Riding Xi'an's Wall

Xi'an. City of Legend. China's first capital. Eastern terminus of the Silk Road and center of the mighty Tang Dynasty.

Xi'an is resplendent with history, and nothing is a more potent reminder of this than the Ming city wall. Withstanding the test of time, they still stand guard separating Old Xi'an from the booming modern metropolis.

Now the walls you see are 11KM long and built during the gunpowder age. This means they are THICK and wide enough to lead a cavalry charge down. In these more peaceful times, you could also drive a truck.

We settled for a bike. 

A Forever Tandem. Yes. You can rent a bicycle on top of the wall near the south gate and pedal the entire distance atop the walls. Which is exactly what we did. It's a great way to see the city as you can peer both into the old town, and out onto the new city.

The entire trip will take you about an hour to an hour and a half. When you are done, hand the bike back and go get yourself some tasty chuan'r in Xi'an's atmospheric Muslim quarter. Or maybe catch a cab and go see some Xi'an's better known residents.