day 115: 西安 (Xi’an) = 0km

The province of Shaanxi (陕西) belongs to the Chinese West.

This also means I see more and more Muslims the further I go, mainly 回族, the Chinese Hui-minority:

They look very similar to 汉族 (Han-Chinese) - but often wear white caps or headscarves:

There is a very large and beautiful Mosque in the downtown area:

When I arrived with my guide, the afternoon prayer was just about to finish, but there were still some people around:

Later on we went to 大雁塔 (dayan pagoda):

People were taking their pictures in front the pagoda and a statue of 玄奘 (xuan zang).

He’s the hero of the epic 西游记 - Journey to the West (December 3rd), who traveled to India to obtain certain Buddhist scriptures in the seventh century:

Can’t see the statue? Well that’s because I personally more enjoyed the fact that even the guards were taking souvenir photographs there.

There is a big show involving water fountains and light in front of 大雁塔 every night:

I thought it was very nice:

Tired as I was, I went to bed very early that night.

Soundtrack: Depeche Mode - “Enjoy The Silence (Reinterpreted)”

—total: 1565,8km