Spring has sprung in Xi'an!

So it's been awhile. We are back from our month vacation. That means Red is busy working, while Yellow is busy studying Chinese.  He, on the other hand, is still waiting for further news on his job for the semester.  We will do our best to put up some pictures from our trip soon.

Spring has sprung! How do we know? Because yesterday we walked past several children holding baby chicks in their hands while we were on our way to lunch.  Near our canteen we found the source of these brightly dyed chicks. This is the first time that we've seen the sale of live young chickens to young children along with other pets like turtles and birds. We are wondering what the fate of these small birds will be...

By the way, it really is spring here. This week the high is in the 60s F (15-20 C) and the air is not too bad. We've opened our windows the last two days and done some spring cleaning around the house. Feels great.

Since we've been back we have been exploring the restaurants near our university. Last night we had some beef, lamb, and chicken wing meat sticks; with a grilled eggplant; and some fried rice and fried noodles. Yum.

The Great Mosque 西安大清真寺

The Great Mosque in Xi'an is one of the oldest and most renowned mosques in the country. It was founded in 742, although most of it was built later during the Ming Dynasty. It's still used as a place of worship (by the local Hui people), but it's quite the touristy spot too. You can see that like the other mosque in Xi'an it is completely Chinese in its architecture and construction. 

Around the Xi'an City Wall

We are yet to actually go on top of the city wall, but we took a stroll around the outside of it recently. This wall is one of the oldest and best preserved ones in China. It has been completely
It encircled the center and older part of the city (14 square kilometers in all). It has a very nice walkway and park around it, and it's less than 30 minutes by bus from our place.

We will post more about it once we do visit the top of the wall, but we will have to wait for some nice weather.

 Here's some guys getting their haircut right next to the wall.

Chinese Shadow Play

At the Folk House, Red went to see a Shadow play that uses flat figures (shadow puppets) to create the impression of moving humans and other three-dimensional objects.

It seems like an interesting future project maybe, but it wasn't worth the extra 15 yuan, as the story was very short and not understandable for a non-Chinese speaker. 

Sites to see!

Walking around China you can find all sorts of things. Here's some things we've found lately.

This cute little boy was having an afternoon stroll with his grandparents at Small Goose Pagoda.

 

 

This one's our favorite. This elderly man is staying fit at an exercise park. Look at that flexibility! He's blasting music on his little red speaker as he's doing this crazy workout. It's normal to see people exercising in these parks, maybe one of the reasons why the Chinese are so thin?

Fashion is quite fascinating here. We see lot's of these fake fur coats these days.

 This ensemble is something we've only seen once so far.. No words can explain this one.

 

Here's to the lucky kitty and it's money slogan. Meow!

 



Folk House

In the Muslim Quarter we found this Folk House, which is a restored courtyard home. This historic residence now serves as an art gallery, entertainment center, and teahouse. It was originally the home of the Qing bureaucrat Gao Yuesong. We went with a friend who was visiting from Wuhan and found it to be quite charming. It is very tastefully restored having reception rooms, bedrooms, servants' quarters, an ancestral temple, and a study.  It also has an optional shadow puppet show, which we will reserve for another blog post. 

 

 

 

 

Christmastime in Xi'an

You may be wondering what Christmas is like in China. Well it's not officially celebrated, as Red worked on Christmas Day and Yellow had Chinese class that day. However, it does seem that there is some kind of celebration as you find Santa Clause all around the city, especially in the shopping malls. Although, you won't find a nativity or a baby Jesus or anything like that. There were lots of crazy sales on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As we've wandered into stores these last days we have found large crowds and tried to leave as quickly as possible. 

This is our first Christmas "on our own" as a couple away from both of our families. It is also our first Christmas in country that doesn't celebrate Christmas. Although it was quite different, we did have a chance to celebrate with Red's students on Christmas Eve and with Yellow's classmates on Christmas Day. We've also enjoyed skyping with friends and family and now are looking forward to the end of the semester that is only 2 weeks away!

This is a Santa Clause we found at our school's grocery store. For some reason, the Chinese think that Santa Clause has some hidden musical talents that we weren't aware of. We found him with a saxophone in hand all around the city.  Maybe he not only brings gifts but serenades children on Christmas Eve as well?

 

There was even a German Christmas market downtown with this interesting tree topped with a German cookware brand.

 

The vendors at that market were mostly selling expensive cookware, electronics, and even apartments.

  

We even got a chance to get a picture with the man himself playing his tunes.

 

 

This is a mall that is very close to where we live that has quite the entrance to invite shoppers into their doors.

 

 We've also seen a few children all bundled up in their winter wear, but of course with their "slit pants" which are often used in China in place of diapers. We are wondering how those cheeks are dealing with the cold weather...