Monthly Archives: April 2010
So when in Xian, maybe best to stick to the restaurants in the hotel ( Renmin Square Hotels ) 🙂 Unless you have other recommendations from friends. We enjoyed our meals here
The kids love the dimsum, they can eat many siomai and dumplings 🙂
They had Beijing duck instead of Peking duck which is not the crispy type
This was something new to see, they had a warmer for the wrapped duck
They use a different wrapper
Second way of the duck and they only served the breast part, it was really good
And they make an effort for presentation which is not always at Chinese restaurants, so Heart2Heart likes it 🙂
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Sofitel, Xian
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We were not able to get any restaurant recommendations for Xian…so we just asked the concierge and the tour guide where to go. The Chinese food was okay but not spectacular, maybe also because we did not know what to order also.
This restaurant was near the hotel. They had a wide variety to choose from but we stuck to the basic Chinese food we normally order like Roast duck, sweet and sour pork, siomai
We did not know what this was, but it looked interesting so i took photos 🙂
This was a restaurant near the Terra-cotta warriors. It seemed like all the tourists and tour groups were going here. It was a big place! But we did not really like the food and it took some time for the food to come out. We also had a hard time communicating with the servers. I think that the tour groups that come here reserve in advance and have a set meal whereas we just walked in and tried to order from the menu
I actually liked this – chinese french fries 🙂
This was a chicken dish which I also liked
Oh my gosh!!!!! KFC!!!! by the Terracotta soldiers! Our savior! 🙂
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We went to the Terra Cotta factory since this is the place that is recommended to buy all your souvenirs as it is owned by the government. You will be assured you are not being over charged. And even after their price, you can still bargain depending on what you are getting. You can even buy life size warriors and they will have it delivered to you wherever you are in the world.
The soldiers are actually bigger than life size!
When they make the soldiers, they are hollow inside and then they put the head after. And they can make the head look like anyone! So if you want, they can make your head/face 🙂 I think it takes 3 months.
WOW!! Here is the shop where you can buy all kinds of terra cotta soldiers!
And they have other Chinese items
Lacquer furniture
and even carpets! The Chinese can make anything!
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Sofitel, Xian
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Our main purpose for our visit to Xian was to see the Terracotta soldiers. And WOW! We read and see a lot of photos about them but to be actually there and absorb the history surrounding them and how they preserved it. And for my two sons, they are awed as they are studying it and when they see it in person, they are more amazed!
Continuing their excavations
There was only one soldier that was intact when they excavated and it was the kneeling archer. All the others were already in pieces and they had to put them together one by one to rebuild the soldiers and put them into one piece
Javier was so excited to see one of the farmers there
and he made sure he bought a book so he could get an autograph
They normally do not allow photos but the farmer was probably happy that the kids wanted to meet him so he allowed it
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Sofitel, Xian
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When travelling, this is one of Heart2Heart’s favorites. Just like a bath tub, we can only have breakfast buffets and tub baths when staying in hotels. Wherelse can you wake up to a breakfast buffet?:-) We came already late so the buffet was almost closed, which explains why it’s a bit messy already and little food left in containers. It’s a good thing I was able to take photos still and we were able to eat a bit. It’s not included in the room, only kids eat for free. But they did not charge us anyway, maybe because we came so late already.
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Sofitel, Xian
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We stayed in Sofitel hotel which was located at Renmin Square. It was perfect for us as it was peaceful and relaxing and away from the usual city crowd. You would imagine Xian being “probinsya” but we did not feel it at all in this hotel, which is very up to date and refurbished yet the rates are 1/4 of the bigger cities.
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We were fortunate to go to China over the holy week and mostly for the kids who are taking up China and the Chinese language now in their school. We stopped by Xian to visit the Terracota soldiers and were surprised to see many other beautiful structures and historical places. It’s a good thing one of my sons had been there in one of their school trips and he helped as a tour guide 🙂 Though we had our own tour guide and better make sure you have one with you when in China because hardly anyone speaks English or better yet…we need to learn to speak Chinese!
The Old City Wall which is around 13 kilometers circling around the city. It is amazing!
It’s beautiful on top as well! It was foggy while we were there which gave it an even more mystical effect
You can bike around the wall – you can bring your bike or you can rent one there
Even the trash can looks ancient and blends well with the place
We circled the wall with the bus and we saw the different entrances/gates
Around the wall is of course moat and they have a few bridges to enter the wall
Night shots of the wall
Bell Tower
Drum Tower
Our tour guide took us to a market, Since it was late afternoon already and a bit drizzling, many stalls were closed and not many people were there
They had a lot of stores selling paintbrushes and paper
and other Chinese handicrafts
Small booths closed due to weather
Beautiful buildings
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Sofitel, Xian
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