The Travelling Life of Silvan Colani
April 2001 - Xi'an, China
Xi’an is one of those gray-in-gray
Chinese cities, that rather make you stay at home for a long weekend. Touted as one of the
historical highlights in China, I came away rather disappointed. Maybe it’s because I’m not
much of a historian or maybe it is because my feet fell asleep in every museum. But maybe
it’s just because I foolishly wished I’d see a glimpse of the sky once in four days and I
didn’t. They blame this constant gray overhang on a combination of weather, sand and
pollution, but whatever it is, it feels as if you’re constantly eating a pile of dirt.
Now weather apart, what is there to see? The Army of Terracotta Warriors is of course
famous, but frankly I wasn’t too impressed. True, these live-sized statues are over 2000
years old and the size of these excavated tombs is impressive, but the fact that the
government built a hangar-like hall over it through which hordes of tourists are funneled,
totally spoils the atmosphere. This is not like Angkor Wat, where you stroll peacefully
among ancient treasures. Rather, this is an indoor terracotta zoo where megaphone-wielding
guides are hunting down innocent tourists. You might just as well buy a good book on
it and enjoy the pictures instead.
A site worth visiting, which funny enough wasn’t even on our itinerary, is Huashan,
one of China’s five sacred Taoist Mountains. 120 km east of Xian, these granite peaks rise
2000 m into the sky (which not even at that altitude turns blue!). A cable car whisks you
to about 1500 m from where a network of narrow mountain paths lead to the five peaks (Central,
North, East, South and West Peak). As always in China, you’re not alone and I clambered up the
Central, East and North peaks in a long line of domestic tourists (all, of course, dressed in
suit, shirt and tie - see later section on Chinese dress code). But the scenery is beautiful
and I did enjoy a bit of exercise.
Another place worth seeing - and again, not featured on Dragonair’s standard itinerary - is
the Muslim Quarter in downtown Xian. This is an interesting mix of Chinese and Muslim cultures,
originating from Xian’s role as the starting point for the Silk Road. The food is great, with
plenty of lamb dishes. The lamb dumplings we had at one roadside stall rank as some of the
best I have ever tasted.
In terms of entertainment, there is not much to report, apart from a place called 1+1,
diagonally opposite the Hotel Royal Xian. It seemed an interesting mix between disco, dance
show and, ehm, nightclub. Go see for yourself.
However, despite the lack of exiting attractions (according to my definition at least), Xian
provides an opportunity to observe THE REAL CHINA. I therefore proudly present to you the
following
- The roads: Brand new Western-style four lane highways but the driver cruises down
right in the middle of two lanes because there is not a single other vehicle for 30 kilometers.
- The Chinese dress code: The Mao suit has long been replaced with a new contemporary
uniform found throughout the country: men wearing slightly faded striped shirts, white socks,
black loafers and somewhat worn suits or jackets in the national colors of dark blue, brown or
gray (certainly never anything colorful). This businesslike dress - often accompanied by a tie -
is worn whether you work as a clerk, toil at a construction site, deliver chickens by bicycle
or simply squat by the roadside (see paragraph on squatting).
Women display a similar fashion taste which is enhanced only by the ubiquitous flesh-colored ankle-length stockings, which have particular sex appeal!
- Dong Feng trucks: The People’s Central Department For Color Coding mandates that
every truck in the country must be blue in color. As a result, each and every of the 382,965,442
Dong Feng trucks in China is blue. Some appear gray, but beneath a thick layer of dust and dirt
they are also blue.
- Smoking is a national past time: In an effort to curb population growth, the Ministry
of Health must have proclaimed "Smoking is Good for the Country". Hence, every man, woman and
child in China appears to have a cigarette clenched between his/her teethes. Do not sell your
Philip Morris shares - this is a growth market.
- Squatting: Now this surely is the clearest sign you are in China. People do not
stand around, they do not sit around - they squat. Nowhere else in the world is this technique
used as extensively. Squatting was originally devised as a means for using Chinese toilets
but was soon adopted as the National Resting Position. People squat everywhere, on roadsides,
rooftops, mountain ledges, airport - you name it. Since squatting is neither as easy nor
as comfortable as it looks, Chinese people have the strongest legs in the world - no wonder
the American military is concerned...
