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On arrival in Xi'an, again you will be surprised by the vastness of the airport area alone. They're just constructing terminal 3.

On the banks of the Yellow River, Xi'an (translated Western Peace), is a more traditional city. There is an ancient city wall, one of the few which remain intact in China surrounding the city centre.

You can cycle or walk around the wall. Opposite our hotel and something you see often in Chinese towns and cities are well-used man-made exercise machinery. Bannantyne's Health Club it ain't, but everyone stretches and practices their Tai Chi here in the early morning.

Xi'an's history dates back to 1000bc and is linked to the 'Silk Road', where silks, ceramics and spices are together with other religions such as Buddhism crossover. 40 minutes drive from the centre of Xi'an, we visited the World Heritage site of the Terracotta Warriors. Built to defend the Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife they are found in 3 pits.

These are all now covered and enclosed for preservation and within pit one restoration actually happens as you visit. The floor of the pits are strewn with the remains of the warriors. Pit 2 is darker and you can get more of an idea of the shape of how it originally was built by seeing the fossilised bamboo roofs.

We later visited the Xi'an Art Ceramics and Lacquer Exhibition and if you see my notes with regard the Pearl Museum in Guilin, you'll guess what happens here.

In the evening we visited a Dim Sum Dumpling and Tang Dynasty show. And then off to what the local guide called the 'Bar Street'.

The Muslim area, which seemed to be the length of the whole street, was street food being cooked plus more opportunities to invest in all manner of Chinese replica western products.

Before we left, we took a stroll through the Little Wild Goose Pagoda located in the Provincial Museum; a peaceful and tranquil garden where you can escape the constant hub-bub of daily life.

Off to our final destination, the capital, Beijing.