Xi'an, China

From Pingyao I wanted to go to Shanghai, but, because Pingyao is so small, there is nothing direct. OK, fine, I will go to Xi'an and visit the Terracotta Warriors. It is not like it is the most (or second most, depending on your source) visited site in China. Mostly because I had no real interest in seeing the Terracotta Warriors, I had low expectations, but, in truth, seeing them was really cool. How well preserved they are, and there sheer number, is amazing.

Overall, Xi'an was better than I expected, but, again, I did not expect much. There are too many tourists, and, though I am a tourist, that really takes away from the experience. Xi'an should be as inexpensive as Pingyao but because it sees so many more tourists the prices for everything are jacked and makes visiting the sites not worth it. For example, one, if not the, main attraction in Xi'an is the Bell Tower. Admission to the Bell Tower is 40RMB (just over $6), which is not much until you consider that, a) that is more than I pay for a night's accommodation, and b) there is nothing to see/do in the Bell Tower other than take pictures of the surrounding area. I did not go in and do not regret it at all.

The highlights of Xi'an other than the Warriors was walking along the city wall, which provided for some excellent views. And, two, on the way back from walking on the wall me and the girl I was walking with stopped at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I had the best meal I had had in China. While deciding to eat there or not we realized that the guy next to the woman who was preparing the dishes to be given to customers was making the noodles from scratch that were going in the food. That was the deciding factor.