Xi An Day 1 - 10.29

8:30. That was sleeping in for one on a travel schedule. Rolling out of bed at 9 was well just sick luxury. I threw out plans to do the major sites last night. I was having no more hard labor traveling. Plus, I had to fix the cellphone thing.

Just to the right of the postal hotel was like Xian's cellphone district. Store after store were pushing phones and services and anything cellphone related with loud blasters, giant banners, and rows of kids standing holding picket boards of ads. I went into China Unicom and was told to go down to a cross street and try to recharge my sim card at another unicom branch. The cellphone theme continued there. Amist all that modernicity was an old old building broadcasting chinese opera (can't tell which region) to the street.

I found a manager type guy in the huge china unicom office that was catering to a mob of customers. Even he took a good while, twiddling with my phone at the back, to figure out that the sim card I got in shanghai can only be charged there. After some phone tag I finally got to my cousin and then she said I needed to give her a 20 digit secret code that was printed on a plastic card I long threw away. Oh this was so much fun.

Screw it, I went down the street again and picked up a new sim card for 50Y. So there was a benefit to having an entire street dedicated to one commercial activity. My next quest for an internet cafe took me a long way down East Da Jie and back. It being saturday, the whole of Xian seemed to be out on the streets near Bell Tower, shopping and eating and watching street auctions and playing Chinese chess in the smaller streets and just living. Every street-side vendor was packed with grabby hands of eager customers for a piece of whatever was sold.

I tried a beef/lamb skewer and a chicken skewer, shallow-fried rather than grilled. Bleh the chicken one wasn't even fully cooked. Then a shrimp steamed bun but I swear there wasn't even a trace amount of water-dwelling crustacean in there.

Asking around I finally found an internet cafe. There were guys playing WOW in there! Oh such familiar images, brought warmth to my heart. This cafe luckily had just a hookup where I can plug in my laptop. The usual i-cafe in China gives out a number/pwd combo that the user (me) enters into a desktop loaded with a special software. That piece actually enables the net access so just plugging in my laptop doesn't do the trick. Anyway I emailed syl with the new cell number and finally downloaded the 3 gorge and Xian guides my Beijing aunt sent.

Street artist like you'll never see here

Finally having the important stuff done, I picked up some more food. Oh earlier I had a huge singaporean curry puff that was ok good. Now an An Hui food thingee from a little kiosk. Some thin soft wrap containing chopped Lu Dan (marinated egg), Lu Dou Gang (marinaded dried tofu), some mushroom, and a few sauces. Yummy, the mushroom had a very tight texture like meat. Then a Bell Tower Nai Gao ("cream cake", basically a creamy popsicle) that everyone was grabbing up. That turned out to be somethig recommended in my auntie's guide. Green bean flavor. I was all warm and fuzzy outside and cool yummy inside.

Back to hotel to finish my laundry. It was nearly 2 when all the chores were done. Consulting my guide I headed to the Shan Xi History Museum then the Great Goose Tower. Well rested, leisurely, with good weather above and bustling people around, I felt wonderfully relaxed, even more so than when I was on the boat.

The museum turned out to be a real gem. Chronologically ordered to represent Shan Xi' role through all the major historic periods, the displays showcased some fantastic tools, vessels, weapons, and tomb treasures. Some stuff was like "wow omg how did they do that back then"! The popular saying was, "Dao Shanghai Kan Reng Tou, Dao Xian Kan Feng Tou." (Go to shanghai to see people, go to xian to see tombs). Since 11th century BC, the Xi An area been a capital for 12 hundred years to 13 dynasties. It paralleled Athens, Rome, and Istanbul as one of the four major ancient capitals. It was also the birth place of the Lan Tian homo erectus 1.1million years ago, the birth and death place of king Huang commonly considered the ancestor of all chinese people, the anchor of the silk road, the stronghold of ancient chinese buddhism, and of course, the base of Qing Shi Huang with his unparalleled Terra Cotta warriors. Xi An had probably more history than anywhere else in China, even Beijing.

Bronze Bells	Headdress Ornament - Magnified
Fat was the standard of beauty in Tang era	Terra cottas of a lesser fame

And I could feel it. Here was one city that seemingly successfully harmonized the old and the modern. Properly preserved historic monuments stood comfortably amidst organized chaos of modern life. It was a city full of vigor, as seen on the faces of the mobs thronging the downtown area. It was a city sure of its own lineage, not falling head over heels trying to do "away with the old and in with the new". Bright sunny day. Blue sky not shrouded by smog. Less than a day here I was already liking this place more than any of the other cities.

In the museum I learned some interesting stories from listening to various guides. Like why do the chinese call "stuff" "Dong Xi" (east west)? Because in Tang dynasty the capital city Chang An (close to today xian) was divided into east and west and each side had distinct commercial goods. People back then used to say "let's go to Dong Xi Shi", and that gradually morphed the current day usage of Dong Xi. The highlight of all the items in the museum? Not the terra cotta warriors. It was one Tuo Tai Feng Cai Wan (fetus-less powder-colored bowl). So thin it was nearly transparent, yet there was a set of completely separate design on both the inside and outside surface. I listened in on a guide explanation. The artisans made a bowl base, and applied a layer of You color, baked it, then carefully scrapped off all the base, and then applied another layer of You and baked again. The picture did this exquisite art piece no justice. Not my fault I had no luxury of a tripod.

Even though I "rushed" through gallery 4 and 5, the sun already began to set when I left the museum. Catching a bus and running my way through the strolling masses on the Greater Goose Plaza, I still missed the sunset when I climbed atop the Greater Goose Tower. The musical fountain in the plaza was just starting but I had to be done with the Tower before 6:30, and before it gets completely dark.

The GG Tower was built by Tang Can Zhang, probably the most famous buddhist monk in chinese history, who pilgrimaged westward for many years to bring back lost buddhist scriptures from India to China. Reputedly he built the tower to house all that he brought back. Of course, there were merely a few copies left inside the tower, but who could come here and not climb the seven story even though they totally ripped people off by charging for the climb separately! The grounds around the tower was a monastary. Recently built by the looks of it.

Almost caught the sunset	The 6pm fountain show

Lots of Xianese milled around in the plaza surrounding the GG tower. Mostly young people on dates or with friends. Lots of pretty lights that makes one go "ooh". Unfortunately there weren't much in ways of food around this huge area.

Girls kicking it on the street	Whipping yoyo thingee

I wandered into the Old Xi An Museum and gawked at pictures and ultra realistic wax models of old xian life. Then wandered towards the bus stops and gobbled down a Xian style Bing Tang Hu Lu (a skewer of shan zha and other fruits, coated in honey sugar). Back at downtown, I decided to try the suggestion of my aunt's guide and dine out at Tong Cheng Xiang restaurant.

Even being an established restaurant, TCX was still very "local styled". Which meant walk in and seat yourself at one of the less-than-immaculate tables, browse the one pager menu and wait for someone to come take your order. I suppose I may have been looking a bit lost or something; a man wearing a long black trench coat came over and took my order, then brought out a bowl of "Muo Muo" (basically a dense bread in the shape of pancakes). He then proceeded to show me how to break apart the muo muo and sat helping me with half of the bowl.

Pao Muo was literally "soak muo". The traditional way to eat it was to halve the large round muo crosswise and break off tiny pieces the size of peas. That was done by the diner himself. A slow and meticulous eater could take up to 40 minutes just preparing for his own meal, my new companion said. Then a beef+lamb broth was poured in to soak the muo bits. So therefore the smaller the pieces, the more flavorful the muo. Mix in some cilantro and chili, and the Pao Muo would be ready for consumption. A dish of honey cured garlic heads accompanied. Of course this restaurant also offered pre-broken muo but I had too much dignity to take that shortcut.

The aroma of the finished Pao Muo was overwhelming. I parked my face above the bowl and bathed myself in the steam. Good broth, certainly. My table-mate told me how they use a thousand kilo of beef and lamb to make a pot of broth 1.5meter by 1.5meter. We sat and discussed the traditional foods and cultures of Shan Xi (well he talked and I echoed). While delicious, the Pao Muo continuously expanded in the bowl and likewise within my belly too. I could see how people used to eat a bowl of this in the morning and work the fields all day.

Preparation...

... Rewarded

By 10pm, I still had one more thing left on the agenda: a hair cut. I wanted to try out a "chinese" haircut and moreover the chinese hair wash. Where in the world can one get a haircut at 10pm? Well in Xian it was no problem! #*$@ backwaters san jose.. . Anyway, I just went into the first salon down the street from my hotel. When one wants a head massage in chinese hair salons, one asks for a "dry wash". Which means you sit upright and they slowly massage a few handfuls of foam and water into your hair. Then they thoroughly scrub and give you a gentle kneading. That was quite relaxing even though I thought I could teach my washer a few tricks about massaging. At certain points I fought to stay awake. The haircut on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. I didn't think the kids working there had much formal training.


2 Packs tissue 1Y. Phone calls 5.7Y. New Sim card 50Y. Milk carton 2.5Y. Chicken, beef/lamb skewers 3Y. Shrimp bum 1Y. Internet 4Y. An Hui snack 2.5Y. Tea 3Y. An Hui snack 2.5Y. Donation to armless guy 2.2Y. Cream Cake 0.5Y. Buses 1Y. History Museum 35. Greater Goose Tower 25+20. Shan Zha Skewer 1.5Y. Lamb Pao Muo 13.8Y. Haircut 30Y. Postal hotel 170.