Exploring Xi’an
After meeting the person from my hostel and jumping on a public bus. She began pointing out some things like where to buy train tickets and some of the landmarks of the city.
The hostel’s location was excellent as it was right by the south gate of the ancient city walls. I arrived at the hostel, checked into my room, and booked a tour for the Terra Cotta Army for the next day. I grabbed the tourist map from the hostel and asked where various markets and parts of the city were located including the train ticket office. I headed out to explore Xian with my first priority being to buy my train ticket.
After getting a little lost and realizing the map wasn’t exactly to scale, I found the train ticket office only to see it was closed for lunch. I went to eat lunch myself and came back a little before 1pm to see that a line was forming. After waiting in line and the office opening slightly late, I had my train ticket to Beijing. I could finally explore the rest of the city. 
Many travelers come to Xi’an for one reason alone – The Terra Cotta Army. I was interested in seeing what else was in the city.
I took a taxi to the muslim quarters which is very near the Drum and Bell towers. The muslim quarters was fantastic. I would describe it like visiting a state fair. Basically, you have all these street vendors selling food and shop owners selling goods and you can’t walk 3 feet without running into another person.
I milled around the muslim quarters for awhile doing some bargaining and trying the street food. Xi’an’s food is very spicy, but I liked it. The street food was not so spicy that you couldn’t taste it. I eventually found my way out of the Muslim quarters and headed back to the hostel. I was feeling pretty tired so I crashed out for a nap until about 7pm.
After my nap and because I had seen someone’s night pictures earlier in the day, I decided to head out and get my own night shots of the city. The first place I visited was the Big Goose Pagoda.
To my understanding, the Big Goose Pagoda is a temple – either Doaist or Toaist. It is located outside the city walls. The temple area appeared closed for the evening when I arrived around 8pm. but there was a very large public area or park around the Pagoda itself. I walked around taking pictures of the lighted up Pagoda and the public areas.
The next sights I visited were the Drum and Bell tower. They are located pretty much in the center of the city inside the ancient walls. I didn’t spend as much time there as I did the Pagoda because I wanted to get back to the hostel and have plenty of rest for my Terra Cotta Army tour the next day.
I made one final stop to capture some photos of the ancient city walls lighted up. Then I went back to the hostel and pretty much crashed for the night…it had been a long day of walking.
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