The ancient city of Xi'an, one time end of the silk road, has been an interesting experience. It was very busy and the first time we could really feel preparations for Chinese New Year. Much smoggier than Beijing - you could really feel it in your lungs especially while cycling the 13km tour along the top of the city walls.

Cycling round the walls was interesting. Firstly, they gave you wobbly bikes and the first thing you had to cycle past was the delicate and intricate papier mache New Year figures - had visions of ruining the New Year for all! Clinging to the inside edge of the wall is a dilapidated, run down side of the city, far away in character (if not physical distance) from the tourist traps of the centre. Once again, the stark contrasts of China were evident.

Contrasts were also evident while walking through the bustling Muslim Quarter. A wonderful mixture of stalls selling seemingly everything - nuts, meats, sugar cane juice, kites, knock-off watches and other goods, the ubiquitous spinning top with flashing LED lights....Along narrow streets and covered arcades, people, motorbikes, cycles and cars again argued for space. It was noisy, crowded and wonderful. And then you step into the Great Mosque, and enter a different world. An oasis of calm. Quiet. Beautiful. Serene.

On our first full day, we ticked off another of the main Chinese sights/sites - the Terracotta Warriors. Many of our group were underwhelmed by the experience. We think this was because of a lack of information. If we hadn't been to the touring exhibition in London, and learned the history of the Warriors and the mysteries of the Qin Shi Huang tomb with its rumoured mercury-filled representation of the rivers of China and replica sky with stars cast in jewels, we would have been underwhelmed too. Yes, the figures are beautiful and intricate, created on a production line 2000 years before Ford and the nearest to a photo of this period that you can possibly have. However, there is very little information about them and their creation. Plus, in London, there were terracotta acrobats, musicians and civil servants - all oddly missing from the site. (However they did have a scary-arse marionette Terracotta Warrior to make up for it - see photo - odd!!).

That evening got off to a sour start when one of our group had their pocket picked - their wallet taken from a zipped pocket, in an instant, amidst a crowd of people. And then we became a tourist attraction again. Everyone crowding round, jostling to see what was going on. While Lacey sorted out the paperwork with the police, the rest of us found the restaurant where we were meant to be eating and where a slight mis-communication led to the other table ordering 14 plates of dumplings with about 10 dumplings on each plate -that's 140 dumplings between 8 people - those dumplings just kept on coming! Think the restaurant saw some easy money and 'misunderstood' - Lacey wasn't happy when she got there!! Finished evening off with Karaoke (always good!) the hard core finally finding taxis at about 2.30am - big meal and 3 hours of private Karaoke booth for 4 pounds each - man China is cheap.

Last day went to Big Goose Pagoda and admired the smog from the top. Again we were the tourist attraction with Anna, Rachel and Stephen all being dragged into photos and random handshakes with Chinese people. We were surprised that in such a touristy place, the locals still found 'westerners' novel but were told that they were probably Chinese tourists from smaller places.

The last word on Xi'an has to be on catching the train! Let us begin by reminding you that it is the Chinese New Year, hundreds of thousands of people are travelling on the railways and the UK Foreign Office are advising people not to travel in China. Now imagine a rugby scrum of hundreds, all with bags, and you can't even begin to get a sense of the madness we underwent. Outside the station, masses of people were trying to get in via one entrance with gates funneling them into one small channel, and many others trying to climb these gates. We were told to make a crocodile and push. We must have been an amazing sight - 15 white adults trying to snake their way through the throng (people were laughing at/with us). Anyway, the crocodile broke up into small groups, but we joined in with the locals, and pushed and shoved and shouted (it was usually good humoured apart from one or two idiots) and somehow we all got through the security scanner. But that wasn't it...we had 6 minutes until our train left and Chinese trains don't wait. We ran the length of the station and a platform (you weren't allowed to get on any carriage apart from your own) - probably about 400 metres - not far until you remember we were each carrying about 25kg of rucksacks and bags. The frontrunners were worried they would get on without the guide who was at the back. Eventually we all got on, and stood/lay in the train wheezing, hacking and trying not to throw up. With hindsight (and survival) it is a great experience to remember and story to tell. Ah, Xi'an, city of a million people trying to get into one station!!!