In the 70's, I travelled by steam train to Xi'an. It took 24 hours not five. As westerners we had red silk carpets and compartments for two people where the seats pulled down into two beds. The stewardess came around with a big black kettle containing hot boiled water and copious amounts of Jasmine tea? Everyone had to have a large china cup with a lid, which I took home. On our trip we passed many areas where there were cave dwellers. The areas were very poor.
We were followed everywhere by party members or security staff and where we were based, just outside Xi'an at Sing Ping, our compound gates were locked. (evidently to protect us)
I had four hours of Chinese Opera one night, sat in a 30's hall with a hole in the roof and sat on school benches. We didn't go the an opera this time!!
Day 1
In 2014 our trip took 5 hours at a speed of 305 km an hour. To get to the train was an experience as the station was a city in itself. Thank goodness our guide took us to the train otherwise we would never have got there. Our lovely, friendly guide gave us a tearful send off and even our driver came to wave us goodbye.
The train was an experience, the seats were so comfortable and the ride so smooth. If you held a glass of water, the water didn't waver. A woman came around regularly with jasmin tea and we were given a small box of snacks. The carriage was cleaned every hour. We passed several groups of huge tower blocks along the way. These groups seemed to be towns.
Xi'an was the ancient capital an the starting point of the Silk Road. It is the capital of Shaanxi and has a population of 8 million.
In the evening of our arrival we were taken around Beiyuanmen Muslim Market located just to the north of the Drum Tower and is about 500 meters (about 547 yards) in length.
Some wonderful stalls, pens, paper and the food looked delicious. I wished we had had time to savour the food but it was getting late.
Day 2
The Terracotta Army was still amazing. When I first saw it, it had just been discovered and I remember wandering through the various statues and the sole of each foot was different. We were one of the first groups of westerners to visit the army.
There was no building housing the site, just a tarpaulin.
These warriors were created over two thousand years ago to guard the tomb of Qin Shihuang. When peasant Yang Zhifa found a piece of old terracotta as he dug a well in 1974, he thought he’d stumbled on a disused kiln which could supply him with free jars. How wrong he was: It turned out to be the first warrior of the famous Chinese terracotta army. Now it is all enclosed and there is a balcony which surrounds the statues. You are free to wander around the balcony but here were so many people.We stopped at the shop to buy a book for Josh and the farmer who had discovered the site was there and signed the book.
We heard all about the Qin Dynasty and Chinese history from our guide. Very interesting.
We finished our day by visiting the Wild Goose Pagoda. Built to house Buddhist scriptures brought back from India in 652 AD. It is 64 metres high and a very long 300 step climb!! Beautiful view from the top over the city.
We met up with folk we had seen along the way and it was suggested by our guide to go to the Canton Palace, very near the hotel.
It looked a little big and opulent with a sweeping staircase taking you upstairs. The food, though was excellent and the costs were very good.
Day 3
It was time to leave Xi'an and all the memories I had with Ian, Sing Ping, Vickers Engineering and the Dynamometer programme in the 70's.
In the 70's my experience of flying was very different to what I was to experience today. Then the "westerners" had the front part of the plane. After we were settled a red silk carpet was laid. When we took off all the locals got out of their seats and rushed to various windows, no doubt to see where they lived. Half way in and the locals brought out their little stove and lit it to heat a kettle. Not to be advised on a flight!
Our flight to Guilin on China Southern was in an excellent, super plane, excellent staff.
2025-02-08