China Trip, 18th - 19th Nov Xian

We are now on the last leg of our journey. After a gruelling 5 hour coach ride from Henan province to Xian, we stopped at the same Halal steamboat restaurant for our late lunch. In the evening, we proceed on to the Drum & Bell Tower for a tour of the Muslim market. As a major city in western China, Xian has a big population of Hui (Muslim) tribe. Hence, one can find a Halal restaurant easily in Xian. The Hui people set up business around the Drum tower in the older part of the city. Upon entering the market area, we found a lot of stalls all packed into a long street selling all sorts of trinklets, souvenirs and some antique stuff. Some of the students wanted to get some more gifts for their friends, and knowing I could help them bargain, requested for my assistance every now and then. The fun part of buying things is to be able to bargain for it. The trick is to lower the price until both parties find it acceptable. The merchants may seem reluctant, but they usually still earn some profits, and we get what we want. Some people may be so good at bargaining that they can slash the prices to less than 50% of the original price, but usually at the expense of the merchant. As I want to enjoy the process, I will not sour the mood of the merchant. As long as I think I get a cheaper price, then it is fine for me.

At the end of the stalls, the small alley opens up

to a street filled with eateries selling beef and lamb kebabs. Ever the gourmet, my eyes lit up when students tell me they have tried the barbequed beef stick. The beef stick is average, because the chilli oil removes any flavour the seasoning might have, save the saltiness. The other interesting food is the mirror cake （镜糕）. It is made of rice flour, decorated with coloured sugar syrup, coated with The hawkers are pretty up-to-date, using popular anime and characters as designs. The cake taste ordinary, but it has a novel look to it.

We visited the Ming wall the next morning. It was chilly and windy, and my nose was runny for a brief while. We viewed the siege machines used to defend or attack a city, and were left to tour the city walls. While sight-seeing, the hawkers there flew a string of kites to attract our attention, and I went to try it out. The constant breeze and the small size made it easy to fly the kites, and it was quite a satisfaction after missing out on kite-flying for a couple of years.

The final place we visited before we depart for Chengdu then Singapore was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda （大雁塔）in Xian. It definitely looks different during the day without the lighting and waterworks. The tour guide explained that the pagoda was built using the donations by all the palace maids. It was because the palace maids were staunch Buddhists, and knowing how long it takes the Imperial Court to approve of funds for any projects, the palace maids decided to contribute their cosmectic allowance to finance the building of the pagoda. This event clearly shows the level of devotion of Chinese towards Buddhism during Tang dynasty and how prosperous the dynasty was.