Mount Hua

Went on a 1 day tour with one of the local tour agency to Mount Hua, which is better known as Huashan (Called Xi Yue in ancient times). Huashan is one of the five sacred mountains in China, known as the number one precipitous mountain under heaven. Situated in Huayin City, 120 kilometres east from Xi'an in  Shaanxi Province. There are five main peaks - east, west, south, north and central.

Currently there are 2 cable car stations to allow visitors accessing the mountain from north station and west station. West station is the more preferred one because firstly, west peak has a better scenery as compared to the north. Secondly, other peaks (south the highest, central and east) are from nearer in distance than from north.

We bought 3 tickets per person in total. One for Huashan bus ticket, one for cable car, and one for Huashan entrance.

After 30 minutes of bus journey, the Huashan bus drop us off at this entrance, about 400 steps of stairs to climb to reach the cable car station.

 The flowers are blooming, spring in greeting!

 Gorgeous view from the cable car. It gets a little scary and breath taken when we were about to approach the top. The view is simply jaw dropping, sights of trekking paths and endless mountain range shone like gold under the bright sunlight.

 About to reach the West Peak - 15 minutes from the cable car alight area

Locks and red ribbons are sold by locals at Mount Hua, you can hang them anywhere you like after purchasing. In Chinese, they call it 平安锁 Ping'an Suo (Peace lock). Locals believe by leaving a lock and ribbon in Mount Hua will bring peace to you and your family.

 华山论剑 The most famous legendary martial competition described in Mr Jin Yong's novels.

One of the steep routes you will encounter when hiking Mount Hua.

Oldest capital of China, Xi'an - Day 1

Xi'an has been on my bucket list for quite some time actually, so I decided to go ahead and get it checked because my parents agreed to go with me! (Friends around me are mostly shunning away from China) I first went to Beijing from Singapore, stayed for a few days and took their High Speed Rail (G-train) to Xi'an. The journey is around 4 hours 25 mins.  Train tickets were bought via the tour/ticketing counter located in my hotel lobby. It's simple and efficient, I collected the tickets on that same day evening. Ticket price: RMB 516, there is a handling fee of RMB 12 per ticket. Passport is required for purchasing of the tickets. One thing to note, there are 4 railway stations in Beijing, G-trains will depart from Beijing West Railway Station, arrive at Xi'an North Railway Station.

Accommodation

Citadines Central Xi'an

36 Zhubashi, Beilin District
Xi'an 710002, China

Highly recommended! I stayed in Citadines Central for 5 nights. It fulfilled my top 3 priorities when choosing my choice of accom.

Convenience ★★★★★

Its conveniently located right in the heart of the city. Walking distance of 5 minutes to Drum Tower, 7 minutes to Muslim Quarters, 10 minutes to Drum Tower and 15 minutes to City wall.  There are many supermarts and restaurants beside the hotel.  

Comfort ★★★★★

As it is an aparthotel, room is equipped with a kitchen area with all the necessary appliances you need (pot, utensils, microwave, fridge, chopper, electric stove)

I booked a queen studio it comes with 2 twin beds and its still spacious to be walking around with 3 luggage opening fully on the floor.

Budget ★★★★★

I booked on hotels.com for around RMB 400 per night! Comes with 2 breakfast voucher daily. The breakfast buffet has much less variety if you were to compare with full fledged hotels. But it is still sumptuous enough in my opinion. They have scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast with jams & butter spread, Asian fried rice/noodles, fried vegetables, fresh fruits and cakes. For beverage options they serve juices, coffee, tea and milk.

Terracotta Warriors

I booked a private 1 day english guided tour with Chinaxiantour.com , both our tour guide Ken and driver are very friendly attentive and helpful. Ken explained to us in details bout the history of Xi'an and also the attractions we visit. My parents and I enjoyed talking to them very much.

The Terracotta Warriors was discovered by five farmers in 1974 in Xi'an while digging a water well. It's said that Emperor Qin ordered his people to create these sculptures of army to be buried with him so that they could protect him in his afterlife.

Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum is about an hour drive away from Xi'an city, in Lintong district. Along the way, you get to see the scenic view of Mount Li and passing by the famous Huaqing hot springs where it was said Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Gui Fei had liked this place a lot and spend most of their time there.

At the Terracotta Warrior site, there is a total of 3 pits inside this on-site excavation museum. Pit 1 being the biggest with most of the terracottas displayed. 

Pit 1

           

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The pagoda holds the sutras and Buddha figurines that Monk Xuanzang brought back with him when from his Pilgrimage to the West in the Tang Dynasty where he started off from Xi'an (previously known as Chang'an), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong, Monk Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Daci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda in the temple.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Statue of Buddha and his two chief disciples.

Evening Dumpling Dinner & Tang Dynasty Dance

We added on a dumpling dinner & tang dynasty show into our tour itinerary. The dumplings (it was a set menu, serving 16 different kinds) were not so much appetizing to us to be honest, but we quite enjoyed the performance which is made up of song and dance in Tang style. We took a quick glance around us and realize, most of the guests are non-Asian. Okay, it just meant I made a wrong choice of program. Asians generally will find this kind of performances rather dull and uninteresting. Should have brought my parents to some decent Chinese food restaurants instead. It cost RMB 300 per person for this dumpling and show, a decent meal for 3 people in Xi'an would have cost around RMB 200 at most. (Okay~ lesson learnt)