Canadian World Traveller Winter 2018-19 Issue

all, this religious group that came here centuries
ago with the silk trade. The first
Muslims came from central Asia when the
silk route first started, and have been a very
important part of the province of Shaanxi
and China.
This rather short street had a carnival
atmosphere with bright and colourful neon
lights, and much shouting and haggling by
merchants wanting your attention to sell
their goods. Vendors sold anything and
everything you could want to eat, and that is
literally the truth as they had many exotic
things such as insects and animal parts I
would never be able to name.
Great Mosque of Xi'an
Still unimaginable, there were actually
mosques here, which is not something I
would usually associate with China. A very
beautiful area with well-kept grounds. The
main buildings looked nothing like you
would see in the Middle East. Instead, to an
untrained eye, it would look just like any historic
Chinese building. Our time here was
fascinating and our interaction with locals
was brief but meaningful, they welcomed us
in with proud smiles.
Xi’an City Wall
Yet another wonder is the historic center of
Xi’an were the fortifying walls, one of the
oldest, largest and best preserved Chinese
city walls. In its time, it was an engineering
marvel encompassing more than 14
sq./km. So massive was the structure that it
was a physical deterrent to its enemies and
the city was never successfully raided.
Features of this fortress are four main gates
on each side of the rectangular structure,
ramparts every 120 meters, a moat and
watch-towers. From the walls one can see
the ancient city to the inner side and the
modern part of the city to the outside.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
The Wild Goose Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda
was built in 652 during the Tang dynasty.
Within it, sutras and figurines of the Buddha
that were brought to China from India by
the Buddhist translator and traveler
Xuanzang are housed. Today, the interior
walls of the pagoda also feature engraved
statues of Buddha by the renowned artist
Yan Liben.
Huaqing Palace
Huaqing Palace, also known as the Huaqing
Hot spring, has a long, mysterious past, and
legend has it that it can cure diseases which
attracted many emperors to build palaces
nearby. Visitors can visit an associated
museum.
If you are lucky enough to come during the
period between April and October, you will
be able to watch the musical performance
named “Song of Everlasting Sorrow”, presented
with a backdrop of the Lishan
Mountain and the ponds, pavilions, corridors
and palaces in the background. The
performance is a historical drama with dazzling
lights, beautiful music and dance, lavish
costumes and the grand stage.
Shows galore
Every night we were in Xi’an we were able to
watch live performances. Just like the
numerous shows I had the privilege of
watching all over China, these here would
be incredibly well choreographed and
directed with lots of enthusiastic singing,
lively dance, colourful costumes, and
impressive elaborate sets. Wonderful in person,
they are a joy to relive once I got home
and flipped through the picture and short
videos, I always find a bit of something more
to the show which I originally missed. This
only proves how deep these performances
really are.
Xi’an, the past, now and forever
As China is such a wonderful destination,
immensely fascinating, culturally diverse
with a long and colourful history so it goes
that Xi’an is the same with a back foot planted
in the past and a strong leg stretching out
to the future.
www.tourismchina.org
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Canadian World Traveller Winter 2018-19