A street near our apartment with a ton of fun bars.
That's right, it's an 80's bar in China- just like 80's Night back at the Night Light in B'ham!!
The “1945 VICTORY BAR”... such a sweet sign!
Me trying to be a dramatic photographer...
With flash...
Without flash.
The first Chinese friend I met all on my own in downtown Xi'an! I know it's incredibly blurry, but I had to get a picture with him!
The Bell Tower in the center of downtown at night. See the big bell on the first floor, right side?
Some of the wild lights down town.
Getting ready for my first trip on a bike... first of many!
Off to great adventures in Xi'an!
The other entrance to our Hutong.
These covered motercycles are everywhere out in south Xi'an where I live. They will give you rides short distances for about half the price of a taxi... depending on how good your Chinese is!
Of course I rode in one!
Xi'an is a very historical city. The downtown is surrounded by a giant wall. Within downtown are several pagodas. This is the drum pagoda- drums are lining the base.
Another view of the Drum Pagoda.
The Chinese once believed that China was the center of the earth (中国, the characters for “China” literally means middle kingdom). Being the old capital of China, Xi'an is in the center of the China and earth was the center of the universe. This pagoda marks the center of the city of Xi'an. Therefore, by ancient Chinese thought- I'm standing at the center of the universe!
And of course, there is a Starbucks at the center of the universe!
Look familiar?! Yeah- I'm roughing it here in China!
Another US favorite... can you guess?! I swear, I'm in China (even though the there are 5 white people in line...)
KFC is the McDonalds of China! It's huge!
The steering wheel in a taxi. Hmmm... Looks like another car company I know.
There are a lot of places offering Massages by the blind. I'm yet to find out what the hype is about.
Grammatically, it makes sense- Chinese don't use spaces, so every syllable deserves equal spacing!
A tech market in Beijing! Needless-to-say, Eric J, I thought of you! With some Chinese skills and a stomach for bartering, you could get some sweet gear here!
Cell phones anyone?
A pet store. I like the name: “Hello Dog”
This area is the Muslim Street- tons of vendors!
Nothing but cheep rip-offs here!
Rosters just chillin' on the side of the road.
This area is called the Muslim Quarters and it was expecially busy!
This is the same fountain show seen from the Wild Goose Pagoda during the night. It runs several times a day.
If you haven't already heard- this is the alternative to diapers in China. Before you get too grossed out- just think of the millions of pounds of trash that has been prevented from Chinese babies not wearing diapers... not to mention all the hilarious pictures!
A little blurry... but this is the Wild Goose Pagoda at night.
This is a glamourous appartment complex we stumbled across... do I live in the ghetto of Xi'an?!
hmmm...
I've been told this is the second largest plaza in China, second only to Tiananman Square (that's the Wild Goose Pagoda in the background).
Human Hampster Wheels... in water.
A park around the plaza.
A group of musicians performing in the park. It was great!
A couple of my buddies in Xi'an- they're always there for me!
The street outside our apartment. But more importantly- BLUE SKIES!
The Xi'an TV tower. If you ever make it to Xi'an and find your way to this tower- you very close to my apartment! Give me a call!
Busy street of Xi'an
Xi'an Convention Center
The first drive thru in Xi'an! People were going in backwards! Now, they often go through the drive thu, but then take their food inside and eat.
Once being an Ancient captial, the downtown is surrounded by this city wall. I'll go on it one day and make a whole album for it- stay posted!
City Wall.
A giant row of ping pong tables near the city wall. Packed during Holiday!
The fancy stair way at the fancy coffe shop we visited.
A stage outside of a mall. Everything is crowded during holidays!
There are a lot of these inflatable arches in Xi'an!
Me under more arches.
Giant TV at Convention Center Plaza.
Me at the Swing drink store!
Cari in swing chair.
So cool!
We tried to order Cari a strawberry drink, and this is what we got. There were weird beans in it :P
This is not an uncommon sight in China- many shops will have models dress up outside their store in rather outrageous/elaborate outfits.
This is the reason we decided against going to the Terracotta Warriors. Holiday traveling!
And this was just to get on a bus that would take you to the site!
I was fasinated with this elevated sidewalk. Enjoy the next several pictures of the same structure.
In case you were worried about the children of China receiving some solid American reading- Goosebumps, in Chinese!
My sweet new guitar bag!
On such a clear and beautiful day, Cari and I decided to adventure to find a good picture of the mountains.
One of many cleared lots in China. One day, construction may begin... and it seems that the construction will never end. That's Cari on the right.
this was a really cool building across the street from the mall with the dairy queen
dancing
This is the street performace Carri and I came across one night.
The youngest could literally fold herself
Here, the youngest is spinning on the strange tripod that she is using to hold herself up on.
In this picture, the blur in the center is a large table the woman is spinning on her feet.
This act was almost difficult to watch- the oldest was on rollerskates and spinning in circles fast enough to spin the youngest. Both were attached to one-another by a harness that went around their necks.
The youngest displays her flexibility by crawling through the tube.
A concert hall I found while wandering featuring Terracotta Warrior replicas playing instruments. Very humorous!
Best Hot Chocolate in Xi'an... that I know of!
The view from a double-deck bus.
