We took an overnight sleeper train from Chengdu to Xi’an. The train cars were pretty warm most of the time, but the bunks were softest beds so far. I had a bottom bunk and Lauren had a middle. You can tell there’s not much room in a top bunk–but they are the closest to the ventilation.

The bathroom was locked at stations so people couldn’t use it (because it dumps directly onto the train tracks.)

We arrived in Xi’an around 7:30. It was already shaping up to be a very hot day (it ended up getting to 100 degrees). We rented bikes and biked along the Xi’an city walls—oldest and best preserved in China. Really wide and decent to bike on.

We went to the Muslim Quarter. This was historically the end/start of the silk road, so there are still lots of Muslims here. We tried the dragon’s breath treat (puffed cereal soaked in liquid nitrogen). There were lots of food stalls and knick knacks.

We had some interesting food for lunch including noodle soup (tastes like somen) but also had tiny shrimp.

Then we went to see the Terra-cotta Warriors. We (and thousands of Chinese tourists) saw the rows of statutes in Pit 1. We saw fragments and weapons in Pit 3, and the wholly intact kneeling archer in Pit 3 and metal chariot in the museum. Everyone was sweating like crazy. It’s hard to tell how huge these pits are.

For our flight to Zhangjiajie we had extra security at the airport. I liked the sign about getting up slowly after squatting in the restroom. I also loved the nap pod.

Arrived in Zhangjiajie.