Time: July 27th to August 9th, 2014

Character: Dragging wife and daughter

Travel mode: independent travel+local group tour

Opening statement

This is the third year of a trip to China with my wife and daughter, and the highlight is undoubtedly the trip to the northwest. The geographical concept of the northwest includes five provinces and regions: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. This trip covers four provinces and regions: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, and lasted for 14 days.

Day 1 (July 27th)

A. Guangzhou Xi'an (China Southern Airlines flight from 7:55-10:25, booked on Ctrip, with a total price of 2628 yuan including tax and insurance for two major and one minor flights).

B. Xi'an Xianyang Airport - Xi'an Railway Station (Xi'an Xianyang Airport is about 47 kilometers away from the center of Xi'an, the airport bus fare to Xi'an Railway Station is 26 yuan, and the travel time is about 50 minutes).

C. Check in to the hotel (stay at Xi'an Fuhou Hotel, book on Ctrip, 178 yuan/night, the hotel is located in the East Square of Xi'an Railway Station, adjacent to the Liberation Hotel where the airport bus stops, facing the city wall, and just inside the ancient city).

D. Lunch at Liberation Restaurant.

E. Visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square (take bus No. 500 from Xi'an Railway Station to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Station).

F. Explore the Xi'an City Wall (take an electric tricycle from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square to Hepingmen, the fare is 20 yuan).

G. View the night view of Xi'an Bell Tower (take an electric tricycle from Wenchangmen to Xi'an Bell Tower, the fare is 10 yuan).

H. Dinner at the snack city on the seventh floor of Kaiyuan Mall.

I. Return to the accommodation hotel (take bus 616 from Zhonglou Station to Xi'an Railway Station).

Shaanxi Province

Shaanxi Province, abbreviated as Shaanxi or Qin, also known as Sanqin, is located in northwest China. It governs the cities of Xi'an, Baoji, Xianyang, Weinan, and Tongchuan in Guanzhong, Hanzhong, Ankang, and Shangluo in southern Shaanxi, and Yulin and Yan'an in northern Shaanxi. Its area is about 205800 square kilometers and its population is about 37.33 million.

Shaanxi is the hometown of Emperor Yan and the burial site of the Yellow Emperor. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng of Zhou used Shaanxi as the boundary, and the original west was under the jurisdiction of Duke Zhao. Later generations referred to the west of Shaanxi as "Shaanxi".

Xi'an

Xi'an, formerly known as Chang'an or Chang'an, is the capital of Shaanxi Province and is one of the four ancient capitals of the world along with Rome, Cairo, and Athens (or Istanbul). It is the capital city with the most dynasties, longest history, earliest establishment, and greatest influence in Chinese history.

Xi'an is located in the central Guanzhong Basin of the Weihe River Basin, with jurisdiction over Xincheng District, Beilin District, Lianhu District, Yanta District, Weiyang District, Baqiao District, Yanliang District, Lintong District, Chang'an District, Zhouzhi County, Lantian County, Hu County, and Gaoling County. It covers an area of approximately 9983 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 8.47 million.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in the Dacien Temple in Xi'an. It was first built in 652 AD (the third year of the Yonghui reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty) to preserve the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back to Chang'an by Master Xuanzang via the Silk Road from India. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda currently has seven floors and a total height of 64.5 meters. It is the earliest and largest Tang Dynasty brick pagoda in the style of a four sided pavilion.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is regarded as a symbol of Xi'an, and 'not to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, not to Xi'an'.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda North Square Music Fountain

Surrounding the exterior walls of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the North South Square of the pagoda is built. The square has multiple world titles, among which the most famous is the world's largest square music fountain built in the North Square, which performs regularly.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda North Square Music Fountain

There are small trains shuttling through the North South Square for tourists to take and tour, with a ticket price of 20 yuan per person.

Xi'an City Wall

Xi'an City Wall

The Xi'an City Wall is located in the central area of Xi'an, with a height of 12 meters, a bottom width of 18 meters, and a top width of 15 meters. Its outline is a closed rectangle with a circumference of 13.74 kilometers. The city wall is commonly referred to as the ancient city area, with an area of approximately 11.32 square kilometers.

The Xi'an City Wall was built on the basis of the Sui and Tang imperial cities from the seventh to the eleventh year of the Ming Hongwu reign (1374-1378), completely revolving around the "defense" strategic system. The thickness of the city wall is greater than its height, and it is as stable as a mountain. The top of the wall can be used for sports and training. Starting from the Sui and Tang imperial cities, the ancient city wall of Xi'an has a history of more than 1400 years, and starting from the expansion of the imperial city in the early Ming Dynasty, it has a history of more than 600 years. It is one of the most famous city wall buildings in Chinese history and also the most well preserved ancient city wall building in China and even the world.

The Xi'an city wall has four main city gates: Changle Gate (East Gate), Yongning Gate (South Gate), Anding Gate (West Gate), and Anyuan Gate (North Gate), which are also the original gates of the ancient city wall. Since the Republic of China, dozens of new city gates have been built to facilitate access to the ancient city area, and to date, the Xi'an city wall has 18 city gates.

City Wall Express Hotel

There are many opportunities to pass by and see the city wall in Xi'an. The hotel where you stay faces the city wall, and you can see the city wall from the Xi'an Railway Station Square.

bell tower

bell tower

The Xi'an Bell Tower was built in the 17th year of the Hongwu reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty (1384 AD). It is located at the intersection of four major streets in the center of Xi'an city (under the jurisdiction of Beilin District). The clock tower is built on a square base and is a brick and wood structure with three layers of eaves and four corners of a roof. It has a total height of 36 meters and each side is 35.5 meters long, covering an area of 1377 square meters. There are stairs inside that can spiral up, and the eaves are covered with dark green glazed tiles. The tower is decorated with gold paintings, painted with pillars and carved beams, and has a gilded treasure roof at the top, which is magnificent.

The Xi'an Bell Tower is the largest and most well preserved bell tower among many ancient Chinese bell towers.

bell tower

The Bell Tower is located in the center of the ancient city of Xi'an. From the entrance of Kaiyuan Shopping Mall, you can enjoy the night view of the Bell Tower from afar. During the day, you can also take a tunnel to climb the Bell Tower.

bell tower

bell tower

bell tower