A Day of Amazing Food in Xi'an

(Emily)

Today was a day of amazing food. Richard took us to the Muslim quarter for dinner--highlights included sticky rice with rainbow sprinkles, deep fried persimmon cakes, and indescribably delicious eggplants that Mel and I determined we could eat forever. They were in some kind of sweet, spicy, tangy, garlicky sauce, and melted in our mouths.


At lunch, we were almost denied service on the basis of race--apparently foreigners aren’t worth serving because the items they order aren’t expensive enough--but Richard’s persuasive skills allowed us to score a civil rights victory and integrate the restaurant. It was also an epicurean victory: case and point, the cannolis of China, which are filled with purple sweet potato and dusted with sesame seeds on each end.

In one day, we left the land of flip flops and tee shirts and are now in the land of hats and coats. This morning, we learned a lot about ancient Xi’an at a historical museum deserted by less hardy tourists. The early inhabitants forged a society without the use of metals or domesticated animals. They built their houses and dug twenty-foot moats using only tools made from wood, animal hides, and stones. Fishing hooks were made from bones, as were arrowheads and spears. Axes were comprised of sticks and sharpened stones. The ceramics are especially interesting, but I’ll let Mel cover those.

A random but fun fact; the dragon has nine sons, three of which are the fish, the unicorn, and the pishu (no idea of the spelling of that one).

And another random comment; China is filled with construction sites! In Xi’an alone we’ve seen dozens of new, yet-to-be-filled apartment towers, which I presume will be filled with people migrating from the countryside. In Lijiang, we met a guy from Reno, Nevada who came to China three and a half years ago to work on the construction of a golf site, and hasn’t left since. It makes me wonder about new economic patterns; could China’s growth be a source of economic stimulation for the U.S.? Where are all the economists when you need them, this trip is raising too many questions...