Notes From Xi'an 西安随感

*The order of the top few Notes may stay the same but others are being added below.

I have begun to sometimes write Notes about wider China topics, so I have decided to create this page that just lists the more Xi’an centred Notes. Hopefully it will make it easier to get a general impression of the life and the city here and why so many of us like living here. 

From Xi’an With Love

Over the last few years Xi’an has become the place I refer to as home. However, that has not stopped me from recently suffering a few re-integration issues after returning from 2 months back in my official homeland. It felt like no normal re-acclimatization process this time, although, maybe it actually was; it was just not one I am used to experiencing. When I first arrived in China, 5 or so years ago, I was coming off the back of quite a few months of travel in India. So, as far as I was concerned, Xi’an was an oasis of calm and modernity…read more

Xi’an… I Like It

Reading and listening to so many negative, one-sided, manipulative, smug and condescending voices on things China recently – and they were just my own – I feel like simply writing a brief note reminding myself of why I like living in Xi’an. First and foremost, I like the people that surround me on a day-to-day basis, the Xi’anese.  They are a matter-of-fact bunch, a straightforward lot, and a generally supportive and friendly collection of people…read more

What Is It About Xi’an That Makes It Xi’an And Makes It The Place People Like To Live?

Before I write this Note, I am going to make a bold statement about it. I am going to make the claim that it will become the definitive: “What Is It About Xi’an That Makes It Xi’an And Makes It The Place People Like To Live?” Note. However, before any of you think I have lost my humble marbles in a blur of blogging arrogance, I would like to offer a condition and an invitation…read more

On Xi’an Becoming A Second Tier City

Before I take a summer sabbatical from life in Xi’an, and from checking into the world wide web, I will throw out a thought on Xi’an that has been nagging at me for a while. The system here in China where cities are tiered in terms of their level of economic development has never been one I have liked. I have always felt that this system of stratification has sounded insulting, with the comparison it unnaturally makes between first, second, and third tier cities. (And, yes I do understand the reasoning behind the classifications.) Cities such as Xi’an, that are not first tier,are by categorisation inferior…read more

Ode To Xi’an

Xi’an. Modern City, city of the ancients, city of technology, science and education, city of a city wall, city of the Buddha’s finger, city of Emperors, city of conquest, city of contradiction. An ancient city of culture without culture, a contemporary culture sublimating a culture, a city finding balance in a future culture…read more

Xi’an, The Xi’anese And The Need On Days Like These To Hang On To Our Joie De Vivre

10/10. In that greyish space in the top left of the picture you should be able to see three of the tallest buildings in the ming de men area. Not today. 11/10. That was yesterday. My zest for life took another battering this morning after waking to the sound of a good old-fashioned downpour adding itself to the already incomprehensibly gloomy mix. After taking the first picture above, and while brewing my morning pot of coffee, I looked out at this.  I couldn’t help downing the whole pot, making a second lot, adding half a bottle of JD, getting my computer out, checking the price of a bit of cheap Greek island land, and making sarcastic noises about development paradigms and 5000 years of civilization… read more

A Bit Of Bonhomie And A Breezy Kind Of Nonchalance – Back To Life In Xi’an

After a short break out of the country, there are always a few things that particularly strike me when returning to Xi’an. I find myself picking up on the easy bonhomie that exists between the locals here, the matter-of-fact directness within peoples’ everyday actions, and the fact that there is a noticeable sense of community: a feeling that peoples’ lives are genuinely interlinked… read more

What Is Xi’an Like? Part I

I have written a few notes here now but have not yet really given an account of what Xi’an is like, so I will do that now. This note will come generally from the perspective of a foreign teacher here, though with an eye on the whole. Xi’an is a great place to live, but I must first be clear that the life here for a foreigner teaching is far and away easier than it is even for our Chinese counterparts, let alone the majority who do not have anything like the opportunity for the lifestyle we have…read more

What Is Xi’an Like? Part II

The city centre is surrounded by an ancient city wall with the main routes out of the city all passing through one of a variety of gates, the largest being simply the North, East, South and West gates… Taxis are easy to flag down, run on a meter, relatively cheap and often used when first arriving as bus routes in Chinese characters can be somewhat daunting at first and, depending on mood, somewhat depressing later... read more

China’s Chairs and Watching The World Go By – In More Ways Than One

A chair is, of course, just a chair but for some reason I like these chairs in more ways than for simply being chairs, or I like them in more ways for the nature in which they are chairs. Ever since I came across an article, some time ago, reviewing Michael Wolf’s book ‘Sitting in China’ I have had a few pictures of these random creations stuck on my wall. But I have just come across his website and these collective images for the first time…read more

Oh Sweet Chang’An Lu, Is It Really You?

We have grown up together side-by-side, but now your behaviour has gotten to a point that I cannot abide, nor simply hide, or ignore, that which crosses my mind. But, first I gotta ask: ‘Sweet Chang’An Lu: “Is it really you?” I am sure, back then, it wasn’t just me who revelled in the criss-crossing mass of humanity, which descended on the Junction of Shi Da Lu, like some joyous, incongruous stew. No matter spluttering car or steaming truck, we strode out; with a little good luck, and little regard, knowing, in fact, it was we who would pass. Halting the traffic in our wake, we grasped our long fought for humanitarian stake…read more

Teaching In Xi’an

It is about time I outlined what can be expected from a teacher’s life in Xi’an. The first point to note and to emphasize is that it offers the chance of a very good life. It is easy for a native English speaker to not only find work here but to be paid exceptionally well for doing something, in many cases, that they are not particularly well qualified to do. There is a full spectrum of opportunities for teaching English in Xi’an…read more

The Yellow River Soup Kitchen, Xi’an

These pictures represent a small glimpse into the workings, projects and characters of The Yellow River Soup Kitchen. Below this gallery are a couple of brief extracts and opportunities to continue reading, first, the founder’s enlightening thoughts on his and theprojects motivations and growth…read more

Xi’an’s Transportation Development is in Motion Even if the Wheels on the Bus are Not

With the onset of summer interrupted by frequent rain showers it is may be not a bad time to partake in a bit of reflection, particularly with regard to a few of the transportational changes that have ridden into Xi’an in recent years; arriving on a wind of progress, though on the back of an almighty stimulus package, one that has included a few unpleasant side effects. The laid-back nature and slightly underdeveloped cityscape of Xi’an that I so liked upon arrival is changing… read more

Oh Xi’an!

Xi’an, Xi’an, Xi’an!

I liked it when I first arrived and I like it now. We can complain about this and that, I probably do, I certainly have, but I enjoy living here. I read somewhere recently someone bemoaning the lack of running opportunities here in Xi’an, or more specifically, the negatives about actually putting foot to tarmac in this fair city… read more

Homage To Shī Dà – Otherwise Known As Shǎnxī Normal University Campus

The New Year began over this way with an early morning run at Shī Dà (师大), in the hope that this sort of behaviour will assume a more habitual character in 2011 than it did in 2010. But, it wasn’t only good to get out for a run, it was also good just to be part of one of those Shaanxi Normal University mornings again. I think I took as much from watching a guy practicing tàijíquán, with inspiring levels of precision and stillness, as I did from running a few short-of-breath inducing laps around the track…read more

The Village Café (Xiāng Cūn Kāfēi Guǎn) 香村咖啡馆 – A Classic

The Village Café on Shi Da Lu, opposite the Foreign Language University, is one of the old coffee shop classics here in Xi’an. However, the term ‘Classic’ can in this part of the world revolve around slightly shorter time periods than most places would require to have such a tag applied: coffee shops being a relatively recent addition to Xi’an society. Here, 4-5 years of being open, with or without a consistent and loyal cliental, is just about enough time to earn legendary status; for The Village, however, the title is well warranted…read more

NoNo Cafe: An Apology, a Cathartic Process and a Less Than Turquoise Hue

As the note I wrote recently about  Xi’an’s Top 5 coffee shops will be in the Xianease Magazine this month, I feel I oweNono Café an apology, of sorts, for not including it. We’ll see how we go. || Oh Nono’s! You did always treat us so well, from that opening night abundance of free drinks and pastries, espresso coffee and great herbal teas, to those famous free salads that lasted so long, creating so much more than simply a satisfied throng…read more

Xi’an’s Coffee Shops and Cafes- Un Assortimento Speciale

As a break from beginning to look at a little Confucionist and Daoist thought I will take a moment to reflect upon my first hobby, that of finding a bit of coffee shop down time in which to enjoy a little reflection on Confucionist and Daoist thought or, more often, the life that circles around us here in down town Xi’an. Also, in celebration of, and in an attempt to draw a little attention to, a couple of newly discovered coffee based watering holes, I have decided to go a little further than usual and identify a mostly subjective, though with a tinge of objectivity, coffee shop Top Five…read more

The Yáng Jiā Cūn Cài Shì Chǎng (菜市场) Is No More

Sadly, the open air fruit and veg. market (the old cài shì chǎng) on Yáng Jiā Cūn, behind the clothes market onCháng’ān Lu and just across the road from Shī Dà, is no more. A few screws loosened here, a bit of corrugated metal cut there, and the whole thing just collapsed to the ground. During the last few nights, a solitary overworked digger and a convoy of thundering yellow trucks have done their fair share of over time to quickly clear the last remnants and reminders of those busy market days, now passed...read more

A Xi’anese Mountain Forest Park and A Fish Pond Nong Jia Le

Just a brief travel note to highlight the joys found a few kilometres outside of central Xi’an, in amongst the Qin Ling Mountains. A mountain range that stretches East to West, marks a natural boundary between China’s North and South and which is easily accessible from Xi’an’s city centre. There will also be a quick nod at the end towards Oscars Café/ bar… read more

When More Than A Look Of Disgust Makes A Difference: Dog Shelters and Soup Kitchens

I gotta say that when I pass those people selling “cute” puppies on the corner of Yang Jia Cun, or anywhere else for that matter, I am prone to give them my best look of laowai disgust. I do this first and foremost for what I can see; that they transport these tiny puppies squeezed into one of those rear seated motorbike box cases. Not a good thing. I also do it for the negative feeling I seem to get from watching the rapid escalation of dog ownership here in Xi’an... read more

The Jackson Pollock of Traffic Congestion

What is it that makes people so self-concerned and so blinkered to the consequences of their actions? I don’t know but check out any road junction here in Xi’an and you’ll see the consequences. I have arrived back in Xi’an to discover that the road maintenance work on Chang An Nan Lu has nearly been completed. There is however a small stretch that remains without road markings…read more

National Day Is Upon Us Here In Xi’an

So, National Day is upon us and the geese have gotten fat. The roads have been rebuilt, shop frontiers have been homogenised in gray, buildings; whether old, new, run-down, falling down or in the process of being built, have been painted and we are all being told to wear gray pants, shirts and a cap. Ok, the last point strays slightly from the truth but maybe not too far from the essence of life here at the moment…read more

Christmas in Xi’an, Non-Religious Observance of the Religious and the Saving Grace of Christianity

Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat but noodles are still being served and the locals seem less than concerned. However, this will, on Christmas Eve itself, not I am sure stop a mass of celebratory souls gathering down in the shadow of the Bell Tower in the centre of town. If it is a less impromptu event than previously it is because it is now an annual ritual of Chinese proportions…read more

Voluntary Work In Xi’an- Not Like This

I recently have been looking around at voluntary projects in Xi’an and came across these two companies, i-to-i and Global Volunteers. All I can say is never, never, never do these things, never. Now, I understand if one does not have experience of doing these kinds of projects or have any knowledge of the host country...read more

Xi’an is Not London but Nor is London Xi’an

A return to Xi’an fraught with expectations and fear…, well may be I exaggerate a little, it was though a little intriguing to see how I was to find life here, having spent the longest period away for a few years. Being transported from down town London, by way of cars, aeroplanes, transit trains and buses, to the less salubrious environment of Yang Jia Cun…read more

Some Habits Best Kept, Others Maybe Not

A couple of things that stood out on the Chinese culture front last week. The first, was listening to a Chinese colleague outline her lunchtime ritual. She noted how she goes from school to her car across the road, which she pays to park, then drives straight down the street to her daughters school, also where her husband works. This whole process takes under 10 minutes…read more

Your Average Xi’an Morning

I woke slowly and with sleep still in my eyes peered out through our new ‘dust-net’. I saw that an inch-thick layer of lunar-like dust had again settled and completely covered the bedroom. I carefully rose from the bed, shaking a thin layer of dust from my hair, that troublingly had managed to find a path inside the net. My girlfriend still lay sleeping peacefully...read more

Needles, Hurdles and Temples

The week that was, began when I was woken by an incoming text message to my girlfriends phone, while she still lay sleeping. The message from a friend of hers relayed the news that we should be careful of fellow bus passengers armed with needles, needles that carry a deadly strain of some unpleasant and potentially life threatening virus…read more

Rain, Shine, Line Dancing and Traffic Congestion

A note back on the streets of Xi’an and rainy streets they are to this week. The dry and, no matter what other hardened foreigners might say, humid city streets of Xi’an have been turned into May-soon washed, quagmiresque tributaries. In other words, it does not rain here much, it was just becomingly stiflingly hot but this week it has pretty much rained non-stop…read more