Xi'an - The Historical Center of China

Once we arrived in the historical center of China, we immediately looked for our accommodation. The pictures promised a lot, and we were not disappointed. Our room was part of an atrium that was beautifully green and provided nice seating areas.

In addition to various tourist attractions, our days in Xi'an were also characterized by organizational tasks. We had to submit our university applications during the trip. However, we were prepared for that. Despite this, we were able to enjoy our time in the city that is the starting point of the Silk Road. Historical buildings dominate the city's attractions, and its center is completely enclosed by a large city wall. This wall is considered to be the best-preserved and most extensive ancient city wall in the world.

The highlight of Xi'an, and one of the main reasons why we chose this destination for our trip, was the world-famous Terracotta Army, which is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world.

We will also remember the Muslim Quarter with its large mosque. You can't even imagine the variety of smells there. And not all of them are pleasant. Sometimes they are absolutely indefinable. However, that did not deter us from trying a variety of culinary delights.

However, the district also had its less pleasant side. We were approached by beggars in a very pressing manner (with physical contact) on two occasions. Although both of us have been approached by poor people in countries like Tunisia, for example, Nadine particularly found this very direct and close entanglement to be very impactful. We offered to buy them food, but they declined. So apparently, they were not doing so badly. In general, we prefer to give beggars something to eat so that they don't use the money to buy cigarettes around the corner. This must be expected in China, because it feels like people here don't just smoke one pack a day.

On the last day, the weather didn't cooperate and it rained a bit. However, we are a bit spoiled in terms of weather by now. We decided to stroll around the city wall and then find a restaurant. And we will not forget this restaurant visit. The menu was huge. After a long deliberation on what to order, we placed our order. However, we then noticed that the tables of the other guests were full of dishes. The portions were not that big either. So we ordered more. That was a mistake. The dishes we ordered turned out to be larger than anticipated. As delicious as the food was, we could not finish nearly everything. So we decided to have it packed up and enjoy it at the airport in the evening.

Originally, we wanted to continue our journey by train, but it would have taken forever. So we decided to take a plane instead. We will see a lot of China anyway.