Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. The Ancient Capital of China, serving as its capital city in no fewer than a dozen dynasties, including the very first Imperial dynasty, the Qin dynasty, as well as several pre-imperial dynasties, such as the Zhou and the Shang.
However, Xi'an also holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. It was the first city in China that I spent a significant amount of time in, way back in the summer of 2002 when I did a study abroad program at Shaanxi Normal University. As fate would have it, that one summer in Xi'an is also where Cherry and I first met, and quite possibly set my road on to lead me to my long China-based career!
Despite the connection we have with Xi'an, we haven't been back to the city since 2002, until this past spring! The city sure has grown in the last 17 years!
Without further adieu, Episode I of Fifi's Xi'an Travelogue!
First, the written manuscript:
My Trip to Xi'an. by Fifi
On the first day my family and I went to Da Yan Ta. The tower was made in the Tang dynasty. It was made because Tang Sheng brought many bibles from the western world [note: this is referring to the Buddhist scriptures in India], so the king of Tang Dynasty made the tower to store all his bibles. After Tang Sheng died the king made a statue of him to honor what he had done. Before he started his journey, he heard about the bibles from the western world. So he decided to go get them. But he didn't have a document. So he went to a palace to get a document and four servants. After he got the bibles he stayed their for five years and then he went all the [way] back to Xi'an.
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| On the train from Chengdu to Xi'an. It's just 4 hours by train with the High Speed Rail - super convenient and economical! |
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| Only in Xi'an is the hotel welcome gift a Terra Cotta Warrior! |
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| Our home for the trip - great hotel, great location, and great service! |
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| The view at dusk on a not-so nice day |
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| The Da Yan Ta, or Big Goose Pagoda, which was built to hold the Buddhist Scriptures brought back from India by the Tang monk |
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| Forest of Steles, memorializing the monks who lived and worshiped here |
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| Artwork of Guanyin Bodhisattva |
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| Scaling the tower |
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| Replicas of some of the translated scriptures |
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| Artwork depicting western style architecture |
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| The view from the top |
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| Lot's of stairs! |
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| Murals depicting the Monk's journey. The journey was the inspiration for the Chinese classic novel "Journey to the West" |
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| Spring means Cherry Blossoms! |
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| The monk's statue in front of the Pagoda |
Stay tuned for the rest of the travelogue!
