If it's Tuesday, this must be Beijing

I’m writing this on the overnight train from Xi’An to Beijing. Will send it tomorrow after we arrive.

At this point, the trip is starting to feel more like an endurance challenge than an urban planning tour. People are tired, a few are sick, and the non-stop pace of the travel is definitely taking its toll. Still, everyone is in good spirits and we continue to be fascinated and energized by the experience of being here (barely).

We checked out of the hotel at 7:50 this morning and boarded a bus for the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was an hour's drive from Xi’An. Again, the countryside looked ravaged by bad development, industry, and mining—but the most noticeable thing was the terrible air quality. Brown skies and visibility of less than a mile the entire way, and the smell of incinerator smoke in the air. We got to our destination at around 9 AM.

The Warriors complex had a theme park atmosphere, with massive parking lots, huge billboards, souvenir stands, and a 40’ tall replica of a Chi dynasty warrior. After going through two sets of turn-styles, you follow Disney-like walkways to a grand-looking plaza lined by enormous pavillions. We were greeted by a guide and given an overview of the warriors and the history of the Chi dynasty (circa 221 BC). The first pavilion was pretty ho-hum, and contained miniature bronze chariots and horses.

The second pavilion was amazing. It resembled a blimp hangar but several times larger. Elevated walkways went around the perimeter, enclosing an enormous pit where the warrior statues had been excavated. The sight of 6,000 life-size clay warriors more than two millennia old (on the very site where they’d been excavated) was remarkable. The experience was diminished a little bit by the hordes of tourists snapping photos, the soft-spoken guide who was reciting her script by memory (with very little English beyond that), the relentless emphasis on the gift shop and souvenir purchases, and the fact that people were just plain tired and hot.

By 12:30, we were back on the bus and headed back for Xi’An. It was very hot and smoggy, and we had no hotel rooms to chill out. After we arrived n town, some of us went out for lunch at the dumpling place near our hotel. No English language menus, but the restaurant had roving waitresses with pushcarts so we were able to just point to the items we wanted.

No rest for the weary—the next event started at 1:40. We had to load our suitcases on to the bus, then head to a bicycle rental place at the South Gate of the City Wall. About half of us rented bicycles and did a 90-minute ride on the top of the City Wall. The wall is 38 feet high 45 feet wide, and 10 miles long. It was originally built many centuries ago and has recently been restored as a tourist attraction. The wall forms a perfect rectangle, with a moat along the perimeter. Xi’An itself has a rectangular street grid, which is pretty astonishing when you contemplate that the streets were laid more than 600 years ago.


Riding on the wall was loads of fun. We were the only ones up there and had the place to ourselves. Unfortunately, it was 95 degrees, brown skies, and lots of grit and dust in the air. No bike lanes—you just sort of bounced along over round cobblestone bricks, going up and down ramps when you reached a city gate. We stopped a few times for water, but mostly just rode on and on, looking out over the city below and the marveling at the brown-colored sooty air.

After the bike ride, we had a whopping 90 minutes of down time before we needed to assemble again for the night train--however, no hotel room or place to crash. I walked around the shopping area, bought some groceries for the train ride, and found a hotel with a public bathroom where I washed up a bit. I was desperate for a shower, but no such luck (for me or any of us).

We were back on the bus by 6:45, headed for the train station. The bus dropped us off several blocks from the station, so we had to carry our bags the rest of the way, being chased by street vendors with dolleys offering to carry our things. The train station was pandemonium, but we made our way through security and into the waiting area.

We boarded the train at around 7:45, with some confusion about seating assignments. The train is a soft-sleeper, which means you're in a tiny compartment with two pairs of bunk beds. Most of our group is sharing compartments with one another, but Hugh Graham and I are in a compartment with a Chinese husband-wife couple who speak no English. They are sitting next to me as I type this, probably talking about what an odd thing it is that I’m on my laptop.

The train is kind of fun, though. If it had a shower I’d be a happy camper.