10/18/25 – On to Xi’an
Ah, yes, trying to navigate train stations in foreign countries. Fortunately, Jimmy did his best to get us through the massive station and onto our correct bullet train to Xi’an. We left early for our ride, and got there in plenty of time. We even had to wait a while before we could get down to the platforms. The bullet train was comfortable. We had “lunch” onboard, which consisted of a very large “lunchable-style” packet. Kathy ate the rice, while Dave ate the tiny amount of vegetables and two tiny pieces of meat. Being a 4-hour ride, we had to use the restroom facilities on the train (or as our guide refers to it, we had to “sing a song”.) Kathy did not like using the squat toilet at all, never mind squatting at over 300 kph! But, we arrived in Xi’an and eventually found our next guide, Cathy.
Cathy herded us to our bus and we rode the hour to our hotel to get checked in. Every time we board a plane or train, check in to a hotel, or enter a secure tourist area, our guides insist on collecting everyone’s passport and taking them to the checkpoint personnel. This is quite nerve wracking for those of us used to guarding our passports as if our lives depended on it. For the last train we took, our guide took all the passports to the security agent. However, several of us noticed that he just took one of the passports to scan into the system, then gave the rest back to our guide and let us through. In several of the tourist checkpoints, we simply carried our passports in our hands and walked by security with them before being wanded with metal detectors. They didn’t even check our passports. I guess security in China can get lax just like elsewhere.
Once we checked in to the Xi’an hotel, we met up with our guide again for a night tour. We wandered through the North Square of the Wild Goose Pagoda and the Grand Tang Mall, also known as the Datang Everbright City. This was an interesting area with lights, fountains, shops, and attractions everywhere. A chunk of our tour group hung together and marveled at the sights. This must be a main attraction for the locals as many of them were dressed to the hilt in the traditional dresses of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from the year 618 to the year 907 AD. It is renowned as a golden age for its cultural and economic prosperity. What were the peoples of North America doing 1100 years ago? Why the difference? In China, this period is so popular that even today the people imitate their culture. And, their dresses were amazing. Young and old wore them alike. The area had a fountain and light show that was very fun to watch as well. We finally trekked back to the bus and to the hotel for some well-deserved shuteye.