{"id":1560,"date":"2014-06-29T08:18:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-29T01:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/?p=1560"},"modified":"2014-06-29T08:19:47","modified_gmt":"2014-06-29T01:19:47","slug":"bound-for-xian-62314","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/?p=1560","title":{"rendered":"Bound for Xi’an, 6\/23\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re at the airport early for our flight to Xi\u2019an. Our itinerary says it\u2019s scheduled for 6:30am, but we can\u2019t find it anywhere on the digital \u201cDepartures\u201d board. We\u2019re not even sure we\u2019re at the correct terminal, but the ticket counter checks us in, and takes our luggage. We walk to the gate on our boarding pass, still pretty confused. It says now that we depart at 9:00 am. We have a lot of time to kill. Later we notice our gate has changed, so we pack up all our assorted junk and make the transition. By the time we finally board, we feel like it\u2019s been a full day. Several other passengers experienced the same confusion we did.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a two-hour flight to Xi\u2019an, and our guide meets us at the gate. Of course, we\u2019re two hours late. Our driver picks us up, and we begin to see the sites of Xi\u2019an. Our first stop is the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the center of the city. These are not as tall as the Beijing versions, but the restoration is much better. Overall, we begin to notice the city is a little cleaner, and calmer than Beijing.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1075\"<\/a> \"IMG_1077\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our next stop is the Xi\u2019an City Wall. It\u2019s been restored the entire circumference of the city (about 17 kilometers, I think she said).\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s wide enough to drive a truck on. It\u2019s amazing to look at, realizing the size of the entire project, and when it was built.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1079\"<\/a> \"IMG_1083\"<\/a> \"IMG_1082\"<\/a> \"photo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last on our list before our hotel and dinner is the \u201cWild Goose Pagoda\u201d. It\u2019s an active Buddhist temple. I\u2019ve seen pictures before we arrived, but witnessing the actual size of the building is impressive. Xi\u2019an was the imperial capital of China for a thousand years, before it moved to Beijing in the 1300\u2019s, so there are many important buildings.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1085\"<\/a> \"IMG_1090\"<\/a> \"IMG_1089\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We get checked into our hotel (a Sheraton). It\u2019s a new hotel, with the nicest rooms we\u2019ve ever stayed in, anywhere. They\u2019re huge, with so many conveniences. It\u2019s hard to leave, and we\u2019re worn out, but we have tickets for a dinner show. We unpack and relax an hour before heading back out.<\/p>\n

The dinner is a \u201cDumpling Banquet\u201d, with many different kinds of traditional dumplings, from the Xi\u2019an area. There are some unusual looking dumplings, but they are really good. The show is called a \u201cTang Dynasty Show\u201d. It\u2019s based on the costumes and traditions of the Tang Dynasty. The show is well done with lots of colorful costumes, sets, and beautiful, as well as athletic, dancing.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1126\"<\/a> \"IMG_1105\"<\/a> \"IMG_1098\"<\/a> \"IMG_1092\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The drive home afterwards is gorgeous. The City Wall is lit the entire length. As impressive as it was during the day, it\u2019s even more impressive at night.<\/p>\n

\"photo23\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re at the airport early for our flight to Xi\u2019an. Our itinerary says it\u2019s scheduled for 6:30am, but we can\u2019t find it anywhere on the digital \u201cDepartures\u201d board. We\u2019re not even sure we\u2019re at the correct terminal, but the ticket … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions\/1564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}