Our morning started with another journey to the train station, this time to catch a direct train 4 hours to Xi’An. Waiting for us in the city were our two friends, Benny and Carmel, who we met on our overland truck in Africa about 6 months prior. They also just happened to be on a trip in China and had one day overlap with us there. We had tried to book the same hotel, but after we each sat waiting for each other in the lobby for a while we figured out we had booked different ones by mistake! Luckily for us our hotels were only a 10 minute drive apart.

After having figured out we were not, in fact, at the same hotel, our friends took a taxi to ours so we could explore the area together. Nick and I were staying right next to the Bell Tower which was gorgeous at night time all lit up. Many people were taking photos in front of it. We got a quick bite to eat at a dumpling place. We got the shrimp, pork, and crab wontons, which were mouth watering. I still think about them sometimes.

The four of us kept walking, somewhat aimlessly following the crowds. One find was the Drum Tower, which was similar to the Bell Tower we had just seen. Eventually we ended up finding the Xi’An Muslim Dasi Residential Quarter, which had many food stall streets. There were various BBQ, squids on sticks, rice cake sticks, candied strawberries (luckily for me I found the one stall who did this), hand-pulled noodles and lots of fresh fruit. Hand-pulled noodles, or ‘biang-biang’, were something a friend of ours who lives in China highly encouraged us to try. They are well known in the city.

The following morning was our first full day. Benny and Carmel were supposed to fly out the night before, but due to unfortunate circumstances needed to change their travel plans. Unfortunate for them but great for us! We were happy to have their company longer. While they sorted out some logistics, Nick and I walked the city wall. Starting at the west gate we made our way around all the way to the south gate, completing nearly the entire thing. The sun was blaring down on us and we felt as though there was not much to see up there. The views of the wall from below in the different temples and parks looked much better. Disclaimer: I was pretty hungry and hot up there so take that review with a pinch of salt.

At the south gate we met with Benny and Carmel to go hunt down some food. We went to Laolijia Biangbiang Mian for some hand-pulled noodles. We opted to share the ‘Gold Ribbon Noodles’, which were the first ones on the menu. This was a great decision for two reasons: 1. The dish was incredible, 2. It was massive. The noodles are wide and slightly thicker than usual. They are also quite long and were a little hard to eat with the chopsticks; maybe after more practice it would be easier. It was topped with a few types of meat, eggs in tomato sauce (my favorite), sauce, onions, and some bok choy.

Final stop of the day before saying goodbye to our friends was a park with the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda itself was simple and easy to find after we entered. The park had water features and a few bridges that were nice to stroll on. We took some last pictures together before parting ways.

We saved the best for last, the reason why we came to this city in the first place: the terracotta soldiers. If I could recommend one thing to anyone it would be to go at opening and never go on a Saturday. It was mayhem. Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum is the official name of the site. We enjoyed the museum area, which had artifacts and many interesting facts about the soldiers. There was an entire city for the Emperor’s afterlife, not just his soldiers. Each soldier was also unique and thought to be modeled after his real soldiers. The information was so interesting.

There were several excavation pits with different levels of completion. Most soldiers were broken, but we could see in various displays how they were being restored. Most pits were deep below us, with a narrow walkway going around in a square above along all four walls of the building. It was so crowded we had to wait lots to even be able to see into the pit. We would’ve stayed longer but the crowds were too much for us. After enjoying a chocolate soldier popsicle we left and got our favorite hand-pulled noodles again for dinner to end our big day.