Our tour of Shaanxi Province begins from Xi"an, the ancient
Chinese capital of eleven dynasties, because of its advanced transport network. Day One: In the morning, Check in at a hotel. Then take
minibus No.610 from the railway station to the Large
Wild Goose Pagoda and after that to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda with
the same bus. For lunch, have your first try of Xi"an food specialties (such
as Yangrou Paomo and dumplings).
In the afternoon, first go to the Forest
of Steles and then to Xi"an
City Walls by the same No.610 bus. Finally, conclude the first day with
a grand view of the city center from the The
Bell and Drum Towers. Day Two: Today, you could venture out of town after buying
tickets
for Mount Huashan. In the morning, take bus No.306 or 307 to the Terracotta Warriors to pay tribute
to the vast number of funerary figurines that the first Chinese emperor ordered
to be buried. Dine at one of the small restaurants around the complex, or, to
save time, take some solid food with you from the city proper ahead of time.
In the afternoon, take the same bus to the Tomb
of Concubine Yang and the nearby Mount
Lishan. Go back to town with the same bus in the evening and then take a
train on to Mount Huashan. Check in at one
of Huashan village hotels. Day Three: A strenuous day for you! Get up early and from
the base of the mountain, walk or take a cable car to the Northern Peak. You
may spend the rest of the day conquering the other peaks, making sure that you
return for the cable car and in time for transport. Take a train or a bus back
to Xi"an in the evening. Day Four: Buy tickets on to Yan"an. In the morning, take a
tourist bus from Yuxiangmen Bus Station (Yuxiangmen qiche zhan) in
the western part of town. It will take at least 3 hours travelling to the Famen
Temple. After a brief lunch near the temple, take the same bus (about one
hour) to the Imperial Tombs.
Return to the city in the evening. Take a sleeper train to Yan"an. Day Five: In the morning, take bus No.3 from the railway station
to the Revolutionary History Museum
and then to the nearby Yangjialing
Revolution Headquarters. In the afternoon, take bus No.3 to the Pagoda Mountain, from which
you may get an undisturbed view of this former communist stronghold. Take a
train back to Xi"an at night, ending
the trip in Shaanxi. (Optional Destination from Yan"an: A day or more can be spent in Yulin, a small town, little ravaged by
time on the fringe of the Mao Wu Su Desert. From here you may head on to China"s largest
waterfall, Hukou or elsewhere.) |