Xi'an - From Bronze to Dumplings

Today, we arrived for a two night stay in Xi'an, a historical dynastic capital of China known best to foreigners as the home of the army of terra cotta warriors discovered in the 70s. Upon landing after the 2 1/2 hour flight, it was clear we were no longer in Hong Kong. It was as if we were dropped somewhere in the mid-west of the US, in a flat region of corn and wheat. (China is too big to depend on rice alone for carbs. And after all, where do you think noodles and dumplings come from?)

At the center of this 7 million inhabitant city is the original historic city, surrounded by a "city wall" 10 miles around, complete with battlements, gates, drawbridge, and moat. Within the wall, at its center, is a Bell Tower and Drum Tower that used to be sounded in the morning and evening, respectively. A traffic circle currently surrounds the Bell Tower, which I at the intersection of the four cardinal avenues within the walls. The means of negotiating this circle reminded us of a previous visit to China -- our first exposure to the no-holds-barred approach to driving in the smaller cities.

After lunch, our tour started (if you don't count the thrill ride of the drive through town) with a visit to Shanxi Provincial Museum, a collection of neolithic stoneware, early bronzes, ceramics and jades associated with the region. An admission, while I do consider myself a museum person, there are just so many old bronze wine and food vessels I can handle, especially with the commentary of a local guide apparently proud of them. (It's not just a cultural thing, A similar boredom sets in in galleries featuring the middle ages in Euro-centric museums.) We finally got to an introductory gallery for the terra cotta warriors before leaving the museum.

Next stop was the Big Wild Geese Pagoda, a good sized stone tower, with an accompanying temple. A bit of excitement as, apparently, a purse-snatching thief was pursued through the grounds. I wish we had a little more time to explore those grounds, which seemed to have some interesting garden areas, but it was apparently not in the itinerary to do so as we moved on to our hotel -- a surprisingly nice, modern Hyatt. After a quick check-in a refresh break, our guide and driver took us to a restaurant we hope was the one recommended by various people -- an 80 year old dumpling house. A noisy, steamy, flaming affair, I probably didn't get the full benefit of its menu, since, having explained Lois' near vegetarian lifestyle to the guide, I also ended up limited to dumplings full of mushrooms and greens. Having been abandoned by the guide for the meal, there was no communicating with the staff to tell them that I might appreciate the more common (and apparently more quickly prepared) versions of pork and other protein. That said, the non-meat versions were quite tasty, washed down with some local beer.