Bell Tower was closed when we first arrived in Xi'An, China, so we returned when it was open.
Bell Tower was originally built in 1384, rebuilt in 1582, and restored in 1739. It is considered to be one of the grandest and best preserved bell towers in China.
The Tower is located in the center of Xi'An where the City's four main streets converge. There is an outside balcony that circles the Tower and from the balcony there are great views of the city's central area.
Inside of the Tower there are historic decorations and a museum with a number of displays describing Chinese history.
After we left the tower, we were walking down the street and Kolohe was surprised to find that several shops had stalks of wheat that were sold like flowers. I do not know if stocks of wheat have a special significance in China.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Xi'An is at the end of the Silk Road and historically served as the capital city to 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years.
In 1370 Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang built a high fortification wall around the City, which was the capital at that time. The wall is now one of the oldest, largest and best preserved Chinese city walls and is currently on a tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites to be approved.
Since its original construction, the wall has been enlarged and refurbished several times and is now 14 km (8.7 miles) long, encloses an area of about 14 sq km (4.5 sq miles), up to 18 m (59 feet) wide, and up to 12 m (39 feet) high. There are guard houses located a little less than every kilometer along the rampart. The carriageway on top of the rampart is a popular spot for walking and biking.  |
| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
We walked down the carriageway for a short distance and discovered an exhibit entitled "The Dragon and Chinese Idioms." As I understand the exhibit, the characters represent intangible cultural heritage figures from Chinese folklore.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Since everyone was tired of walking, Heather and Kolohe decided that we needed to catch a taxi and go for an "international spa experience."
Little did I realize that after the taxi ride, I would need a spa experience. The taxi driver was a lot like the rickshaw drivers - a road is any place that has a slight opening, only at a faster speed. I'll admit, I was a little nervous when he wanted to make a left turn and there was a block-long line of cars ahead of us. He just pulled left into three lanes of oncoming traffic and somehow managed to avoid a head-on collision until he reached the corner, where he quickly made a sharp left turn and missed all of the other cars. Fortunately, I was in the backseat behind the driver and had a handle above the door that I could hang on to so that I did not slide across the seat and squash Sophia and Kolohe.
After checking in at the spa, they ushered us to a private room and provided us with spa clothing for our "international experience." After dressing in the clothing provided, we each had our own therapist that started massaging our feet and then worked up to our necks and heads. The final surprise was when they used an otoscope and cleaned our ear canals.
After our treatments, we were instructed to rest while they brought each of us a tray of natural ingredients that included all types of fruits and other Asian treats. Before we left, they brought a tray full of of deserts.
Rather than riding a taxi back to the hotel, the spa insisted that they provided us with transportation, which was much safer. As we drove past City Wall, a light show was in progress that was interesting and colorful. It was 11 PM by the time we arrived back at the hotel.
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Heather |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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