Xi'an: 3999 steps, 2100 m, 5 hours, and 4 UWarriors!

Xi'an is in Central China in the Shaanxi province, which is different from the Shanxi province I'll be heading to in July. KT and I met up with EP and MC when we arrived in Xi'an. We didn't know them before meeting up but they turned out to be fun people to spend the weekend with! Mt Hua outside of Xi'an was amazing and one of my highlights of China thus far.

The WALL

Xi'an is an old capital and surrounded by a 14-km wall. Tired and hot, we got onto the wall and started walking. Saw some soldier dudes and drummers put on a show. Then, tired, hot, and thirsty... we tried to get off the wall. Apparently there are fewer exits than we thought and we got trapped on the wall.


The soldiers





The 40 hour day

We woke up at 6am Saturday morning to go see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I'm not really into museums or history - but this was something neat to see. SO MANY WARRIORS...all discovered underground from a farmer digging a well. The dead Emporer was defintely safe with all these soldiers surrounding his dead body. The place filled up quickly and by the time we went through the museum - it was a mad-house. Lots of shoving! The shoving didn't stop there.

We then took the bus back to Xi'an to catch another bus to Huashan. We arrived in Huashan about 4pm and decided we would climb to East Peak overnight to arrive in time for sunrise. After EP patiently dealt with this man who later spat at me, we managed to get a room to rest in for a few hours. This is where we discovered 'The Amazing Race: China Rush'!  Later, after a feast, we started climbing up stairs at 10:30pm. It's a strange feeling starting a climb that late at night in the dark... but we were not alone.


The crew before the hike (MC, EP, me, KT)
We arrived at East Peak at 3:30am and got to enjoy some stars until the sun finally came up.

Here is a snippet from EP, my first guest blog writer!
One of my most memorable moments was the hour we had on the peak waiting for the sunrise. It was such a journey to get up there -- 5 hours of mostly steady climbs, mixed with bouts of intense jostling through the crowd, and traversals of unbelievably steep paths. 
At the top, we claimed a spot along the cliff facing east, and then with our bodies exhausted, lied down to rest. It was still early; the sky was dark. The stars and milky way, stretched on the clearest and unpolluted sky I've ever seen in China, were in full display above us. 
The crowd around us started to build up. Someone played music on their phone. We started our own music playlist. Kathleen requested Michael Jackson. And so there, 2100m up at the peak, on one of the most legendary mountains in Chinese's culture and history, near the ancient 3000 year old city of Xi'an, the reverberating sound of the King of Pop accompanied us to sunrise.
 After sunrise, MC convinced us all that we should do the plank walk. My legs shook the entire time and the craziest part was when the mass of crowds came and you were forced to share the plank and awkwardly try to get by people. It was scary but an amazing time. The best part was before we got on the plank I got EP to ask the worker dude "what happens if you fall, how will you pull yourself back up onto the plank?" (because you're strapped in with a harness but you'd still be hanging off the cliff). The response "there are ladders and... just don't fall"! There were no ladders - not sure what he was talking about. Thankfully though - we just didn't fall!

The Plank

Finally, after sleep and food deprivation, we had a good rest (and good Frog Pot ) and KT and I had our final day together in Xi'an. I should have a completely separate blog post about traveling with KT because she deserves it! It was such a blessing to travel with her - it's rare to find someone you can spend THAT much time with and not get sick of. Despite her being a night owl and me being a morning person, along with many other differences, we had a great time! And we definitely learned more about each other. She was especially good at knowing when I needed to eat! She knew that a hungry Kathleen mid-afternoon in the hot sun is never a good combination...but she had more patience than most people I know! Thanks KT. She headed North to South and I headed East and then North.

KT and I at sunrise doing what we do best
My last day in Xi'an, I was on my own and got terribly lost. It was a good adventure though practicing my broken Chinese to try and get back to the hostel. Then I boarded a plane and flew to Shanghai.



Comments

Eugene said…
I can't believe you missed the part about watching sixteen candles. I thought it was the highlight.
Cynthia said…
this made my eyes watering...
love you ladies! i know what you mean by KTan's patience, she's amazing!!
Lucky you two, got to play together for such an extensive time <3

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