Arrived at station “statutory” 1.5hrs ahead of departure. 2mins through baggage scan and ticket (passport) check and now sitting in echoing waiting hall for 1hr 28 minutes!
Observations on transport: sitting in BYD taxi, noticed screen showed a rolling road image, with zebra crossing markings. Also graphics of cars and bikes in real time as he weaved through the traffic sometimes traffic lights show up with real-time colour and even countdowns to colour changes
Some taxis had little mirrors on the b pillars (inside) so passengers can check traffic as they get out!
Minimum fare it seems sits around a very reasonable 20yuan on Didi, roughly £2 for 20 minute ride. The initial fare can adjust post hoc for surge, tolls, but even refunds if quicker than predicted
The train to Xi’an was but not high speed like before. Fully blocked but otherwise good
Country side changed from plains to hilly ranges that we went through/under. It was initial standard green arable crops but later changed to polytunnels as far as the eye could see, turning the vista white. Not an animal to be seen
Xi’an is huge (13 million) (cf London 10 million) and there are forests of high rise flats in various groups of 10-20 identical designs
Xi’an city is surrounded by city walls 13km circumference with bell and drum tower inside
Then a wander through the Muslim quarter, full of Chinese Muslims (as xian is the eastern end of the silk route
The Muslim quarter is home to many culinary delights, and we tried “hulled coconut” with the flesh totally removed from the husk, and beef dumplings
First impressions of Xi’an: it’s certainly more like a big city, noisier, dustier, more diverse and affluent. Although dustier, the food shops were more reassuring and felt hygienic (famous last words) despite having some of the same food opportunities…
It was interesting to contrast Xian to Pingyao, obviously very different size but Pingyao had preserved the whole of the inside of the walls (or will do), whilst Xi’an had hollowed out the inside of the walls some time ago and inserted a 19-20th century city