KC & the Sunshine Runners: Xian Free-and-easy Tour

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Xian Free-and-easy Tour

This is the first time that I embarked on a free-and-easy travel. I followed an experienced traveler who has visited many countries.

Attractions/Itinerary:

Xi'an 西安 – Terracotta Army Museum, Drum & Bell Tower, Muslim Street, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda;

Yan'an 延安 – Mao Zedong's revolutionary base, Hukou Waterfall;

Kaifeng开封 – Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, Kaifeng Fu (开封府), Millennium City Park (清明上河园);

Zhengzhou 郑州 – Yellow River Scenic Area, Emperor Yan & Emperor Huang Square;

Tianshui 天水 – Maijishan grottoes.

Do CLICK HERE for the photo album (90 photos).

Terracotta Army Museum of Xi'an 西安

All these while, I visit overseas tourist places via packaged tours. The good thing about free-and-easy travel is that one can have more time to visit a place. The tedious part is that one has to travel by public transport such as normal trains, high-speed trains, MRT, buses or taxi.

Entrance Fees – Almost all historical or nature sites in China require one to pay entrance fees. For sites classified as maximum 5A (AAAAA) rating, the most expensive one has to be the Terracotta Army Museum at Xi'an where the entrance fee is CNY150 (equivalent to RM95); next is Millennium City Park (清明上河园) at Kaifeng 开封 for CNY120 (RM75); follow by Hukou Waterfall for CNY100 (RM63) at Yan'an 延安. The others are around CNY60 (RM38). (exchange rate: RM 63 for CNY100)

Terracotta Army

High-speed Train – We took the ultra-modern, high-speed train from Xi'an 西安 to Zhengzhou 郑州. Travelling at a maximum speed of 300km/hr, the high-speed train is almost three times the speed of the normal train; and the train fare is almost three times more expensive – CNY520 (RM330) for a return trip.

Public Transport – That was the first time I took public transport in China. For the few cities/towns that I have been, the network of transport system integrating trains, MRTs and buses is superb and advanced. The passengers are orderly and with good manners, so are the bus drivers who discharged their duty professionally. At Yan’an, 80% of the bus drivers were ladies. At the tourists’ attraction areas, there were special buses plying routes to take one to the tourist/scenic areas at a nominal fare of CNY1 or 2 for the entire course.

Mao Zedong's revolutionary base at Yan'an 延安 ... Mao Zedong's residence: the house is built into the hill for two reasons: it is cooling inside, and to avoid detection during air raid by the Japanese

Security Check – Stringent security check much like airport check-in is enforced at every entry point of MRT stations and train stations. At MRT stations, water bottles are scanned with a special machine; but at train stations, without the special machine, the officers would request one to drink a mouthful. I was informed that the process is to deter one to bring in acid/harmful liquid disguised as drinking water that would cause mass harm when boarding the public transport.

Hukou Waterfall at Yan'an 延安

Weather – The weather at Xi'an was getting hotter from 17 May onwards; in the afternoon, it was as hot as in Kuala Lumpur (though the air was drier and not that humid). In the evening, one could walk around with a normal T-shirt (without the jacket) and pants.

Expenses – Excluding Air Asia flight ticket, my total expenses were about RM2,000 (CNY3,175) for the 11-day travel that included accommodation, food, transport, and entrance fees.

Emperor Yan & Emperor Huang Square at Zhengzhou 郑州

3-in-1 White Coffee – this heartwarming story was told to me when I met another experienced traveller in Kuala Lumpur who frequently visits China. In free-and-easy travel, one would travel via train; in all trains in China, boiling hot water is provided free at a designated hot-water dispenser in every coach. So my friend would brew the 3-in-1 beverages and the wonderful smell of coffee aroma would excite the surrounding Chinese passengers. Some would enquire and he was most pleased to share a few sachets with them much to their delight.