Xi’an Holiday

60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China ! 2009

ABOUT THIS BOOK

After moving to Dalian, China,

this was our first time exploring

outside of the city. With a week’s

holiday we came to Xi’an and set

up expeditions with our tour

guide, Tony. We explored:

Huaqing Palace; the Terra Cotta

Warriors; Famen Temple; the

tombs of Emperor Gao Zong and

his empress Wu Zetian; the Drum

& Bell Towers; the Muslim

Quarter; the Giant Wild Goose

Pagoda; and we rode bikes on the

ancient city walls. We met some

wonderful people and watched

the amazing spectacle of an entire

nation celebrating it’s 60th

anniversary of The People’s

Republic of China .

The Muslim Quarter in Xi’an was our first real ‘market’ experience outside of Dalian, and Ann really showed her bargaining skills! We heard more English here than anywhere else in China.

Famen Temple started out as a single pagoda but it is now a 150 acre complex... everything about this temple is huge!

It is home to one of Buddha’s finger bones and we were lucky to be there on a day when it was displayed.

We were the only foreigners there, and our girls were photographed almost as much as the statues.

We walked along Spirit Way near the tombs of Gao Zong, the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and his Empress

Wu Zetian. We then did a hike up to see the two tombs in the distance. On the way up local artisan grandmothers

kept trying to sell us their wares. The bartering began once we started our journey back down.

It was still early in our China experience and so bartering took on a unique approach since we were not yet

comfortable with our numbers. The language barrier was challenging because these ladies were wonderful and

wanted to know all about us. It was also our girl’s first experience with bartering for themselves.

First bartering experience!

Caricature drawing at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Saying goodbye to our guide, Tony, and our driver, Mr. Gu.

A 13.7 kilometer ride around the ancient city wall.

A spa for babies, a market in the Muslim Quarter, a tuk-tuk ride, and raw meat waiting to be cooked on a ‘char’ barbeque... Just a few things that make you think ‘TIC’ - This is China - an acronym that came up time and again for us!

First Tuk-Tuk ride