On the wall, 西安 the 2.

Sunday, 26.06.2018

Our plan for the day included visiting the city wall, Great Mosque, and the fountain show. However, due to our experience with the temperatures yesterday, we decided to take a longer lunch break. The day was hot again, over 30 degrees Celsius, and that was already in the morning. A good opportunity to wander around on a city wall😅. But the plan was set and being a bit stubborn, we followed it.

The wall is the best-preserved city wall in China. It is about 12km long and 12-14m wide on the top, making it easily walkable. 

There are 4 gates where you can climb up. We drove to the North Gate. 

At the busy square, we witnessed an open-air haircut. I had read about it but had never seen one.

As mentioned before, it was hot on the wall! We were able to keep Philipp in a good mood for a short time with photos, but it was clear that hiking under these conditions would not be fun!

But we had a tour bus to save us from the looming bad mood! 👍 It took me some nerves to buy the tickets, the saleswoman wanted to complete the transaction only when the next vehicle arrived, then one came but it was already full, etc. But well, we have mastered much more 'adventures'.

The journey took us from the North Gate to the South Gate, so halfway around. It would have been nice to explore more on foot, but that's how it is. The buildings within the wall are mostly functional and built in a more modern style. Only occasionally can you see parcels of historically-inspired houses that have survived time and maybe one or two city planners. Outside the wall, high-rise buildings dominate the landscape.

I started asking around a bit. There is a square with shops at the intersection. It was Sunday and some locals gathered here to spend their free afternoon, but no one had seen my backpack. However, a boy approached me in his school English, we should call the police, as they could look at their cameras, thank you, surveillance state! I did as he suggested. Eventually, two policemen arrived in a small Kia car, a very funny sight, inspected the crime scene and gestured for me and an older English-speaking Chinese man to come with them to the police station. The Chinese man reassured me. Because I am a foreigner, they would surely pursue the case vigorously. At the police station, we looked at the footage. There were 12 monitors showing footage from 12 different cameras. But of all cameras, 'my' camera had panned to a different quadrant at the time of the incident and could not film my mishap and the 'finders'. I left my number and address, but the officer made it clear that they would not investigate this case extensively as no valuables were lost and no theft had occurred. Well, it's my own fault, then I probably need a new backpack, I thought as I drove back to the hotel.