Xi'an: Our First Days in China's Ancient Capital

Hey there, fellow travelers! This year, we dove headfirst into China for six weeks, exploring different regions and getting a real feel for the country. Our very first stop? Xi'an, China's ancient capital. This video, and this post, are all about our initial three days there, as we tried to figure out how things work in this part of the world. And let us tell you, we struggled from the very start.

Finding Our Feet (and Our Hotel)

After a bit of a false start with the wrong hotel, we finally settled into our first place in China: a spot right in the city center, near the train station, for a pretty affordable €12 a night. It was definitely a learning curve, but once we got sorted, it was straight to business. Xi'an is packed with history, and with just three days, we had no time to waste.

Face-to-Face with the Terracotta Army

Our first big adventure was visiting the Terracotta Army, an archaeological discovery from the 20th century, buried for over 2,000 years. This site is still active, divided into three main pits, all open to the public. Pit number one is the largest and most impressive, with over 6,000 unique warriors, each with distinct facial features, hairstyles, and armor. They were built purely for the first emperor's spiritual protection and were never meant to be seen.

Our tip? Go later in the day. We arrived about 1.5 hours before closing, and it meant we explored the pits and museum without feeling rushed, and with noticeably fewer people around. It made a huge difference to the experience.

Navigating the Language Barrier

One of the immediate challenges we hit in Xi'an was communication. Not many locals speak English. Often, they'll use a translator, but sometimes, they just keep speaking Chinese, even if you don't understand a word. We had a taxi driver who was incredibly friendly, constantly chatting with us even though we had "no clue what he was saying". We just nodded and said "okay" to everything, which seemed to keep him happy. It's a real challenge, but you find ways to adapt!

Diving into the Muslim Quarters (and the Food Mystery)

Our city center exploration took us to the Muslim Quarters, a buzzing area famous for its street food. With dozens of stalls, most of the dishes were a complete mystery. It was a definite "hit or miss" situation. We spent time watching what locals ordered, then bravely tried things ourselves. For example, our hunt for sweet breakfast food sometimes led to surprising, not-so-sweet discoveries. Another small challenge? Finding coffee, as it seems the Chinese are more into tea. But hey, mission accomplished, and coffee-fueled, we were ready to keep going.

Biking the Ancient City Wall

Xi'an's history is palpable everywhere you go. The park around the Ancient City Wall is more than just a scenic walk; it's a lively spot where locals play cards and dominoes. The wall itself stretches 14 kilometers around the old city, and the best way to see it is by bike. We were thrilled to find they also rent tandem bikes – our favorite way to explore. It was a bumpy ride on the stone ground, but the views were fantastic.

One of the unique sights was seeing so many people dressed in traditional ancient costumes, posing for photos along the wall and at spots like the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It gives these historical places a really "scenic and alive" feel. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda area itself was beautiful, especially with the Sakura trees in bloom in April. Even though the pagoda closed before we could enter, simply soaking in the atmosphere and watching the crowds was more than enough.

A highlight nearby was the "screaming fountain". This waterfall fountain reacts to volume, so the more people shout, the higher and more intense the stream gets. Everyone gets involved, laughing and bonding together – it's such a good idea.

Modern Chinese Efficiency: QR Codes and Passports

We quickly learned that in China, WeChat QR codes are used for payments almost everywhere. You just show your code, they scan it, and the payment is announced out loud. It’s incredibly efficient. On the flip side, we also learned that passports are obligatory for buying train tickets and any other kind of ticket. As you enter train stations, you scan your passport, and it automatically finds your ticket reservation. It definitely adds a layer of administration to travel, but once you get the hang of it, the system works. China truly surprised us with how clean, efficient, and modern it is, with internet and apps making travel quite comfortable once you understand the system.

The Huashan Adventure (and Unforeseen Costs)

For our third day, we planned an ambitious hike up Mount Huashan, one of China's most beautiful and notoriously dangerous mountains. Our initial idea was to hike up to save money, as the cable car is expensive. However, we discovered that the pathway we intended to use was closed. This forced us to buy tickets for the cable car, which added to our budget: we ended up paying 55€ each for this activity (entrance fee, cable car up and down + busses).

Despite the change of plans, we ended up trekking for about four hours, visiting four and a half peaks and walking 16,000 steps. Huashan is a sacred Taoist mountain with temples built in hard-to-reach spots. We even saw people preparing for the "Sparrow Hawk" path, an adventurous secured route, but it was too crowded for us to attempt. Given the cost and the unexpected closures, we did question if it was "worth it". But as we learned with our trip to China, sometimes the unexpected moments are the most memorable.

China: A Surprising Favorite

Overall, our time in China was a revelation. It's one of the countries that genuinely surprised us the most on this trip, alongside Saudi Arabia. We found it to be clean, quiet (with electric cars), and rich in culture and traditions. The food was great, and once you get familiar with the system, traveling is very easy. China became one of our favorite countries on this six-month journey across the Middle East and Asia. It even felt a bit like a shock coming from China to Vietnam, which felt "a bit too much" touristy by comparison, as you almost never see other international tourists in China.

This was just our first taste of China, and we learned a lot very quickly. It definitely set the tone for the rest of our time in the country, including a later collaboration where we were invited to explore Shanghai and Hangzhou for free.

For all the real moments, the struggles, the surprises, and the sheer scale of the Terracotta Army and Huashan, you really need to watch our full Xi'an video. We tried to capture it all, unfiltered!