We arrived in Xi'an (shee-ann) today. I've just got to mention something about our flight before I continue this blog post. We boarded the plane in Beijing early this morning...and then sat on the runway for the next 75 minutes waiting to takeoff. Did you read that correctly? 75 minutes on an airplane...waiting to takeoff! And, to make matters worse, Jenesa was on the opposite side of the airplane. OK, it gets a little worse....they serve us rice pudding for breakfast.
One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city is one of the four great ancient capitals of China, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. The city is surrounded by a wall - which is the oldest and most complete wall that has survived in China.
Tonight we spent the evening at the Tang Dynasty Theatre Restaurant. It presented a performance of the Chang'an Music and Dance which originated over a thousand years ago in Xi'an. We also feasted (I use that term lightly) on the following menu: 1.) chicken delicacies with dumpling specialties, 2.) black mushroom soup, 3.) king prawns, 4.) baked tenderloin beef and fried rice, 5.) orange "surprise" with palm seed, and 6.) platter of assorted ancient imperial "Dim Sum". And we washed all of that down with some Jasmine tea.
