Arrived in Xi’An - Updated
December 7th, 2006 by stolisano
We have arrived safely in Xi’An.
After only two days in Shanghai, we had to leave for Xi’An , but not before hopping on a high speed train. Can you imagine traveling at 431km per hour on a train that using magnetic forces, can hover over the tracks ?
Once at the airport, we boarded a plane from China Eastern Airline and headed for Xi’An. Xi’an is about 772 miles away from Shanghai. It took us a little over 2 hours to get there.
Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi province, lies in the protected valley of the river Wei. It was from this valley that the emperor Qin Shi Huangdi unified China for the first time.
We landed in a sea of fog and were soon met by our new guide Marvin, who took us to our hotel. It was a lot colder here than in Shanghai. Only 2 Degrees Celcius. The forecast calls for some snow tomorrow. The first thing we saw upon entering the hotel was a huge Christmas display. We were told that younger people prefer celebrating Christmas over Chinese New Years. The reason: they think the Western culture is fascinating.
On the way to our room, we met a couple from New Hampshire, who had just adopted a little Chinese baby girl a few days earlier, they had named Haley. They told us that in these few days Haley had already learned a few words in English. She looked adorable.
Tomorrow we are meeting Marvin and he will take us to the Terracotta Warriors. We can’t wait to see them.
4 Responses to “Arrived in Xi’An - Updated”
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Good morning. We are glad that you have arrived safely in Xi’an.
1. We’d like to know if you have heard any languages being spoken in China besides Chinese and English — other than at the international school, of course.
2. Have you met any other Americans besides the ones from New Hampshire.
3. Has Jose met any other bears lately?
4. Are you excited about seeing the warriors? How long will you get to stay at the museum where they are?
5. Does any of the food you’ve eaten in China taste like American food?
Thank you for answering all our questions. We feel as though we’ve been on the trip with you!
Love,
Ms. Barnwell’s class
Dear Jose,
We read about the terra cotta warriors in our book “The Day of the Dragon King”. We were wondering if any of the warriors had swords or hats?
Love,
Mrs. Balek’s Class
We are so glad that you are safely in Xi’an. The second grade thought it was very cool that you went so fast on that train. Were you scared? Did Jose get dizzy? What other holidays do the Chinese people celebrate other than The Chinese New Year and Christmas?
We are also excited for you to see the Terra Cotta warriors. What do the warriors symbolize? We can’t wait to hear all about it tomorrow.
Love,
Second Grade
Mrs. Davidson’s class,
Check out the new video about our train ride going 430 km/h.
We were not scared on the train. It felt very smooth. Jose did get a little bit dizzy, when we stood up and walked to the front of the train to look in the conductor’s cabin.
There are many festivals celebrated in China. Mrs. St-Cyr knows that the library has a great book called “Moonbeams, dumplings and dragon boats. A treasury of Chinese holiday tales.” by Nina Simonds. Go check it out!
Mrs. Balek’s class,
Yes, some of the soldiers have hats. Check out the Terra Cotta pictures that we have added to the original post. They found many different kinds of weapons with the warriors, including bronze swords.
Ms. Barnwell’s class,
We have heard soooooo many different languages spoken, since we lef tteh United States, that we cannot keep track of them all. There are so many tourists around. Here are some examples of languages we heard and could tell which ones they were: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, German, Italian, etc.
No we have not met any other Americans so far. We have seen them, but have not met any. Jose has not met any new bears lately. It is pretty cold in Xi’An and Beijing and most bears will prefer to stay inside.