Sunrise Tai Chi with the Retired Community
This was our favorite part of our visit to Xi’an. We woke up at 7am and walked to a park where hordes of retired people were completing their morning workout routines. Regimens ranged from choreographed dancing, to tai chi, to a man slapping a tree branch. We did a few push-ups to make ourselves feel like part of the group. We also joined in on a tai chi group for about 30 minutes. It is much harder than it looks!
Hiking Mount Huashan
This was a very cool hike that was suggested to us by a good friend. From the gondola ride required to get to the start to the views from the top, we had a blast. The trail was a bit treacherous though and not for the faint of heart.
Visiting the Terracotta Soldiers
The soldiers were very cool, but we realized that this type of thing isn’t really our jam. There are endless rows of clay soldiers ordered by a young prince to defend him in the afterlife. Maybe we were in a bad mood from the election. If we went back to Xi’an, we probably would have skipped this. The pictures online look exactly like what you get in person.
A Bumpy Bike Ride Along the City Wall
This was a relative itinerary fail. We started to ride rickety old bikes around the ancient 6-mile cobblestone-topped road encircling Xi’an. We didn’t even make it to one corner of the wall before we turned around to call it a day. We could blame it on the election, but it was really uncomfortable.
