Day 6 & 7: Travelling by Silk Road

Travelling to Zhengzhou from Luoyang was our next stop. We took it a bit easy and left Luoyang around 10:00 am.

We woke up early to take the opportunity to walk around the hotel and have a feel for the city before breakfast. It was interesting to see Chinese people of all ages were kicking a small ball and passing it to each other, making sure it didn’t fall. It seemed quite a favourite sport in this area, and we stopped to watch a few groups were playing in different locations.

Zhengzhou is geographically located in the centre of China and is a crucial transport hub. So, the traffic was slow. It was drizzling, and the visibility wasn’t great. Even though Andy was driving carefully, it took three hours to reach.

Lunching with Chilli tofu, bokchoi, egg tomato, and sumptuous fried rice wasn’t a bad idea at all before we visited the Museum of Henan province. All the plates, bowls and cutleries dropped on our table were wrapped in plastic. Curiosity creeped in, and couldn’t help asking Andy about its reason. ‘The restaurants  typically subcontract the washing of the dishes and cutleries and get delivered back a day later. The process is cost effective’

The Museum of Henan province appeared very modern from the outside. It was a significant museum with current displays and exhibitions, hi-tech equipment combined with unique architecture. One particular exhibit was close to our heart was Xuan Zeng’s route to India from China to find the answer to the Buddhism related problem China was facing in the Tang Dynasty.

Performance by the artists using different ancient musical instruments was very entertaining to finish off the visit to the museum.

We had a bit of a glitch when we were about to check in to Zhengzhou hotel. The reception informed that the hotel was not fit (or not good enough as per Chinese standard for the foreigners) for the foreigners. ‘OMG!!! How come the agent booked this hotel for us? The hotel seemed perfectly fine and of an excellent standard.’ Thank God! We had Andy with us. He spoke to the hotel manager, and all was well at the end. It showed how China care for the standard of their tourism industry.

Chinese people loved eating out. There were many restaurants around, and all of them were full whenever you visited for lunch or dinner. Looking at the number of people queuing up to buy, I wondered, ‘Don’t they cook at home?’

Zhengzhou to Xian:

Andy suggested travelling to Xian by the Bullet train instead of by car. It was about 8 hours drive. He thought it would even take more time due to the lack of visibility and high pollution on the road. He paid for our tickets to enhance our experience in China. Oh well! We were not going to miss the opportunity to travel by the Bullet train again.

The security was at its highest in Zhengzhou Railway Station. We were the only visible foreigners there, and all the security people were staring at us. The city might be right in the centre of China, but I didn’t see many foreigners. So we were the only people out of the ordinary. They looked at us like trespassers. Hmm!

We fell in love with Xian at first sight. The sky was a lot clearer and had a pleasant feel about the place. The roads were wide enough to fit 14 lanes.

Xian Wall was massive. We entered from Anyuan Gate on the northern side. It covered approx 14 km in length, with a deep trench surrounding it. Many ramparts were built to defend and check on the enemy trying to climb the Wall. Small holes in the Wall would hide the sentries from the enemies, but they could open fire from those holes at them without exposing themselves.

There was an apparent difference between the buildings and roads inside the Wall and outside. Inside the Wall, the structures were traditional and kept the identity of old Xian, but the architecture and streets outside the Wall were very modern.

The lights started to appear, the sun was setting, and Xian with Illuminations on the Bell and the Drum towers looked magical.

People came from Arab countries via the Silk Road when Western Han Dynasty ruled China, opening up a food quarter and now is a historically unique place to walk in, eat and enjoy. Muslin Street or Quarter was an inexpensive discovery of gourmet food in Xian with full of buzz and lots of food around. We wandered around, enjoying the atmosphere and free time. Muslim Quarter is a heaven for food lovers.