X is for Xian. No, make that Xining

We’re up to the letter X in this year’s A-Z challenge in which I’m writing about places I’d like to visit.  There’s no countries with an X but there are some cities and towns in Asia and in the Mayan region of Central America.   I’ve spent a week once in the village of Xocenpich in the center of the Yucatan.  I’d love to go back, but since I’ve already been there, I will set my sights on places I’ve missed in China. 

Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian 

Xian is a huge city (8 million, but there are a lot of large cities in China) and a place where you can see a huge army with clay feet.  Actually, the whole army is clay or terracotta (ain't that baked clay).   Also, why would I need to go to Pisa to see a leaning tower when I could go to Xian and see the Wild Goose Pagoda that leans (and has since an earthquake in the 17^th Century)?.

outside Xining 

But, the place that makes my bucket list is Xining.  I could knock out a couple of my bucket list sites by traveling overland from India to Katmandu, Nepal, and the on to Lhasa, Tibet and then take the train down from the mountains, stopping in Golmud to get a view of the Gobi before heading on to the end of the rail line that runs to Tibet in Xining.  You’re still up on the Tibet plateau with plenty of National Parks, mountains and lakes to see.  And good lamb to have at dinner.  Western China is different than the east, so visiting both Xining and Xian would be a treat.