A remarkable city historically .... a major point on the Silk Road in China and the starting point westwards ... just being there makes you feel you are on the Silk Road adventure ...of course, Xi'an is now otherwise small and dusty and, from a tourist viewpoint, synonymous with the Terracotta Army - a bewildering archaelogical find... hundreds of human-sized terracotta warriors discovered accidentally by a local man who, incidentally, is still there (at least was there when I went in 1998) and is a bit of an institution himself ... he is a simple person, you can click a photo with him, look at him, and talk to him if you know Chinese ... Xi'an is on the train route from Beijing to the South and a changing point for heading west to Urumchi or Lhasa, southeast to Hunan or Canton, or southwest to Szechwan or Yunnan ... the train ride itself is fascinating in this region, co-passengers chat away over swig after swig of vodka or mug after mug of green tea, and bite after bite of assorted foods brought with them or bought along the way... food and drink are often shared and, depending on the folks in your compartment, you may discover unique slices of Chinese life ... from folks headed on long tough journeys to Central Asia, to genteel Chengdu elders, to Cantonese couples or singles...

Zhengzhou-Xian Air Route Cancelled
Zhengzhou-Xian Air Route had been cancelled since March 25th, 2010. People traveling between Xian and Zhengzhou will have to resort to land transfers. The best and most convenient way is taking Zhengzhou-Xian High-speed Rail .

After the last flight heading to Xian on March 24, Zhengzhou-Xian air route had been abandoned by all Chinese air companies because of sharp drop of air-traveling takers. Airliners could hardly make ends meet, facing the fierce competition with the High-speed Rail. So they cancelled Zhengzhou-Xian flight route.

Compared with the flights, Zhengzhou-Xian High-speed Railway takes only about 2 hours to accomplish the travelling, and it only costs 390 RMB ($ 58) for one seat in a first-class carriage and 240 RMB ($ 36) in an economic carriage. Moreover, a total of 14 CHR (China High-speed Railway) trains are running between Xian and Zhengzhou every day, at an interval of 90 minutes in both cities, which is of great convenience for traveller to adjust their travel schedules.

For more information of the high-speed railway, you can read Zhengzhou-Xian High-speed Railways Started Operation(http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/news/zhengzhou-xian-high-speed-railway-started-operation.html).

Amazing City steeped in History and the Capitol City of the first Chinese Empire of the Qing Dynasty.

Highlights without a doubt are the Terraccotta warriors and cycling around Xian City walls for history, a visit to the Aincient Mosque and medicine market where you will find all sorts of weird and wonderful things to eat for your health (provided you like scorpions, geko and horse penis with a side helping of Hedgehog.

The city is situated on the Yellow river and is an overnight train journey from Beijing so is worth taking provisions and alcohol.

It is amazing to see the old city on one side with the new build up part of it outside the old city walls.

Strongly recommend the Xian Hotel and also tring out a Chinese Hot Pot but using chopsticks is a must so it will be good to get some practice in.

From personal experience, I got sick at the fancy Chinese restaurants. So don't even bother. Go to the dirty-looking, one car garage sized restaurants and just pick something (or ask the staff to pick something really Chinese or really Western friendly) that sounds yummy. Chances are you'll be going back and talking about that place for years.