November 2017 : 西安 Xi'An, China

Xi'An has definitely been out of my radar and if it wasn't my partner's company trip, I wouldn't have thought of visiting it. The perception of China has been so well embedded in my mind with familiar cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. Yet when it comes to Xi'An, it's perhaps the lack of expectation for this trip brought me a pleasant surprise when encountered with a strange mix of tranquility and bustling side of Xi'An.

Not trying to sound like any cliche sentence - indeed every travel opportunity is an open gateway not only to view other countries in their own culture, but to experience and walk in their shoes if applicable. A brief list of experiences for keepsake: To witness the bareness of Yellow River in presence, to stuff myself with 9 types of dumpling in one meal, to be overloaded with only a portion of China's history, to taste my first ever Halal Chinese food at Xi An's Muslim Street, to watch horses poo right in front of me (bizarre but true), and many more.

Places covered*:

西安 Xi'An - Yellow River, Terracotta Army, Muslim Street, Gao's Grand Courtyard

开封 KaiFeng - QingMing Riverside Landscape Garden, The Imperial Street of Song Dynasty

登封 DengFeng - ShaoLin Temple

洛阳 LuoYang - Lijing Gate, Ming-Qing Street, Longmen Grottoes

*note: there was a lot of travelling required in this trip in the span of 5 days, which doesn't really cover all the key spots in their specific region.