We were pleasantly surprised to discover our flight back to Beijing didn’t leave until 5:00 pm so we had a full day of sightseeing in Xi’an. Our first stop was to the Bell Tower located inside the city walls. Luckily, it was a Saturday morning and the traffic was not bad getting inside the city walls.
The Bell Tower was built to house the bells that rang to signify dawn in old times. In modern times, they don’t ring the bells every morning, but they maintain the architecture of this beautiful old building to preserve its history and continue to use it as a focal point inside the city walls. Looking out from the Bell Tower, you can see the Drum Tower. Built in the same time period, the Drum Tower looks different from the Bell Tower but it is as beautiful and rich in history. The Drum Tower houses the drums that were used in old times to signify dusk.
We went to a restaurant in a local hotel that is famous for its “Hot Pot” meals. Bottom line, it is Chinese fondue. The Japanese have a dish called sukiyaki which is real similar. It was a great meal and we found out, it is not a local dish, but the Hot Pot is popular all over China. We were a bit put out other tour guides didn’t take us to one earlier!
The Bell Tower was built to house the bells that rang to signify dawn in old times. In modern times, they don’t ring the bells every morning, but they maintain the architecture of this beautiful old building to preserve its history and continue to use it as a focal point inside the city walls. Looking out from the Bell Tower, you can see the Drum Tower. Built in the same time period, the Drum Tower looks different from the Bell Tower but it is as beautiful and rich in history. The Drum Tower houses the drums that were used in old times to signify dusk.
We went to a restaurant in a local hotel that is famous for its “Hot Pot” meals. Bottom line, it is Chinese fondue. The Japanese have a dish called sukiyaki which is real similar. It was a great meal and we found out, it is not a local dish, but the Hot Pot is popular all over China. We were a bit put out other tour guides didn’t take us to one earlier!
Our last sightseei
ng opportunity in China was on the way to the airport. We stopped at the Hanyang Tombs. This tomb is for the Han Dynasty Emperors. It was built in 153 AD. It was amazing. Around the tomb mount they have found excavated 10 tunnels/mini tombs that run away from the emperors’ tomb. They believe there are another 70 tunnels that run all around the tomb mount. The Chinese have done an excellent job preserving what is left from the tomb raiders. The raiders took all the gold and silver but left enough pottery that archeologist can give an accurate 
account of the emperor’s life. They know this was a peaceful time because there are only a few warriors (unlike the Emperor with the Terracotta Warriors). I loved the tunnel filled with clay concubines and next to them is the tunnel filled with eunuchs to take care of the concubines. The Emperor was worried about the well being of his concubines! Linda loved the tunnel filled with animals – especially those darn cute pigs.
We loaded up, headed to the airport, went to Beijing and were so excited to be greeted by two cute girls from our hotel. We had no idea how we were going to navigate with our all bags to the hotel and didn’t know how to find it! We were like two giddy school girls when we read our name on a sign as we exited baggage claim!
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