2025-09-12 China - Xi'an

Onebagging

I'm crazy! Well, it doesn't come as a surprise for many. In this case it's my new challenge onebagging, i.e. Just travelling with hand luggage. I started with onebagging to Pakistan with British Airways, 23 kg. Then India 7 kg in the overhead compartment (carry-on) and 3 kg at the feet (personal item). Air China has a 5 kg limit for carry-on and no weight limit for pOnebaggingem, just a size limit that is equal to the carry-on. Later, we'll fly from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the limit is 7 kg in total.

So, I have weighted EVERYTHING, and carefully considered if a thing is worth the weigh. I have 7,4 kg, but one of the tricks with onebagging is to place heavy things in the pockets, and as the 7,4 kg is including everything except my small handbag, incl. my jacket, so I'll be fine.

I started to pack by bag 3 weeks ago to ensure that I got the weight as much down as possible, and that I remembered everything. I have taken a silk inner-liner for sleeping bag, as a duvet is too hot and a sheet too cold even on hot nights. I have also an inflatable pillow as I hate thick pillows. 

I don't bring much clothes as I do the laundry a couple of times when we are 2 nights in one place. I also use merino t-shirts which just need airing as the wool is self-cleaning, but given the hot weather, I might wash them too. I will hate my shirt soon as I only bring one that I normally use a lot, but so be it.

The group

We should have been 16 travellers and a Danish leader from Panorama Travels in Denmark. But this very knowledgeable guy got seriously ill, so we have gotten one of the owners who hasn't been in this area before. He is a animal keeper and has worked at the Zoo in Copenhagen with tropical birds for many years. He is a seasoned traveller, so he'll probably do a good job assisted by our local guides.
One of us had an operation so the insurance company would not insure her. So we are only 13. I know one, Gert, from my other trips with Panorama. We had just talked about which trips looked interesting so we both booked this trip, too!
All are grey haired, probably because it's expensive trip that the youngsters can't afford. But all seem to be quite fit, we might all be close to or on retirement  but none are close to sit at a retirement home! Many haven't travelled with Panorama before but are willing to travel a bit more rough than the large agencies do. We are all used to travel a lot.

The trip

We met in the airport and started to chat immediately. The first plane wasn't full so we we all two at a 3 seat row. I slept as a baby as usual, but they woke us up 2,5 our before landing and dinner was served 2 hours after take off, so not enough sleep. 
We had 1,5 hours in Beijing before we had a 2 hour flight to Xi'an.
China has recently implemented a new law. All power banks produced in China must a a CCC mark - regardless when and where they are bought. So all our power banks were confiscated. I tried.to plea our case but the officer didn't bulge. However, she offered to send the power banks to our hotel but we are on the move, so with transportation time it will be a later hotel. If it fails, we all need to buy new power banks. If we had taken the train, it would not have been a problem, it's only a problem for domestic planes. So the time flew and Christian, our Danish leader and I were the last to board and we had to walk fast, but we made it. The question is now if our power banks will make it. 

Xi'an

Xi'an means Western Peace and is considered to be rhe root of a large tree Beijing is the trunk, Shanghai the leaves.

Xi'an is the old capital, then named Chang An, Eternal Peace, during the Tang-dynasty (618-907), and it was here that the caravans with silk and spices started. Later Emperor Zhu Yuanzhangs (ruling 1368-98) built a mighty city wall and he conquered the Mongolians, so basically we are where Mulan lived with her family and their ancestors and dragons - if Disney is a reliable history source ... The Emperor founded the Ming-dynasty and that is the truth.

Go to Shanghai to see the future, to Beijing for the present, and Xi'an to see the history.

But even if Xi'an is the history there is also more modern history in the area. 400 km from here was the center of Mao's long March, that ended the WWII.

3 mio people live in the city, 20 mio in "greater" Xi'an. There are 8 rivers around Xi'an, Wei is the largest tributary to Yellow River.  The present if the rivers means that the soil is very fertile. The agriculture is very rich with fruits, pomegrate (granatæbler, even as road trees in the city centre), apples, pears, persimon (kaki frugt), and wheat. These produces require less water than e.g. rice, and is grown in the North part of China whereas rice is grown in the South. The wheat makes noodles very popular. 

There are few earthquakes, and no flooding. Normally hot in summer, but this June they had 3 weeks of 43°C. In winter typically -5°C, so they appreciate the Central heating. So, all in all it is a sweet spot, why Xi'an or Cheng An was the capital for many centuries,13 dynasties. A dynasty is like a royal family who rules, until a new dynasty takes over.

However, not all is old. Northeast  of Xi'an the BYD (Build Your Dream) car manufacturer has a large plant with 100.000 employees. It then rather funny that there are not all that many BYD cars here, but a lot of European cars, VW are seen everywhere. 

It is also a univerticy city with 50 universities and colleges. I have seen the university of acupuncture and technology and the university of architecture and technology next to each other.

Sightseeing 

After we had checked in, we had 30 minutes to refresh ... or as in most cases struggled with the fancy toilet that none of us figured out how to flush (no. 1, automatically, no. 2 on the side of the remote!), but we got ready to see the city wall.

The old wall is the best preserved city wall in all of China. It's almost 14 km long and very well preserved.  In front there is a moat - of course with so many rivers around. Inside is the old city centre with the old bell tower and drum tower.

The city wall is built as a square with 4 gates, North, South, East and West. Each gate had moat (voldgrav) and a drawbridge (vindebro) first. Then an archers' building and only then came the actual gate. The building with the draw bridge and archers building are reconstruction but the third building is the real deal.

Along the wall there were small watch towers spaced 120 m apart - as the archers could shoot 60 m. They were now small souvenir shops.

It was truly impressive. There is no sky skyscrapers in the inner city so it's very visible compared to the skyscrapers on the outside. 

We saw a lot of women, mostly young but also some middle aged dressed up in the old way on photo shooting for their own joy. They were so beautiful. There were also some men dressed up, one I didn't quite know if it was a man or a woman but the flat breast and his sword gave it away. They are not from Xi'an. The dresses are rented, the makeup and hair styling is done on the spot, but there is a new trend for the mainly young people to dress in the old days.

Many people took pictures so I photo bombed a picture of a man and he and his friend was so happy with it, so they invited me to live in China! I have an international fan based now.

After the city wall, we saw the Bell Tower that rang at sunrise and sun set to signal opening/closing of the city gates that was also a signal for trade to start/stop. Close by was the Drum Tower where the drums had different "names" that told farmers what to sow and when. Both buildings were very beautiful with small exhibitions on pottery.

Behind Drum Tower is Muslim Street that is a pedestrian walk with food and souvenir shops. There are many trees along the streets, and many lamps in the trees. The shops had a lot of lights too, and it was very colourful. We passed the Drum Tower on the way to our restaurant and it, too, was, of course, lighted up with lots of lights.

The restaurant had lots of different courses, all very delicious. The desert was served in the middle, and we learned that the Chinese do not wait for the sweets, but eat it in random order.

So, a looong day ended. Plenty of activities is the way to beat jetlag - we have done our best!