Xi'an!

I survived an evening of getting thrown around the top bunk of a herky-jerky sleeper train from Chengdu (as Sammy'd say, it seemed like the driver had one foot on the brake and one on the gas), and am now bunked up in a hostel that could not be more centrally located: it's about 100 feet from the town center, a tower containing an enormous 1,300 year old bell that tolls each morning, summoning the day.

I spent the afternoon and evening exploring Xi'an's Great Mosque, a tribute to the intersection of cultures along the Silk Road, and including a minaret that quite possibly has the most Asian-influenced architecture of any in the world.

The streets surrounding the Mosque are known as Muslim Quarter, where many of Xi'an's 100,000 Muslims keep shop, and the best place in town to buy street food (of a different range and variety than I've encountered elsewhere on this trip) or souvenirs. I picked up a book of quotations from Chairman Mao that should make for some interesting reading.

I also had a chance to bike for 16 km on top of the imposing wall that rings the old part of Xi'an, accessed via the South Gate pictured here (hmmm, this photo does not want to show up, despite several attempts...). (Many Chinese cities had such walls in antiquity, but few are so well preserved.) Some sections of the wall are missing, so circumnavigating the city isn't possible. Tomorrow, I plan to ride the remaining 10 km (which I ran out of time to ride tonight).

So far, Xi'an seems the most majestic of the cities I've visited, not surprising given its past as the capitol city for China's first dynastic empire and, for a time, a rival of Rome and Constantinople for the most advanced and populated city in the world. The sidewalks and boulevards are spacious, verdant and afford amazing views bisecting the city east-west or north-south.

Given this history and feel, it's probably no surprise that it is also the most touristy city I've visited yet (with Beijing still to come), and there are throngs of tourists here, including many white Westerners in shorts, with fanny or camera packs, shutters clicking. (Surprisingly few Americans, however! The most represented non-Chinese nationality I've encountered would have to be the Dutch (!), with Israelis and Germans not too far behind.)

Since I prefer not to travel in the wake of tourist buses, I will save the biggest draws (especially the famed terracotta army) for a weekday, spending tomorrow (Sunday) continuing to explore the city. (I am delighted to have several days here in Xi'an -- my tentative itinerary would give me up to five days here -- so that I can stretch out and relax, instead of dashing from one attraction to the next.)

I also found the Turf Club of Xi'an: a nondescript basement bar that I passed while strolling around, replete with CDs hanging from the ceiling (now we know where those went!) and Chinese punk coming through its outdoor speakers. Poking around, I learned there was a show tonight, and the most "alt" Chinese kids I've seen yet (many with hipster t-shirts, long, meticulous hair, and fancy shoes) were already gathering outside. There were three acts, with doors at 8:30.

Sadly, when I returned at 10:30, the show was already over! Fini. End of (Saturday) evening.

Can we even call it punk if it's over in time to catch the Chinese equivalent of Letterman (which, by the way, I would love to see)? I have, on several occasions, been surprised by the hours that many Chinese people and establishments keep. Maybe it has something to do with that bell...