Various Sites around Xi'an

Today we saw a variety of sites. It started with a trip to an art and caligraphy museum. This is very similar to the various factories that we visited while in Beijing. Basically they teach you a little bit about something, in this case Chinese Farmer Art and Caligraphy, and then give you ample opportunity to buy some of it.

The girls had fun doing the hands on caligraphy and we bought a few small pieces. Mom and Dad bought something slightly larger. A picture that is 6 ft by 3 ft.

Next we got to ride bikes along the old Xi'an City Wall. This is the ancient wall that used to protect the city. It is about 8 miles long. We only had time to do about 1 mile of that up and back. With the condition of the bikes we were able to rent, that is about all we wanted to do.



For lunch we were taken to a dumpling restaurant. They served all kinds of dumplings. Spicy Chicken, Pork & Mushroom, Tomato, Walnut, Fried Rice, Pumpkin & Ham, etc. It was all very good, but they gave us way too much. We left with several doggie bags, which we gave to the tour guide.

After lunch we walked through an interesting market area. All kinds of little shops and restaurants, selling clothing, food, knick-knacks, etc.

After walking around for a while we attended a 'shadow puppet show'. It was interesting, but the drums and cymbols that were played through out the performance were exceptionally loud. It was a short performance, thankfully.

After the puppet show we walked back through the shopping to a visit a Muslim Mosque.

Kirsten and our girls were wearing 'appropriate clothing'. However most or the women were wearing tank tops. Bare shoulders are not allowed, so they all had to wrap a shawl around themselves, like my Mom had to do here.

Finally we shopped at the stores for a little while picking up all kinds of cheap souveniors. The stuff isn't of the best quality, but it can be purchased very cheaply, as long as you are decent at haggling.