Friday, September 23: Shanghai to Xi'an

Friday we were mainly occupied in getting from Shanghai to Xi'an.  There weren't very many non-Chinese people at the domestic portion of the airport, and it was interesting but not too difficult since the signs were in English and the announcements were made in both Chinese and English.

This is the view to the left from our hotel--Pearl Tower is the building with the two spheres near the top.

The view to the right of our hotel window.

The train station was right below; we had to walk past the train station when we exited the subway.  

Much of the city had been leveled and rebuilt for the Olympics. This is one area that has survived.

Another look at the same area taken from the subway

Same area but the main street with storefront

Our airplane--The service was really good, like we used to have in the US before all the recent cost saving measures.

We took a bus to our hotel which gave us a nice overview of the city, but it wasn't one of our better choices considering that there is no subway and the transportation/communication for foreigners isn't terrific.  A helpful Chinese businessman bailed us out.

Street cleaning truck

We stayed in a Holiday Inn and had breakfast in the executive area on the top floor.  Like all of the hotels we stayed at in China, construction was going on at a fast pace all around us.  This is the view from the dining room.

The construction on the other side of the hotel-- view from our room

We had originally thought about taking a bus to the Terracotta Warriors, but given our experience of the afternoon, we signed up for the tour the next morning.