While Beijing was the capital of last two Chinese dynasties, Xi'an was the capital of some 13 ancient dynasties, most notably the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. Xi'an has a rich history spanning over a thousand years and you can see that the city is proud of it. As if this is not enough reason to visit the city, it also houses the Emperor Shi Huang Di's Mausoleum Site Museum (aka the Terracotta Army). Xi'an is quite an amazing city to see.
High-speed railway (HSR)
From Beijing to Xi'an, we took the high speed railway. You can read this article on how to buy high speed railway tickets in China. We chose the Xi’an North railway station (西安北站) as our destination because it is connected to the city's subway station.
The high speed train ride between Beijing and Xi'an took about 6 hours. It seemed long but the entire ride was comfortable. The only thing I didn’t like was that on that particular train, there was no display of the next station. Instead, you had to rely on the announcements. The overhead display was only used to display the current train speed, which was quite useless to most passengers.
Xi'an subway
The Xi'an subway is quite extensive and is connected to the Xi’an North railway station. Like in Beijing, you can buy the Xi'an transportation card to enjoy a nominal discount (10% on subway and 50% on buses) on transit fares. You can learn more about it through this website.
Growing pain of a cashless society
Our experience buying this transportation card illustrated the growing pain of a cashless society. Although subway stations had kiosks selling these transportation cards, none of the kiosk accepted cash. All they could accept was WeChat Pay or Alipay. Since these transportation cards were not issued by the transit company but instead by a third party company, the customer service lady at the subway station could not offer any help. At the end, we had to ask a passerby to help us buy the subway pass with his smartphone apps.
I am sure that one day, this issue will be resolved but a cashless society will always exclude some group of people in the society.
Walking on the streets
Xi'an's streets are wide and straight and they are easy to navigate. I noticed that the people in Xi'an were less diverse than in Beijing. There were definitely fewer foreigners walking on the streets and the locals seem to belong to the same ethnic group. If you are into shopping, walk along the Nanguan Main Street between Nanshaomen Station (南稍门站) and Yongningmen station (永宁门站). There you could find a variety of local shops and international shops. There's even a Lego store for you and your little ones.
On the street, I also saw quite a few girls who put on a distinctive make up. They made their faces white and their lips red. This technique is called Little White (化妆小白). For some reason, this style of makeup was a lot more popular in Xi'an than in any other city I visited.
Lego Store
In 2019, Lego opened a certified store in Xi'an. You can take a picture with one of the two life-size Lego Terracotta Warriors. You will be disappointed to find that the prices of Lego sets are not much cheaper than the ones in your home country.
Partying on the street
Every night on Nanguan Main Street, people take to the street and dance to their heart's content. On the night when we were there, there were at least five different groups of dancers. Each one of them were dancing in a different style. Everywhere you turn, you would find someone dancing. It was quite amazing. I couldn’t help but feel the energy and move my hands and feet a bit closer to their beats.
This so called Square dancing (廣場舞) has its own benefits and problems. On one hand, the dancers enjoyed the social engagement and the chance to exercise and relax. On the other hand, the noise level is quite high and can be an annoyance for the nearby residence.
Staying
In Xi'an, we stayed at the Mark and Henry Apartment. The building itself was quite old but inside the apartment was clean and modern. It was located in the Zhongmao Plaza (中贸广场) along the Nanguan Main Street and close to the Nanshaomen subway station (南稍门站). There were numerous eateries and shops in the plaza. Location is perfect for most travellers. In addition, the apartment has a small kitchen and laundry machines. So it is perfect for family travellers.