Xi'An's Best Kept Secrets 48 Hours of FOOD & FUN
Xi'An, an ancient city and the next stop on my China adventure. We'll come face to face with the legendary Terracotta warriors. Whoa! And walk through a city shaped by emperors and dynasties. But history is just the beginning. From bustling street markets to tucked away alleys, we'll uncover the soul of local life and eat our way through every bite this city has to offer.
The terracotta warriors have been on my travel wish list forever, you guys. And today I'm going to be ticking that one off. And we are making our way there right now. And this is our tour guide here in Jian. Hi! This is Jesse! All right, let's go see these terracotta warriors! And we're going to talk a whole lot about the history because Jesse is an amazing tour guide and she is going to clue us in on everything we need to know about this place. Oh! They're incredible. They're incredible. They're incredible. Yeah. When the first time to be built, those partitions are much higher than the soldiers. And on top,
they cover by the wooden beams, and then the mat and then the clay. and filling with the dirt to the grand level. But because of the time and the pressure, the earthquake, this partition were getting lower and lower. Now, you can see they got the same height with the soldiers. That's a reason why the soldiers been broken to the pieces, because the wooden roof just collapsed. This is
one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries ever made. It is an entire army just frozen in time. The terracotta warriors were buried over 2,000 years ago to guard China's first emperor in the afterlife. And what is mind blowing about them is each one is unique from their facial expressions to what they're wearing, even their body shape. Now they were discovered in 1974 just
by some local farmers who were trying to dig a well. and now there are over 8,000 of these statues with more yet to be discovered. When you come out of the Terracotta Warriors area there's kind of like a shopping street set up out here isn't there? Lots of different foods that you can try so we're gonna try some stuff. Milk and cookies? Yeah, milk and cookies. That's really good. I don't like milk, but I like that. That's
really good. Millet, looks like a rice crispy treat. Mm-hmm. Mmm, that's really good! Say you want this energy. Oh, oh. Sunday made that's been so calm and take what is yours. I'm praying that you got to me. Poor Jesse is being so patient. We are never leaving here because everywhere I go there's something else to look at. There's street food everywhere. People are yelling. There's a man-slinging noodles. There's so many shops. I'm overstimulated in the best way possible.
Terracotta Warriors, honestly I thought we were quarreling into a cave and now it's become a whole day adventure. Welcome to Xi'An's famous Muslim quarter. They say every alley here has a story to tell. So let's dig in and explore this cultural melting pot together.
Gao's courtyard is a beautifully preserved slice of Xi'An's history and it's tucked away right here in the Muslim Quarter. Now we are about to head inside and check out a really cool art form that has been around for centuries. Let's go. The courtyard was built over 400 years ago during the Ming Dynasty and the puppet show we've just seen is a UNESCO cultural intangible heritage. Now these puppet shows are incredible and they often depict historical or mythological events, but they also have calligraphy workshops here and that's what we're about to check out right now.
Oh, okay. I'm actually really nervous. I'm gonna get black ink on my white jumper. Your brush always vertical. Okay. I got to step one wrong. You will help you. Oh my goodness, I get wrong. Hold it on your own. Hold it. I'm holding it. I'm holding it. Yeah, yeah. It's got heart, it's got character and I write the date on it. That's good with the English letters. Oh my name. Yeah, where do I put that?
The bell and drum towers are Xi'An's timekeepers, but they're also a snapshot of the city's ancient grandeur. They played a really important role here in Xi'An back in the day. The bell tower signaled the start of the day, while the drum tower behind me, marked its end. The bell tower was built during the Ming Dynasty and it is the largest of its kind in China and the drum tower is home to drums that are over 600 years old. And one of the things you absolutely must see while you're here is a folk music performance show which happens inside the drum tower and it's happening right now. Let's go.
It's time to try some street food here in the Muslim Quarter and Jesse has chosen our first dish. It's a sticky rice with the dyes and the rice bean paste. If we're being really honest with each other, Visually, it's 0 out of 10. But Jesse assures me it tastes good. Yeah, I think it tastes very good and it just try it. I trust her, I trust her. Let's just try it. It's delicious! Right? Am I right? It's good. She's right. It's really sweet. It's actually really good. It's so warm. I like that a lot. Okay. This another one. I saw this in Beijing and I really wanted to try it and I didn't know what it was and I have it here and I'm just going for it. What is it? So they're sticky rice and they use the like dragon fruit to dye the color. Oh,
right? So you can try. That's going to be good, right? It doesn't really taste like anything. It looks like a pineapple upside down cake. It's not. I know.
We've come off the street for a very good reason. It's time for dumplings and noodles. Now the name of this restaurant is Jiasan Soup Pau I'm saying that really badly, but I'm doing my best. Okay, we've got some cold noodles. Now, Jesse was just mixing these up, and they smell amazing. Ah! They're covered in this, what looks to be a very spicy sauce. Let's just give that a go. Holy heck. There's good. There's a lot going on there. They're extremely spicy. My mouth is on fire. The noodles are cold and perfectly cooked. They're so lovely and chewy but not at all gluggy
or goopy or any of that stuff. Oh! Those are some of the best noodles I've ever had in my entire life. They are so good. Mmm. Wow. Wow! It is time to eat these things. Now the key with eating dumplings in China seems to be you eat them fresh and you eat them fast. You don't mess around with your vlog. They come out, they hit the table, you start eating. Let's do that. Yeah. Let's get a fat dip of the sauce and then let's just send the whole thing straight to my belly. No.
Don't even play with me. Those are so good. The wrapper is perfectly cooked. It's all chewy and delicious. And the filling inside. Holy moly, it's all veggies and it's so good. And they're healthy, right? They're steamed. I keep raving about how affordable China is as a destination. Here's your proof. Those dumplings. Some of the best dumplings I've ever eaten in my life were 15 Yuan. $3.20 Australia. Come on! and the noodles were 10 Yuan - so that even less than three dollars. Are you kidding me? It is such a great destination for really quality food at ridiculous
prices. I'm not worried about getting sick anywhere I'm eating. I am face first into the street food, eating everything and anything I can get my hands on. Everything is so fresh and delicious and really well priced. To get around here in Xi'An I have got a private driver and we are getting around in this beautiful luxurious car. Now this was organized by my tour company and I've gone with Odynovo. They have been amazing. Jess and I were just talking about it. A driver and a guide in China, for me, it's the
best way to do it. I have no stress whatsoever. I'm not worried about what time am I leaving. How do I get from here or there? Is there going to be a language barrier? How do I communicate with the driver? This, that and the other. It's seamless. It's honestly seamless. I highly recommend doing it this way. It is just open the whole country up for me. I'll have a link to them in the video description for you. A couple of other quick tips. Ali pay is absolutely essential. That is how you pay for everything here in China. You pay. can't come here and not have it so make sure you've got
that downloaded and installed and all set up on your phone before you get here you're also going to need surf shark which is a VPN that's the one i use that's how i stay in touch with my mom do my instagram my emails all that kind of stuff unless of course you're going off the grid which is really cool too i also have a local e-sim which i bought through aero lo it's been working great and i'm really happy with that i have links in the video description to all of those things for you now for accommodation Odynovo booked that too! And they've knocked it out of the park! I am staying at the most gorgeously luxurious hotel. I didn't expect it to be this nice, but it is. Let me show you. Welcome to the Grand Noble Hotel. Perfectly located in the heart of Xi'An's lively downtown and just a quick drive from the city's must-see landmarks. The hotel blends modern elegance and a
welcoming charm, making it a great face for exploring. My room is spacious and cozy with a super comfortable bed and stunning city views. Plus the breakfast here is fantastic. So many delicious options to start the day. I would happily stay here again and I've linked it below for you to check out and book your stay too. The sun has set here in Xi'An but it is such a beautiful evening and I'm having such a great time. I thought we could go out for a little bit of a wonder. Now Jesse's gone home for the day so
it's just you and me and she told me come out of the hotel, turn left, keep walking straight and eventually you'll see some cool stuff on the left-hand side. I figure we're just going to do that. I feel very safe and secure here. I'm not doing anything crazy. have a nice time so let's go out and have a little bit of an organic explore slash solo adventure I wasn't going to come out here tonight. I was all tucked up in that room. I was real happy after my dumplings and my noodles. I'm so glad I came out here. Not only is this beautiful, the streets are absolutely bustling. Now it is a Saturday night, everyone is out and the thing you need to know is
everyone is so friendly. The thing that will blow you away about China if you come here is the people. Everybody is so welcoming and friendly and kind and I just feel so at peace here. I feel so very welcome and when you travel, especially by yourself as a woman, that is the nicest thing. Good morning you guys! There is no better way to start your morning in Xi'An than a visit to a lively, bustling local market. This is amazing! There are so many cute dogs, fresh veggies of all kinds. Look at this baby! Oh, a little baby! Oh, he's scared!
I love him with your friends because we look the same. Who you fighting? Who are you fighting? There is so much fresh produce here. There are things I've never seen before. There's teas, all kinds of vegetables, meats, jerkeys, tofu, buns. Everything your mind can cook up and a whole bunch of stuff it's never even thought of. And it is all the food. local now this market starts really early in the morning but it ends at nine they have to shut it down for the traffic come out This is the kind of stuff I love to experience when I travel to just get into the real local life and be a part of it and see how people live and it's so lovely. And this is all thanks to Jesse
really being the most amazing private tour guide on the planet if I was here as part of a big group tour or even by myself I don't think I would have had this experience I might have felt a bit intimidated but with Jesse saying hey no get out there have fun give it a go be silly people don't mind if you join in and her knowing exactly where to go and when it's just opened this whole city up to me so thank you to Jesse for being such an amazing guide I just I adore you and I appreciate you so much for me there ain't no other but you just couldn't be we're about it's about it gets because there is no doubt there is something about you we're about to dig a little deeper into Xi'An and get a little more connected by meeting a local family trying some delicious food and hopefully having a little bit of a hands-on experience Hello! Hiyao! My God, we've just come inside. It smells so good in here! This is her kitchen! Oh, here's the kitchen! Great view! Wow! Okay, okay, okay, okay. Like that? Not bad! Not bad! Not bad. Not bad. Not bad. Not bad. I think that looks pretty tasty. Yes. Yes. It's not. Homemade Xi'An food from this beautiful auntie. This is my dream! The time has come to try some of this food! Let's just get straight into a dumpling. Let's not even mess around here. Dip in and then just... Let's just see if I'm gonna burn my mouth here. Homemade fresh dumplings. Oh!
Mmm, It's very good. Holy guacamole, that's good. The wrapper is perfect. Perfect little morsels of goodness. They're stuff full of veggies and tofu. Of course, you know, if you were coming and doing this experience, Auntie could make them pack full of meat for you, but for me she's done a veggie version and they're so good. Mmm. Mmm. It's so nice to be inside a local person's house and we're learning about auntie's family and she's showing photos of her grandkids and it just makes the experience that much deeper. This is something I have loved about China in all three of the cities I've visited this year. There's such a lovely depth to the people and when you come and you're open to connecting and you talk and you reach out, the people are so warm and welcoming.
And that for me is really the sweet spot of China. That's really where you get in and you fall in love for it. Hello. Hello! We're exploring more of Xi'an's incredible history with a visit here to the ancient city wall.
Xi'an's ancient city wall is the most complete of its kind in China and it stretches around 14 kilometers around the old city. Now it was originally built to keep invaders out but today it is a welcome destination for visitors like you and me so you can come up here and spend some time going for a walk, you can even ride a bike or go for a run. If you're so inclined you can even partake in the marathon where visitors do three laps around the wall. That is not for me. I'm very happy with this relaxing walk instead.
I have had the most wonderful time here in Xi'An I think my official China country rankings now are Xi'An number one, Chengdu number two and in third Beijing. But we're not done yet. We've got a couple more cities that we're going to be visiting. on our trip here and I'm really excited about it because every day I just fall more and more in love of this country and I just have more and more fun and with that you guys that brings this week's episode to a close I really hope you've enjoyed it now if you don't already be sure to subscribe right now so you never miss a single episode and say hello in the comments below I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you with a brand new episode next week love ya
2025-01-08 00:59
