That was a different city though. That was my dusty, outlandish, arid, Chinese home. That was Xining. I didn’t know anything about it before we went, and I fell in love with it in the first weeks.

My brother also lived in Xining for a year, but his experience was very different. For him, Xining wasn’t a true Chinese city because it is so full of non-Han Chinese. For someone who isn’t super in love with traditional Chinese culture like me, that just made the city more interesting, but it wasn’t what my brother was expecting, and that was hard for him.

Xi’an (西安) is as Chinese as it gets. It is a city ripe with history and culture. Xi’an is where the first Chinese emperor was buried alongside the Terracotta Warriors. It was home to many dynasties, with ever-changing city boarders, all of which can be seen on the beautiful marble map on the floor of the museum near the (Ming Dynasty) Small Goose Pagoda. Xi’an is one of the only Chinese cities with a city wall (and moat) still intact, and visitors can still rent bicycles and ride around the city on top of the wall.

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