It was our second trip to this ancient capital of China which has the most interesting historical sites and mountains. The last trip in 2012, we barely had enough time to visit this famous City Wall of Xian which is the most complete city wall that has survived all the fierce battles in China.
So we made sure we allocated one full day to visit the whole city wall and enjoy the panoramic view! We truly enjoyed riding bicycles around the whole city wall.
Come let's tour the walls now....
1. I was told many times that my past lives were in China &
once fought in many battles alongside the Chinese Emperor's army.
2. This beautiful City Wall's fort was built during the reign
of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty
(Year : 1368-1644)
3. The map covers 13.7 kilometers (8.5 miles) in length
with a deep moat surrounding it.
4. The City Gates stand with grandeur and look very majestic
as a prominent landmark in Xi'an especially when lighted up
at night fall.
5. This solid looking ancient steps of the city wall ,
is ranked as
one of the largest ancient military defensive
systems in the world.
6. It is very wide and spacious all around. You need to pay
a fee to get inside to enjoy the panoramic skyline of Xi'an city.
7. There is a booth to rent bicycles and a shop that sells
many types of interesting souvenirs. You can buy from them
at fixed & very reasonable prices.
8. Look at the cute letter box!
9. There are almost a thousand bicycles for grabs!
In Summer the whole place is very hot with big crowds.
That's why we chose winter when the crowd is smallest
and the wind is cold.
10. That's my wife with wrapped face. She cycled very fast
as she has 2 expensive bikes at home and has joined
the inter state cycling in Malaysia!
11. Some outer walls are higher and this side is the inner wall.
12. This is another City Gate.
13. Many bridal couple would come here for photo shoots.
14. All tourists stopped to look at their photography
session with a nice spectacular backdrop.
15. There are several buildings inside the City Wall.
16. I loved these very old Chinese houses that stood outside the walls.
17. This is one of the many viewing posts for
looking out at intruders.
18. We stopped a few times to 'Wefie' for remembrance.
19. More benches to relax and browse their smartphones.
20. I spotted this magnificent looking Tibetan Buddhist Temple.
21. The same temple looks huge and lengthy in area size.
22. This is another side of the City Gate.
23. My wife who is a Tai Chi gold medallist, stopped
and did a warm up exercise in this ancient site.
24. It is almost 2 hours and they are still shooting
the wedding photos in the grey weather.
25. These are real solid ancient walls where the soldiers hid to
peek at the enemies.
26. I could see the entire Railway Station Of Xi'an where
we boarded the 24 hour train ride to Dunhuang.
27. It was a victory for me to race across the huge City Wall on a bicycle.
I have prayed in a temple that I will visit Xi'an again.
***
cool pics! looks like a great place to explore for travellers who are physically fit, with all the walking and cycling involved. btw, i've actually never been to mainland china :D
ReplyDeleteChina is so damn huge and one can never finish touring all places from the ancient sites to mountains and modern cities which are way bigger than KL. Time to visit - Sean!
DeleteVery nice, Anay!
ReplyDeleteYeah so very nice. Lina should go and run around it.
DeleteGood evening TM... Hot weather here today... Had my K-Kardio workout today, lol...
ReplyDeleteWeather today is warm. It was boiling at 39C degrees for a few days.
DeleteI like the cute letter box, hehe...
ReplyDeleteYes it is cute but I didn't mail your postcard from there.
DeleteThese places will be good sites for movie shooting, your past life was in China? No wonder you like China so much
ReplyDeleteThey have made movies from this spot too. I am sure you have seen many Zang Yimou's movies.
DeleteChina is even cheaper than visiting Japan. What are you waiting for?
Gosh, the groom so red!
ReplyDeleteThe guys in China are very trendy today. From young to old ones, they would give you culture shocks!
DeleteThank you for all the photos! I don't think I will get to go to this City Wall of Xian because too many tourists in summer and too cold for me in winter. You and your wife are looking good.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Beijing during the hot summer in 2002 and I vowed never again to visit during Summer! Their crowd was crazy and huge plus the heat was near 40C degrees. That was 15 years ago and I bet the Chinese crowds are bigger everywhere.
DeleteYou can visit many suitable areas that could enjoy cool weathers and little walking.
Wow, you were a warrior who fought many battles in China..very historical place in Xi'an, one has to know a bit of the history to enjoy the visit there.
ReplyDeleteYeah I was told that my past lives were in China, Japan, Thailand and others. Do I look like one?? LOL
DeleteI read up a lot about these countries before going there.
It must have been tough for you to keep up with your wife's super cycling speed...haha! :D Are those actual houses (that people live in) you captured outside the walls? They look like shops (doing some kind of business) to me. I like that last photo...you looked like you have conquered your cyling 'demon'....wakakakaka! Thanks for showing us around Xian.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is a sports and outdoor person while I am an indoor person but I am an extrovert no doubt. Ha ha!
DeleteThat row of old houses consisted of both trading and private homes. I spent a great time observing those few rows of ancient houses from the City Wall which stood 40 feet above the ground level. I would often dream that I could own those pre-war Chinese homes in Penang but they costs millions ringgit today.
Great your past lives were in China, so definitely you will keep going back. Its always better to visit during the cool season, more comfy and less people. I love those old architecture too.
ReplyDeleteI would always want to go back to visit more places in China. I would feel at home and don't feel like an alien there. That country is still affordable right now and is popular as the best choice for foreign travelers.
DeleteNice adventure, Tan! It's interesting to see a groom wearing red tho; it's my first!
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice adventure with lots of eye openers on their dressing.
DeleteAbsolutely majestic fortress and walls to come across! Ever seen such wide and long walls (except the Great Wall of China) where one could take cycling to cover the distance. Ancient walls alongside modern skyline give interesting perspective and the strong ability was impressive... thanks for this cycle tour. Love the red letter box
ReplyDeleteChina is an interesting country with very rich and well preserved historical sites. I hope that you could visit China someday. That city wall is located right in the heart of Xi'an's city which makes it looking very unique and prominent.
DeleteThat is really nice to cycle and explore. I always love cycling and will take any opportunity to cycle when visiting new places.
ReplyDeleteHow do you go up the stairs with your bicycle? Do you carry it up or skip it and take other 'route'?
I also love the idea of cycling in foreign countries to have a better experience and holiday. Some places are not suitable to cycle and I would jump onto a motorbike to zoom off. I rode a bike around Phuket island and it was so memorable.
DeleteThat steep stairs would lead us up to the top which is 40 feet above the ground level. That's where we could cycle or walk around the City Walls and enjoys the panoramic skyline of buildings. Hope you can make a family trip there as the AA tickets to Xi'an is cheapest and the hotels are cheap too. It was the first capital of China with the richest historical sites including the terracotta warriors.
Is this place smelly like The Great Wall? As I heard many people pee at The Great Wall >_<
ReplyDeletePS: I've email you (twilightzone51@gmail.com) regarding your winning of my giveaway, can you provide me your address so that I can courier you the gift? :P
This places is spotlessly clean and has many clean toilets on the City Wall. The Great Wall is much longer, bigger and higher but quite narrow which I thought was difficult to build toilets above.
DeleteI have emailed you my particulars. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your visit. Come again please!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great trip in China with you wife. Looks like there many to see there. I admire that your wife is a specialist of Tai Chi. I did Tai Chi for years but gave up...I still like Tai Chi though.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
China is such a huge country that one might not be able to visit all the places in their lifetime. That applies to their own folks in Mainland China.
DeleteMy wife loves Tai Chi and outdoor activities such as hiking up the hills and mountains. I hope to bring her to climb Mount Fuji and the volcano at Wakanai.
Hi! It's a nice post! The capital of Táng(唐）. Many priests went to Xian（西安、長安） to learn Buddhism. 洛陽(Luoyang) was the real capital.
ReplyDeleteXian is located to west from Luoyang, so it was called Xian （西安）. I want to call there in a some future.I enjoyed your photos very much. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing some information on this Xi'an's history. I am aware that the famous monks (priests) from Japan had visited Xi'an to study Buddhism. One famous monk was Kukai whom I will blog in my next post.
DeleteHope you will be able to visit this city soon.
Very fascinating. I really salute your wife. She is like superwoman LOL!
ReplyDeleteYes she is my Superwoman and Wonder Woman idol.
DeleteXi'an should be my destination, China-wise.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will visit Xi'an more than once. It is nearby to so many fabulous attractions.
DeleteLooking ancient steps of the city wall - I feel "penat" jor...
DeleteThe letterbox is so cute. It is good to visit other countries.