A true disappointment of a day if ever there was one. It being Spring Festival and New Year's Day, we were hoping for a display of Chinese tradition similar to the one I saw in Chinatown in Newcastle the year before (dragon dances, lion dances, the works) but it didn't seem forthcoming. The night before we'd asked the female receptionist where was a good place to go to see the traditional New Year stuff, and she looked completely confused then finally suggested KTV (karaoke, Chinese style). Needless to say, KTV was never going to be on the cards for us. In fact, we thought she wasn't understanding our question, as her English was not very good. Instead, we'd ended up going out with everyone from the hostel, which worked out well for New Year's Eve, but wouldn't cut it for New Year's Day. I dragged myself out of bed relatively early given the time I'd got in it, and Liam and I went to breakfast and handed over more laundry. The Dutch girl had said she wanted to come out with me and Liam to look for New Year's celebrations, and Heidi and Lucy said they were going to wander the streets so we all planned to go out together. It was taking a while to get everyone to go out, and Marian was clearly itching to get going as it was her first day in Xi'an. Liam and I also really wanted to get a move on. We went down to reception to ask about New Year's stuff and this time it was the male receptionist, who had excellent English, and he explained that there wasn't really anything planned on the day, as most people just spent New Year with their family. He said we could try the Big Goose Pagoda or by the south gate of the wall, where we had in fact seen a stage set up the day before.
While we were talking to him we figured we could perhaps book a massage for the following day and then when Marian starting asking him questions, we perused the poster advertising all the different types of massage offered by a local masseur in conjunction with the hostel. To our surprise a man suddenly popped up next to us and said he was the masseur and discussed the massage types with us. He said if we wanted one we should meet him tomorrow outside the hostel and seemed to be making quite the effort to keep it on the downlow. Nevertheless, we agreed to meet him at 10am the next day, before our train.
We walked out of the hostel without Lucy and Heidi because they were just taking too long! We crossed the road and I saw a man doing portrait sketches. I decided to get one done. Halfway through the police turned up and everybody scattered, just like they do in Uyghur areas when there's a Han police patrol. My artist just took me to a nearby doorway and carried on. It was taking rather a long time so Liam and Marian went to Starbucks round the corner. They left me to be drawn which I always find quite a strange experience; slightly too intimate and yet also distant. A woman turned up to gaze on, as is to be expected really, and the artist asked if it looked like me. The woman very enthusiastically said it did, and upside down it looked like it did, but when he turned it round to show me I was fairly disappointed. I have never looked so Russian before in my life! I guess all white people look the same to them.
After that Liam turned up and said he'd bumped into Lucy and Heidi in Starbucks, so we went off to meet them. They seemed pretty intent on sitting around though. After a few hints, and some cheesecake, we finally were on the move again, this time as a group of five. The ground next to Starbucks, the site of a massive Coca Cola monument, was coated in firecracker remains. Guess we missed all that when we were in the club! We followed what seemed to be a pre-planned trajectory towards the Islamic Snack Street and market area. Liam and I had definitely decided to buy tack but thought we'd do it later when we had more time, and instead wanted to get to the Big Goose Pagoda to see if anything was happening.
Finally bored of the meandering pace, I said quite firmly "we're going to the pagoda now, are you coming?" They all decided yes and Liam and I decided the best way was by bus. Clearly used to using taxis all the time, the two Australians followed us like sulky little children, though Marian was obviously glad to be doing something at last. After checking 3 nearby bus stops, the fourth proved lucky and we caught a bus to the pagoda.
The grounds were full of people milling around, and it some ways it was like a fair with stalls set up everywhere. We saw a man shouting away on stage and wandered over but disappointingly he was just promoting his company by throwing jeweller's boxes containing tacky fake jewellery at everyone in the audience. We moved on to the Ci'en Temple, where the Big Goose Pagoda is situated. It was much like any other. On the way down to it, we passed more stalls and people flocking around statues of famous Chinese sages and touching the statues head and then their own to symbolically get some of the wisdom. We also saw a lot of kite-flying - this seems to be the done activity around national holidays. I finally got another rice grain made up with my name, but it was done a bit haphazardly and I wished I still had my Pingyao one! Upon entering the temple Heidi and Lucy went straight to a food stall to sit down and eat, and we left them to it. Liam and I climbed the pagoda, and Marian preferred to stay outside and explore a bit more. The pagoda offers panoramic views of the city of Xi'an, but sadly the city is now just like any other big Chinese city and therefore full of unsightly pollution and skyscrapers. The Big Goose Pagoda is supposed to symbolize and encapsulate Xi'an, but perhaps it is because I am just bored of pagodas now that it didn't have such an astonishing effect on me?
To be honest, we were now fed up of Heidi and Lucy, who just didn't seem interested in anything. Now, we don't care if people aren't interested in the same things as us, but Liam and I operate a pretty tight schedule and like to see as much as we can, and frankly we were being slowed down. I wickedly devised the plan of leaving them (I think that actually this was the best idea for all concerned) and so we did. Upon leaving the grounds we felt liberated at last! Clearly Liam and I are not sociable travellers. But it being New Year's Day, we were still on a desperate search for lion dancers! We caught a busy bus to the south gate and just peered through the archway (going through costs money y'see). One look was enough for us to know it was deserted. We walked back to the hostel and then ran into the others, who didn't seem at all bothered that we'd left them. They had of course taxied it back to the hostel.
The rest of the day was spent as follows: we all sat around at a big table and ordered different dinners, got food envy and wished we'd ordered each other's dishes, considered it, and then finally restrained ourselves. Exhausted, I went upstairs and had yet another lovely hot shower then read in bed, finally falling to sleep stupidly early. I wasn't the only one! Practically everyone in the dorm crawled into bed in the next half hour! What a bust of a New Year! Apparently the Chinese do all just celebrate with their families, which made me think that Christmas is pretty similar - it must suck for an outside traveller who has nobody to celebrate it with. Give me Newcastle's Chinatown New Year any day! I'll go back next year I hope, and get the New Year that I didn't get over here.
Having my portrait done on the streets of Xi'an.
Just a bit of firecracker debris then?
Beixuanmen by day - as packed as the night time!
The fair at the Ci'en Temple.
Touching the wiseman's head - there was quite a crowd waiting for their turn!
Kites! The national holiday pasttime. This is just a small section of the sky which was busy with kites of all shapes and sizes.
Me with Xi'an's famous Big Goose Pagoda.
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