Xian, China

7 sages hostel claims to be one of the top 10 most spectacular hostels in the world. It is clean, classy and cheap. The staff are nice. A friendly black Labrador lives there as well. You can pet it.

Public buses are very cheap and efficient in Xian. 1-2 yuans will get you almost anywhere within the city limit. If you have luggage, scooter taxi is also very cheap and convenient. You will pay about 10-20 yuan depending on how far you go.

The City Wall is one of the must do things in Xian. It is one of the oldest in China dated back to the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century. The wall is 8.5 miles around. I walked it but should have biked it instead.

The City Wall at night can be very beautiful and definitely quiet and peaceful compared to the streets below. It is a great romantic walk.

In the old days, if you want to open business, you did not need a shop space. You just need a bamboo stick. (It is a street leading up to Yuquan Temple or Jade Spring Temple.)

When you get off the bus or train, everywhere is flat. Suddenly as you look up, you see some towering majestic mountains rising up precipitously. You can get to the top of Huashan by cable car or hike. If you want to hike, you need to get through millions of worshippers in Yuquan Temple.

The locks are red ribbons are for good luck. People tie them on the chains along the trails.

The trail takes you straight up to 5700 feet. There is not much switchback. Some of the steps are carved out of the face of rocks. If you fall, there is nothing to stop you from being killed or seriously injured. This particular passage is called Old Lord Furrow. Legend says that people in the old days thought that it was impossible to climb up this rock. An old man decided to dedicate the rest of his life to carve out steps on this rock and thus won the honor of having the passage named after him.

When you finally get up to the top, the view is totally worth it. It is the North Peak.

There are a lot of these steps going straight up in the 5 peaks on top. It is like Half Dome in Yosemite except a lot more of them.

It is what you see when you come down the cable car from the North Peak. It reminds me of Yosemite Valley.

If you are in Xian, you just have to see the terra cotta soldiers.

Terra Cotta soldiers museum is definitely one of the major items in anyone's bucket list.

If you do not want to cough up 150 yuans to enter the terra cotta soldiers museum, you can go to the History Museum for free. Here you can actually see the figures a lot closer--close enough to touch them. But of course if you really do touch them, you will be in trouble.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a tourist trap. But it is within walking distance from the History Museum. So you may just as well.

I do not eat street food much anymore---at least not since I was a kid.

If you really want to do something, the place cannot stop you.

These look like giant muffins. I should have tried them. But again I had a feeling that they were not muffins.

Apparently sheep ankles are hot items for Chinese Muslims--sometimes literally spicy hot. The stuff on the left of the sheep ankles is probably diced noodle.

The Muslim Market is a lot of fun to see and is great photo opportunity.

People take wedding pictures in the Muslim Market.

The Great Mosque in Xian dated back to the Tang Dynasty according to the Muslims. According to one Jewish blog, this site was an near exact replica of the Kaifeng synagogue and was a Jewish place of worship until the 19th century. So who is lying?

Chinese redbuds.

The Great mosque gardens are small in size but huge in terms of character.