April 11 Free day, Chinese opera in the evening

Today we were free to do as we wished (provided that didn’t entail trying to post a blog entry or access Facebook, or do any of the other things that us Western Capitalist Imperialist Pig-Dogs are wont to do) so we set off to see the sights of Xi’an. Didn’t take long!

We started by visiting the bell-tower. These old Chinese towns tend to have a bell-tower and a drum-tower. The bells would be sounded in the morning as a sort of time-marker for the people, and the drums would perform the same function in the evening. If you climb to the top, as we did, you are rewarded with nice views of the city, although you can’t see as far as you would like because of the appalling air pollution. After about a mile or so a dirty white veil descends. I could tell you how many times a day I have to clear my nasal passages, but that would disgust you. Before leaving the bell-tower, we were treated to a short performance by local musicians involving bells, drums and stringed instruments. I videoed some of it, so if you are really interested (and I know you are) I can e-mail some clips to you later.

A view from the bell tower looking towards the drum tower. Get used to hazy pictures like this - the air pollution here is horrendous.

Jen gazes through the smog from the upper level of the bell tower.

We then continued our walk down to the south gate of the city wall, climbed up to the top (after purchasing a ticket) and then rented two bicycles at a rate of £4 for 100 minutes. We cycled exactly half-way round the wall, to the north gate, a distance of 4.5 miles. We would have finished a circuit were it not for the fact that the surface was uneven to the extent that it was a bit like cycling over corrugated iron, so we returned the cycles (there are hire points at every gate) and walked back to the hotel for a couple of hours’ rest.

The Boris Bike idea has made it ti China! (Or was it the other way round?)

At 6.20pm we were collected by our guide and taken to what we would call a dinner show. Instead of rows of seats in the theatre, there were dining tables. Jen thought it was like the Talk of the Town used to be in London, but I never went there. The meal consisted of a dumpling banquet! It’s like dim sum, but there are 18 varieties of dumpling (guess who didn’t finish hers?) and the pork ones look like little pigs, the chicken ones like little chickens, the fish ones like....well, you get the picture. They come in three waves of six and you have to be quite quick because if you let them go cold (they are presented in bamboo steamers) they don’t taste so nice. Also, the staff were keen to work to a timetable so that all the tables were cleared in time for the show to start. Many years ago, this type of dumpling banquet was reserved to the Imperial Court, but now all you need is 37 quid!

To be fair, the show which followed the meal was a wonderful spectacle of Tang Dynasty music and dance, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn’t get decent pictures of it from where we were sitting, because there were too many heads in the way, but we counted it as a good night out.

Back at the hotel by 9.30, knackered after the bike ride, and so to bed.

 
Jenny’s bit: Thought the dinner show would be the Chinese equivalent of the Medieval Banquet in St Katherine Docks, instead of which it was really lovely.