Hi Everyone,

Well today is the 6th February - Chinese New Year

Yesterday I spent the day walking around Xian and seeing some local sights.

Xian is one of the few remaining cities in China with a large surrounding wall around the old city. Its really wide and you can walk on top so walked along it for a few kilometres, but then had had enough, as it will take you around 6 hours to walk right around.

Then went to the 2 large towers in the centre of the city, whihc are about 300 metres apart. One is called the Drum Tower and One the Bell Tower. They have been used daily for about 700 years to tell all the inhabitants of the city the time and when to come for important matetrs and are still used to this day.

Finally, an d strangely en ough, the city has a Muslim quarter, where lots of chinses Muslims live, as the city is close to the start of the Silk Road and used to attract a lot of travellers and traders. Walking through the alleyways of the Muslim Quarter was fun with all the street vendors and people dressed and cookign different food to that I have seen so far in China. Came across a lovely dogs skin shop, where the dogs skins were simply on a line or strung around a lampost. I was convinced the big one was a St Bernard...god know what happened to his tankard of whisky!!! mabe he drunk it himself before being carved up! Grusome or what. Also saw what I really think were cooked rats on sticks, nicely BBQd mind. I cant think they could be anything else!

As evening drew in for Chinese New Year the light dimmed and street vendors sellign fireworks and firecrackers off bicycle stands came out. Some of the firworks were amazingly big, like the size of a small suitcase.

Around 9pm people just were strolling around, buying firworks and simply letting them off in public places, outside shops, by the underground....all over the place.

Firecrackers!!! - never heard anything like it and it puts anything marketed int he UK as a firecracker under serious suspicion! These were big and I mean BIG...some the size of a paint pots. And when they went off......Jesus it was like a tank firing a live round.....honestly not exagerating.....

When the big ones went off not only was it really deafening with the bang, but straight afterwards, any parked cars within 50 meters of the explosion, started off with their car alarms thje power of the sound wave setting them off. It was like an orchestra of sound and as if the cars were somehow applauding the celebrations.

I retried to the hostel and bar and met up with a Canadian over a game of pool. He had been in China 5 years. He said that some of the fireworks had been toned down and that the really big ones, if to close to a property will and have been known to blow the windows out!!

At midnight, even though it must have been minus 8 or 9, a quick sortie outside!!

If you can image all the fireworks sold in the UK on the 5th November, all piled into 1 city and all set off within 2 minuites of each other and also added to this literally thousands of these mega firecrackers then that sets the scene. Seriously, the sky was as light as day and painted with every type of firework and rocket you have ever seen. Additionally, the deafening noise of thousands of firecrackers going off. A brilliant place to be and something I wont forget - ever.

A day of contrast - Started off as being one of my quiestest days - sightseeing wise and funnily enough ended up as one of the noisiest days of my life!!!

Over and out

Smiffy