Xi'an, city of Western Peace

Xi'an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī'ān; Wade-Giles: Hsi-An; literally "Western Peace"; Postal map spelling: Sian^[1][2]; historically known as Cháng'ān^[1]), is the capital of the Shaanxi province in the People's Republic of China and a sub-provincial city. As one of the oldest cities in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital (under various names) of some of the most important dynasties in Chinese history,^[3] including the Zhou, Qin, Han, the Sui, and Tang dynasties.^[3] Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home of the Terracotta Army which was made during the Qin Dynasty.^[1] The city has more than 3,100 years of history, and was known as Chang'an (simplified Chinese: 长安; traditional Chinese: 長安; pinyin: Cháng'ān; literally "Perpetual Peace") before the Ming Dynasty.^[1]

^{Xi'an was a blast from the past, literally. It is an old city in China, full of history, yet modernized like all other industrializing cities in China and of course, home to the Terracotta warriors. Things I liked about Xi'an:}

^{1. People were quite helpful when I was lost and generally quite nice. In fact, when I was walking around the Bell Tower, people would ask others if they didn't know my destination or point in the right direction or simply tell me they did not know, nicely. The exception of course applies to taxi drivers, with the exception of our Terracotta Warriors and Qin Hot Springs cabbie, Mr. Li, who spent the whole day driving us around, waiting for us and not taking us to tourist traps or leaving us stranded anywhere, for 220rmb total. I tipped him for being so nice. A gesture of my pay it forward motto. And dkf will advertise for him on the expat forum to hopefully bring about business for him should any other people visit Xi'an and need a cabbie.}

<sup>2. The tap water did not stink of minerals and pollution. When walking down the streets, I did not constantly smell trash and sewage.
3. People seemed happier and more relaxed there. Kids were playing and running around in the streets. Couples generally seemed happier and smiled more. Girlfriends were arm in arm with big smiles on their faces. Older couples took strolls in the cold arm in arm. 
4. There wasn't that much unnecessary honking by cabbies, buses, or cars. People spoke more quietly.</sup> 

^{5. Things were cheaper. The cabs started at 6rmb compared with 12rmb in Shanghai. Cost of living is lower there, that was pretty obvious.}

<sup>6. There is so much history there. You can feel all the old dynasties converge there. From the Terracotta warriors, the Qin hot springs, the Qin mausoleum (which we didn't see), the Drum and Bell towers, Muslim street, The Great Mosque (another thing we didn't see), Big Goose Pagoda, City Wall, and old Bar Street, you can really feel the history there. The Qin, Tang, Han, Zhou and Sui dynasties all had empires there. Imagine life there during the 3 kingdoms. 
7. People try to speak English there and can do so quite well. This was probably mostly due to one of us being caucasian. In fact, one worker at the Shanxi Provincial Museum asked us to help her complete her English homework. Another old man came up and asked us what some English medical terms were that he had on a piece of paper, all in English. The hotel staff greeted and spoke to us in English. And the tour guide at the old Gao House spoke splendid English. I was rather surprised given how low the expat population is in Xi'an.
8. Light construction. I think I feel this way b/c right now in Shanghai, construction is the rule not the exception. There were splotches of construction here and there interspersed with old old homes, cool long lines of streets, untouched areas and urban planning that seemed like a throwback to old china days.</sup>

^{My first dislike applies to China in general. Nothing specific to Xi'an. What I didn't like:}

^{1. Food and smoke. I am not a big fan of lamb and because of the presence of a large Muslim population there, lots of lambs have been sacrificed for food. There were many Muslim restaurants and vendors there, selling both lamb and beef but I smelled lamb everywhere. I couldn't stop smelling lamb. Aside from the Qing Zhen (Muslim) eateries, we ate at other Chinese places and people smoked SOOO much and the stench of the food oils and grease was overwhelming. And the food wasn't all that great. There were also fewer food options there, it seemed, mostly because it isn't drowning in expats. dkf's coat was out of commission for a few days and as a result, he bought a good low quality China made Nike knockoff.}

<sup>2. Cold and aridness. We originally really wanted to go to Xi'an to see some snow in addition to the Warriors. We didn't get any but instead got some frigid below 0 weather. Brrrr...I had to wear my long johns under my clothes for most of the time. Because of the dryness of the area, our skins were literally peeling off, I grew hives and rashes, and was itchy and quite uncomfortable most of the time. I think the cheap hotel shampoo, soap and HYPERallergenic lotion didn't help. I still have some residual hives.
3. There is sorta a podunkness to Xi'an. To me, it's the type of place I would visit, soak in the history, see all the surrounding sights and mountains and scenery, then get the hell out of there. Ideally, I would like to live in a metropolis but visit historical places, not the other way around. I grew up in the burbs. It would seem I have that set-up right now, however, Shanghai has been far from my ideal metropolis.  For now, it will do. 
4. Industrialization. Although IMO still sorta podunk, Xi'an definitely is starting to become quite industrialized. In about 10-15 years, I speculate it will be quite similar to Shanghai, without the large expat population. You can find large malls, franchises and fast food eateries in Xi'an, which is sorta sad to me. Along with the beginning stages of overcrowdedness, people are starting to become pushy, impatient and inhumane. Soon it will lose its somewhat small town feel and become like the rest of modernizing China.</sup>