Today I set out on foot to discover xians treasurers. The day turned out to be quite long but enjoyable.

Xian city was once the capital of modern China as it was the hub for the Silk Road for centuries. It has an amazing Muslim quarter which I spent hours in. It reminded me of Turkey with its shops and food stalls.

After that I went up the Bell tower And Drum tower which were used 700 hundred years ago to let the residents inside the city wall know that the gates were being either open or closed. Then I rented a bike a road on the city wall! It was really good fun but bloody hot. The temperature here is mid 39s considerably hotter than Beijing. Anyway it took an hour to do the 14km wall with plenty of stops to soak up the views and smog! Cycling on something built 1000 years ago that 14m high was something else.

As it was getting late in the day I headed back to the hostel to chill out. The hostel is great with 80% of the rooms booked by Chinese, so it must be good.

I ended up having a quiet drink with guys I had done the tour with the day before.

It's made a real difference being able to chat with others About what you've seen and done. I don't mind the days but the evenings are pretty tough if your alone.

Tomorrow I'm off to Shanghai!