Bikes and Bullet Trains - 12/9/2017

Hello friends and family, Macy here! Today I will be giving you a rundown on our second and final day in Xi’an. 

We started the day with a morning bike ride around the Xi’an city wall. As the capital of many dynasties and one of the most important of China’s cities (it is the beginning of the Silk Road), Xi’an has a massive city wall surrounding the historical center. Although many cities have similar fortifications, Xi’an’s wall is the largest, oldest and best preserved, standing at 40 feet tall. It was on this wall that the Globies spent their morning. We biked around all nine miles of the wall’s perimeter in a little over an hour and a half, soaking in the sights and only a little pollution. 

Exhausted and hungry after the morning exercise, we headed to lunch. After filling up on Xi’an noodles, cabbage and sweet and sour chicken at the China Folk’s Restaurant, we headed to our next destination, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This pagoda once held the first sutras of Buddhism brought to China by the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang in 652 C.E. Although the sutras have not survived, the Pagoda and surrounding temple remain. We took some time to wander around exploring the temple. Some rooms held massive golden Buddhas, others huge walls of wooden carvings. My favorite room was decorated with the story of the Buddha’s life, but all in Jade. The range of colors and delicacy of the carvings were amazing. 

After the temple we ended our time in Xi’an and headed to the train station. This time, we rode the bullet train back to Beijing. This shortened our trip from twelve hours to only five and a half. While zipping by at 200 miles an hour, some Globies worked on homework, others talked and still others slept. Finally, having arrived home, we turned in for the night, ready for our free day tomorrow.