• Our OE
    Going for a stroll through the gardens along the river
    Lining up with crowds at the breakfast marketMaking our beef pastry scrollsPork sandwich followed by our beef scrollsBreakfast by the riverAfternoon of MajiangCantonese style dishes for dinnerThe drum tower1Diane harassing a small childVela practicing her "cool" look with the big drumSunset from the drum tower

    Markets, Majiang & the Drum Tower

    May 24, 2024 in China ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    After a big day previously, we took it a bit easier today. We started with a trip to the breakfast markets. Big crowds here with long lines at the popular stalls. Vela ordered a few little treats for us, including a pork sandwich, beef pastry scroll, some sweet sticky date rice and a soy milk to wash it all down.

    We headed to the park by the river and found a shady spot under a tree to eat. By this time (about 10am) it was already pushing 30 degrees (maybe more) so we headed for a coffee shop for our fix and to enjoy some air conditioning.

    We then planted ourselves at a Majiang table for the afternoon. Diane and Ross were definitely starting to get the hang of the game, with Diane putting together a big "Hu" (hand) and netting herself a very nice 8 points off Nathan. Not to be outdone, Nathan crafted a very nice hand of his own and earned 21 points off Vela (who was a little disgruntled). At this stage we aren't playing for money though, so we'll let Vela off the hook for now.

    After 4 hours of Majiang (amazing how quickly the time disappears) we headed down the road to a Cantonese restaurant. We were served fried lettuce (yes, strange to us westerners but very normal and delicious in China), a chicken dish, a frog dish, a roast pigeon, and a big bowl of fried rice.

    And to end our day we headed up the drum tower which was nearby the bell tower we explored on our first evening in Xi'An. The drum tower was used to notify residents of the time and is dated back to the Ming Dynasty in 1380AD. There were 4 massive drums, two on each end, with a diameter of nearly 3 metres, and each side was lined with 12 smaller drums. The 24 smaller drums represent each of the 24 solar terms.

    There was a cute little girl in traditional Chinese dress dancing in the corner, and Diane asked if she could get a quick photo with her. The girl obliged but put on a very serious face, Vela still managed to snap a good photo with half a smile.

    We headed upstairs and enjoyed watching the swallows swooping around the tower while the sun was setting.

    Tomorrow we leave Xi'An, headed for Beijing!    Read more