We got to Xian at 7am after being stuck on the train from hell. We found the hostel easy as we took a taxi. We had booked a room with only 2 beds as we have always been sharing with people for the past month. The room was really nice and only costing £5 per night.

We spent the first day watching films and relaxing to get over the horrible trip. James has also developed a cold, it's too early to tell whether it'll progress to man flu.

The second days we met up with Jiayi who we'd met on the Trans-Siberian train. She took us to try some Muslim/Chinese food which was ace. We wouldn't of never of tried most of the stuff she ordered but since she lives in the city we trusted her judgment.

People stare at us more they did in Beijing. They just stand and stare open mouth. It's like they haven't seen a white man or a hobbit before.

Jiayi took us round the city and saw the sites. There's a 11 mile wall built around the city which we walked to get to the train station so we could book the next train trip. Jiayi helped a lot with this. We also got a few taxis as they were so cheap and the public transport is rubbish. James and I felt ill because the driving is so crazy.

We went to a restaurant and had the spiciest food probably known to man. After eating there is a big water/light show in the centre of the city which was really impressive.

We arranged to meet Jiayi the next day to go to the Terracotta Army. We spent most of the day there, said good bye to Jiayi and went back to the hostel to pack (as this was the first time we had taken everything out the bags).

We got up at 4am for a 16 hour train to Chengdu. We decided to book on a hard sleeper train (6 beds per cabin with no door). It was slightly better than the previous train. I'm still sure animals at the zoo have better manners then our fellow travelers. The next train we're taking is for 26 hours so we've decided to spend an extra £10 and go first class to experience of types of classes.

We're now in Chengdu for a few days before moving to Guilin.