We rode the K548 train from Harbin to Xian, which cost us
RMB466 per person. Traveling by train for 33 hours was an experience in itself,
made more interesting by the hard sleeper cabin we got. I was literally touching
the ceiling of the train during my sleep, as I was situated on the topmost bunk
out of the three-tier bunk beds in our cabin. I felt like a ninja, climbing up
and down the beds, reaching our bags from the storage along the corridor, and
well, keeping myself from falling over the thin railing on the side of my bed. My
brother did not fare better though, since he was a much bigger person. My
sister and I decided to take the topmost bunks sacrificing the best bed for our
brother. He still couldn’t sleep well though, with the bed being short and
narrow for him and he wasn’t even tall for a guy. This train was made for small
people. Thank God, I was one.
We passed fields and factories within the day's travel. China is such a big mass of land and it was only a fraction that we saw in thirty-three hours.
My brother passed the time drinking and tasting authentic Chinese snacks from his new-found friends. The other passengers were very curious about us. Though we didn't speak a word of their language, we made do with other ways to communicate. It was interesting how it was their first time to meet Filipinos. They didn't know much about our country and they asked so many questions. Luckily there was a Chinese girl in the train that could speak a little bit of English. She helped us converse with the other passengers.
I was sustained by the snacks in the cart that passed our cabin every now and then. I especially liked the packaging of their ice cream sticks.
Finally, after more than a day's travel, we reached the next destination of our journey through China - Xi'an.
It was still dark when we arrived at 5:30 in the morning. We waited for the hostel shuttle to pick us up at the train station. This was a free service from the Han Tang House.
The Han Tang House is one of the more popular hostel chains in Xian. And I definitely saw why many foreigners chose it. They had clean amenities, huge rooms and a resto-bar within.
I absolutely loved the convenience of eating in the restaurant and drinking at the bar without having to worry about how to get back to our room.
And did I mention they had Happy Hour? :P
After our breakfast, we showered and changed from our day-old clothes. We didn't realize how filthy we were, even if we were just on a train. There was no decent washroom on the train, so of course, we cherished the clean bathroom in our triple ensuite room. It was only RMB70 per person per night. What a steal!
Of course, after scrubbing ourselves clean, we were going to a dusty area! But nothing could stop us from fulfilling our National Geographic-inspired dream of seeing the Terracotta Army!
We headed to the Xian Railway Station and easily found Bus #306 that would take us to the Terracotta Army Museum. The bus ride costs RMB4 and took about an hour.
There was even a tour guide on the bus to talk us through the trip. She spoke in Chinese of course, so we didn't really get much out of it.
The museum was divided into several buildings that housed the different excavation sites of the terracotta army. Entrance fee to all the sites was RMB150.
It was surreal how many warriors there were and how intricate the details were per warrior! It is true that each warrior's face is unique. Even if I'd seen it in person, I still couldn't fathom why so much effort was put in to create it. There were even horses and weapons made of bronze. How extravagant for a mausoleum!
It was springtime when we went and cherry blossoms were blooming. Xian also had such pleasant weather; it was a welcoming embrace from our cold stint in Harbin.
We ate from the food stands in the area. They had a variety of noodles that one could customize.
And of course, I had an ice cream stick again. They had Magnum!
We rode the bus back to the city and spent the rest of the night at the bar in Han Tang House. There was a gig that night with performers singing English songs, too.
The next day, my sister and I walked out of the hostel to explore the city. We left our brother at the hostel to rest since he got sick, probably from exhaustion and the change of weather between cities.
The Xian Wall was nearby and we headed straight there. There was a RMB40 entrance fee covering both the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower.
We were right on time to catch the 10:30 AM warrior formation performance at the entrance of the South Gate.
We saw tents that rented out bicycles for RMB20 per 100
minutes. So instead of walking the length of Xian Wall, we had the brilliant
idea of biking around it instead!
Looking back on our whole trip to China, I couldn’t decide
which city was my favorite. We had so many enjoyable experiences in each one
and I was sure I selected The Best of The Best Cities for our trip. But biking
around the Xian Wall definitely made Xian a strong contender. I’ve always loved
riding bicycles in foreign countries (see my posts on Nara, Japan and Siem
Reap, Cambodia). I feel like it’s a great way to explore any city. Sharing this
experience with my Ate made it even more special.
With our legs sufficiently warmed up, we walked some more around the city. We immersed ourselves in the sights, sounds, and smells of the Moslem Street.
We also toured the Great Mosque for RMB25 each.
My sister and I returned to the hostel to check-out, check up on our brother and eat lunch. We also changed out of our sweaty clothes after that productive morning exercise. We then walked some more and toured the other side of the city, including the Da Ci'en Temple, Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Tang Paradise. We didn't go inside the museums anymore so we didn't pay anything as we roamed around the area and took photos.
We returned to the hostel in the afternoon, had dinner there and killed time some more, making friends with fellow travelers checked in the same hostel. At 8PM, we gathered our things and rode the bus to the railway station. From there, we would ride the train towards the last destination of our trip - Shanghai.
