Xi'an scene

You can't beat Xi'an for old culture.Photos: Chen Dujuan 

Taking a bus from Huaqing hot spring for 15 minutes, we arrived at the site of Terracotta Warriors and Horses (110 yuan admission) from the tomb of the Qin Emperor, the first emperor of China. The three uncovered pits, occupying more than 20,000 square meters in total, show the grandeur of that time, but we didn't get to see lines of thousands of warriors, horses, weapons and chariots as we'd expected, only many broken ones scattered around and many parts still unexcavated. However after seeing the warriors, which all have different lifelike expressions, we could understand why former French President Jacques Chirac called the Qin tombs the "eighth wonder of the world."

The Shaanxi History Museum (free admission) is another inevitable stop for anyone who likes archeology, history and ancient treasures. We rented an electronic tour guide that told us about the treasures in several languages. The first hall includes relics from prehistory to the Shang Dynasty (C.1600-1046 BC), mainly broken stone implements and bronze wares. Seeing the simple cookers and tools used 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, we could not help but take them as a sign of the wisdom of human beings. The second hall exhibits pottery figurines and other relics from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). The third is dedicated to the wares of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), mainly tricolor-glazed potteries and fine chinaware. There's also a special fourth hall full of more delicately made and valuable relics, but that one costs 20 yuan to enter.

You can't beat Xi'an for old culture.Photos: Chen Dujuan 

A taste of history

Of course, Xi'an has a lot to offer besides a bunch of old historical sites. That's right, we're talking about the food. Near the bell and drum towers is a Muslim street that is an absolute must-visit for gourmands. Scores of restaurants serve pita bread soaked in lamb soup, mutton shashlik, pork and mutton buns. Dongxin Street, where we stayed, is a night-food street, so we spent the vacation surrounded by delicious street snacks.

Xi'an's food is characteristically salty, oily and meaty, but that just means it's tasty.

"I've eaten enough mutton for half my lifetime here in Xi'an," we joked and swore to start vegetarian diets after leaving.