The first two days of our trip consisted of cultural excursions to various locations. On Monday, the group went to visit the Terra Cotta soldiers. It was about an hour drive outside of the city to the museum. The area to view the soldiers was divided into three pits, each of different sizes. We visited all three pits. It was a neat site to see. It was hard to get pictures because it was dark in several locations, but there were a ton of warriors. The figures also included chariots and horses. Monday also included a visit to the Bell and Drum Towers. These are located in the center of Xi’an. You could go inside the tower and up at the top was a great view of the city center. Not too far from the Bell Tower is the Drum Tower. The Bell Tower rung at dawn to start the day and the Drum Tower is struck at night to conclude the day. In the Drum Tower, there were multiple drums that signified certain things. For example, there was a drum for each solar term or weather phenomenon. My favorite was a drum for “slight heat.” I assumed this meant a period of the summer, but I wasn’t exactly sure. There is also a drum museum inside the tower. The Drum Tower also gave great views of the city.
The next day, Tuesday, also consisted of cultural excursions. Our day started with a visit to the Xi’an City Wall. It looks a lot like the Kremlin in Moscow in my opinion. It was my favorite of the cultural excursions. It is situated at the end of the ancient Silk Road, which ironically is also located in the center of the urban district. We walked along one of the sides of the wall and got more good pictures of the city. We took a group picture at one end of the wall. After some free time at the wall, we walked to the Muslim Quarter. It was a short distance to the Muslim Quarter, since the district is located inside the City Wall. It is called the Muslim Quarter due to its large Muslim population. The area is most known for its culture, food, and shopping. We were given about two hours of free time here in addition to lunch. It was a fun area, very lively. Some of our group went again the last night of the trip. They were not disappointed.
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