Day 5 - And on to Xi'an we go

Today it was time to say a fond farewell to Beijing. After 3 days we had seen just a small glimpse of what this city of 22 million has to offer but we have had an incredible few days. After breakfast, packing and checking out we said bye bye to the Novotel Peace and with William in the lead we headed to the car for one last drive to the Beijing Xi Station.

Mr Zhou drove with amazing care and alertness (those scooters pop out of nowhere) and deposited us safely at the station about 40 minutes later. We waved a cheerful goodbye, glad that we had been able to get a photo of Mr Zhou with our travelling buddies before we left the hotel.

William navigated us through the busy-ness of the station. Once again our passports served as our tickets and the process of entering the station was very smooth. William escorted us to our departure platform, and then when he could go no further with one last handshake (and a hug for me) he sent us on our way. As we headed to the queue to the platform we could see him waving until we were out of sight. What an amazing young man who made our time in Beijing so incredibly special.

And so we boarded our fast train ... carriage 9 ... seats 9D and 9F ... first class (which is not the highest class). Our seats were wide, reclining, with feet and leg rests. The leg room was incredible! Our cabin attendant provided us with a drink (choice of water, OJ or coke) and a bag containing 4 snacks (dried Hawthorn fruit, milk crackers, honey roasted cashews and small twists).

We then settled back to enjoy the journey. We had originally been booked on the express train but this was changed to the "stopping all stations". The journey is over 1200 km (Melbourne to Port Macquarie for my Aussie readers) and would take just under 6 hrs with a maximum speed of 308 km/h. The scenery whizzed by ... tall high rise building complexes (maybe 40 floors ... with multiple buildings), farm land, small farm towns, complex bridges and roads, tunnels, wind turbines, coal electricity plants, solar panels, lakes and rivers. So much to look at!

We took a wander through the train, people sleeping, working and even one group playing a rambunctious game of cards. We stopped at the dining car and with the help of Google translate (if you haven't used it before whilst travelling I would highly recommend it!) selected two different meals to share. Having had our meals warmed we then wandered back to our seats with Ian carrying the hot meals carefully balanced on the paper packets that contained our chopsticks, spoon, serviette and a floss toothpick.

Back at our seats we opened our very expensive meals ($10.74 total ... not each) and were blown away at the quality, size and flavour. We shared crispy pork and meatballs that came with rice, two different types of vegetable accompaniments and some VERY spicy chilli salsa (Ian chose not to eat that!).

And so our journey continued ... stopping at stations ... people getting on and people getting off. We saw the scenery change and loved seeing the world go by. We spotted burial mounds in the fields … some with tombstones and some with just flowers on top. We saw houses built into the earth mounds and farmed terrace land. Travelling by train is incredible … so much to see as the world passes by.

Just before 3.30 we pulled into the station at Xi’an where we gathered our belongings and disembarked to met by a smiling Lily … our new guide for this part of our tour. Lily was bubbly and full of smiles and immediately welcomed us to her city. She asked if we were tired or if we would like to get started on some touring … you all can imagine our answer! So we met up with Mr Feng who took our luggage and whisked us to his van. We bundled in and we were off to explore.

First stop was the Muslim Quarter located within the city walls. This area is a major commercial area for the Muslim community which according to the most recent statistics has the Muslim population around 90,000 (ethnically Chinese adherents to Islam … known as the Huis). We only walked one section but it was a bustling market that reminded us so much of the souks in Fez and Marrakech. Shops (with residences above) selling local delicacies such as fried squid, dried marinated lamb, goats feet, persimmon juice, millet crackers and incredibly ornate breads. There were ice creams, nougats, cakes made of ground and pressed green tea. There were shops selling beautifully packaged local products for you to take home (we didn’t) and tea shops where you could sample the local fruit teas. It was a hive of energy, noise, smells and sights!

At the end of the street that we walked was the Drum Tower and its sister tower the Bell Tower. Replicating the same purpose of the towers we saw in Beijing these were used to record time for the people … bells for dawn and drums for dusk. The towers are beautiful and we will explore them tomorrow when we return from the terracotta warriors. Again there were many locals dressed in the local costume of the Tang Dynasty.

(Ian here till the end of the day) Mr Feng picked us up and we headed off to our hotel, passing the Bell Tower and then out through the fortress wall at the South Gate. Lucky us, our accommodation has a direct view to the gate and wall, prime central location.

Bags dropped in the foyer (where a pianist was playing) Lily grabbed 2 umbrellas from the Concierge (rain was threatening) and off we went to explore the wall. An underpass at the front of the hotel brought us up at the large forecourt of the wall. The Xi'an Fortress Wall is the best preserved such wall in China - 13.7km long, 12m high, 50m wide, 4 gates, 98 watchtowers spaced 120m apart (an archer could fire an arrow 60m, think about it). And the South Gate still has the Drawbridge Tower, the Arrow Tower and the Main Tower.

Through a few checkpoints, up another 50 stairs, and there we were looking down on the safe inner city and the invading hordes on the outside. As we strolled Lily gave us more history, more facts, more anecdotes, and we soaked it up.

Until the rain started, and we briskly headed back to our hotel undercover of our umbrellas and checked into our room - in the back corner of the hotel overlooking a construction site. Well, it's not as if we will spend much waking time in the room.

Bags in the room we immediately headed out for dinner, with eyes on a dumpling restaurant in a side street just down the road. But we had to stop on the way to check out the amazing creations in the Lego Shop, including a terracotta warrior and a 15m long mural made of Lego.

Around at the restaurants we face the usual problem - all signals in Chinese, we only have Google Translate (GT) to help us. Jacqui wisely suggested we look at the busiest shop (the food must be good), which had only 8 small tables, but according to the pictures and menu served noodle and dumpling dishes from a kitchen barely bigger than our pantry. With GT we pick our dishes. Photos of the menu. Point to our order from the photo with the point of a garlic clove. Smiling lady appears to understand, fingers crossed. And we were winners! A huge bowl of Biang Biang noodles and a plate of 24 dumplings (oops, over-ordered). And if you're wondering, Biang is the sound the noodles make when being stretched during making. But after 3 minutes of watching us eat the noodles the lady came over, and stirred the big bowl thoroughly until the sauce and vegetables and noodles were all mixed together. So much better. Another delicious and ridiculously cheap meal, and the smile on her happy face when she saw the tip was priceless.

The 5 minute walk back to our hotel took over 30 minutes! Lily had told us that in the evening there would be dancers in the square - and she was right. On the wide street level footpath in front of the shops 6 people were dancing to recorded music. Some beautifully dressed and made up, some in jeans and shirt, one older man in a tracksuit - but given the mesmerising grace of his moves (former dancer) it didn't matter what he wore. We grabbed some stools and sat to watch. As did 50 other passers by. Then more dancers came, and random people taken by the moment joined in. Wow!

When finally we left we discovered another group 60 metres along the way. Then a young duo singing to a younger crowd. More singers, and at the end of the strip a 4 piece group with guitars and keyboard. This place is jumping.

And then you look to the fortress wall - beautifully lit up along its entire length. The evening show - inside the outer wall - started at 8.00pm with a deafening soundtrack. Time for us to go to our room, and put another memorable day to bed.