the group to immerse ourselves in the Muslim street food scene and then on to the Great Xian Mosque which was quintessentially Chinese in layout and design. Later at sunset we capped off our Xian experience with a walk atop the ancient City Wall which, when lit up after dark, becomes quite magical and offers many wonderful city night views, with scores of Gen Zers out posing in traditional Chinese costumes with endless picture taking. Apparently that generation was raised here during China’s tremendous transformation from growing prosperous to becoming strong and safe and they harbor a deep love for traditional culture. Of note, on the return stroll to our hotel we sampled the last of our street food specialty here, spiced skewered BBQ’d lamb.