Day 6: Xi'an City Sites

Day 6 - Fri. Jan. 3: Spent over 3 hours at the Shaanxi History Museum. The museum has a large collection of ceramics, bronzes, jade pieces, gold and silver items, and other cultural artifacts dating back to prehistoric times. Couldn’t believe we spent so much time there, but it was very interesting. Shaanxi is the name of the province of which Xi'an is the capital.

 Tang Sancai Horse - Shaanxi History Museum

Shaanxi History Museum

Our next visit was to the Great Mosque (Da Qingzhen Si) in the Muslim District. The mosque was built in 742 under the Tang Dynasty, when Islam was still a young religion. It was restored and widened during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties and is one of the largest in China. The prayer hall is (naturally) closed to non-Muslims, and I wished I had gotten a photo of all of the Muslim men on their way to and from afternoon prayers, but I just wasn’t thinking. 

 Wooden Memorial Archway - Great Mosque of Xi'an

 Stone memorial Gateway - Great Mosque of Xi'an

Phoenix Pavilion - Great Mosque of Xi'an

After that, we hiked to the second floor of the Bell Tower. The view made for great photo ops of the surrounding inner city.

 Xi'an Bell Tower at night

 View of old Wall and Gate of Xi'an from the Bell Tower

View of the Drum Tower from the Bell Tower

On our way to find the Dumpling Dinner/Tang Dynasty Show, we walked through another market in the Jade District and along the old city wall. Unfortunately, all of the places that do the show were closed for the season (not enough tourists), so we ended up just going back to the hotel for a rest before heading out to a delicious late night hotpot at a nearby restaurant. Really hate that we have to leave Xi'an tomorrow. There is so much more to see and do here that it would take weeks to fit it all in. I guess that gives me an excuse to return (maybe in warmer weather next time).

Click on the following links for more information about

The Shaanxi History Museum
The Great Mosque of Xi'an