General: Xi´an

Advantages: The terra-cotta warriors, the city wall around Xi'an itself
Disadvantages: Cabs like to use fixed price, people don't speak English

A short summary This is a travelogue about the trip that my wife, Nikki, and I took to China (Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong) in the period from March 15th to March 29th 2003. We first spent 7 days in Beijing and we got to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and so on. From Beijing we took an overnight train to Xi’an and our main goal there was to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors but we also got to see a few other ...
...Shenzhen and from there we took the boat to Hong Kong (HK), where we stayed for about 5 days. In HK we visited Ocean Park, Victoria Peak, the Space Museum and so on. We first stayed in Beijing for a few days (see seperate review). But time went fast in Beijing and all of a sudden we had reached Saturday March 22nd. We had decided to take the train to get to our destination and we bought our train tickets at the hotel for 417 RMB each (+ 40 RMB fee ... Read review

Advantages: history, food, atmosphere
Disadvantages: can be unfriendly and unhelpful

I was in Xi'an around 4 years ago as part of the Trans-Siberian trip that I did. It was the best place that we went to in China out of the three cities that we visited, certainly in terms of culture and only a marginal western influence. The city itself is the ancient capital and a fortress town originally. You can still enter the 'gates' as it were and explore through all the back streets where there are some great market stalls which are cheaper ...
...language material, or would like some assistance in looking for something specific (I bought a Steamboat from the department store) then it's best to go to the State Department store. Otherwise you can pick up some great niknaks in the markets such as stone carvings, silk paintings (which are gorgeous), mini terracota warriors etc. We didn't eat at any restaurants there, outside our hotel every evening a mobile feast would appear with loads of food ... Read review

Advantages: Rich Chinese Heritage & Great Food!
Disadvantages: Dusty & Many People Smoke

If you are in search of Chinese heritage, Xian is a good place to visit. We start off by riding the bus from hong kong to shenzhen airport. There is a restaurant next to KFC. So we walked in to order some drinks before the flight took off. We were surprised to find out that the price for a cold drink is $38 RMB! It is even more expensive than starbucks. it is ridiculous. During the journey on the flight, we were amused by the aeroplane meal. They ...
...wrapped box. The paper box contained a couple of longan fruits, a piece of cake, a bag of biscuit, a bag of salty veggie, the aluminium foil wrapped box was beef stew with rice. The plastic utensil is with sharp edges. This meal set was a very good example of "what not to have in the aeroplane meal". Longan has seeds, utensil has sharp edges, the rice box is hot, the cake package is filled with a lot of air. I have a hard time trying to figure out ... Read review

Advantages: Terracotta Warriors, fast food, pagodas
Disadvantages: Climate, smell, taxis

Xi'an is the city nearest to the fabulous Terracotta Warriors, which are well worth a visit, as the scale of them is larger than you will have imagined. We took a tour out to see them and the other 'Eastern sights' which we booked at Mum's Home Cooking - one of the cafes listed in the LP. In China its worth going to some of the places the LP recommends because literally noone speaks English. In Xi'an we stayed in a hotel in the centre of the city, ...
...desserts! The city wall makes quite a good walk, and there are some nice pagodas. We also enjoyed the market, and one of the temples. We had a strange muslim chinese dinner - mutton stew with unleavened bread...not that nice. All in all, Xi'an wasn't bad. ... Read review

Advantages: Has to be seen to be appreciated
Disadvantages: Commercialized, lots of tourists, lots of touts selling rubbishy nick-nacks

We in Great Britain tend to call these the Terroccotta Army, the Chineses however call them the Terrocotta Soldiers and Horses. This is one sight that should not be missed when in China, if at all possible. You will probably have to stay in Xi'an. The Army is almost beyond words to describe, and it has to be seen to be beleived. I was taken aback when I walked into the first building and looked down into the pit that has been excavated. It is totally ...
...No pictures that I have ever seen have convayed the size, scope, and majesty of the real thing. The statues are bigger, and grander than I expected. The visit starts off with a short introductory film (a 360 degree film, with the viewer in the middle), about how, when and why the army was constructed. Before seeing the "Army" for the first time, visitors are taken to see a bronze carriage that was excavated near-by. All leading up to the moment ... Read review