XI AN

After a week in Beijing I took a night train to Xi An. Beijing is massive, so for some reason I was expecting Xi An to feel a little smaller, but with six-million people it was just another metropolis.  There's a Wal-Mart in Xi An, along with every other western chain.  But there's also an old city wall that still remains intact, and runs a thirteen mile ring around the central part of town.  Xi An has spilled and sprawled outside of the city walls, and even though the center of town is dominated by modern buildings, big banks, and shopping malls, there are still  charming old neighborhoods with small walking streets and bustling markets.  You can also get up on top of the wall and circumnavigate the entire city.  One cold and misty morning I went up and took a stroll, it was so much more calm up above the city streets, a quick and easy escape from the madness below.  Exploring Xi An was pretty cool, but the real reason I went there was to visit the Terracotta Warriors...