The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
April 28 - Around X'ian
The city wall is impressive. We entered through the South Tower.
When in Rome and all that. A pedicab ride down the wall seemed so ... well, Chinese! Just inside the South Gate is the Yong Ning Hotel. The building's architecture stirred up incredibly colonial images of white linen suits, Panama hats and a tall drink under the palms. Alas, the inside wasn't any of that. Sometimes fantasies are best left to themselves.
Much of the city is typical barren concrete but there are lovely streets lined with trees that seem to offer a shady respite from the heat. They rarely cut down on the heat, of course, but they do get you out of the direct sun, reduce the scale and make the city seem a bit more intimate -- all in all, a Very civilized idea!
The White Pagoda is one of Xi'an's most ancient artifacts, now the centerpiece of a massive city park. The place was packed ... and it was just a Monday night. Between the berm of flowers and the pagoda itself are a series of tiered shallow pools. They were dry, but We were told there was a big computerized water show at 8:30 so apparently they get flooded, the lights come on underneath and it all happens. We didn't want to wait around that long, though, so we watched how the pagoda changed its appearance as the sun went down ... and gratefully called it a day. There is still packing to do, for tomorrow we are on the road again.
© 2008 Restaurant Doctor
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