Biking the City Wall

Chinese in Xi’an love to tell you about their city walls.  They are one of the oldest and most well preserved walls in all of China.  They are large stone walls that completely surround the downtown area of the city.  The walls are large, thick, and imposing.  To enter this part of the city you must pass under one of the four gates (North, South, East, and West), which are large enough to accommodate three lanes of traffic each way.  The Ming Dynasty started the wall that stands today in 1370, though it has gone through many restorations and renovations since then.  It is about 12 meters high and 15-18 meters thick at its base.

I finally got around to getting my lazy self over to the wall to see what everyone was talking about.  A popular thing to do while up on the wall is to rent a bike and ride the entire length that it stretches.  It is about 11.9 kilometers in total, so it’s not that bad.  However, given the general state of disrepair of bikes for rent in China, the going is not always so easy.  And while there are plenty of areas where the paved stones are in good condition, there are some areas where it is a very bumpy ride.  It’s not exactly the most pleasant experience to ride over bumpy cobblestones on a seat with virtually no cushion.

That is not to say that my experience was a bad one.  Not at all.  I quite enjoyed my time up there and I’m glad I did it.  It really gave me a chance to see my city from many different angles.  The parapets are a bit too high to see outside of the city walls, but looking in is a breeze.  And really that’s where the most interesting and affluent parts of the city are: inside the walls.  I saw a huge variety of areas, from high rent buildings to run down shacks, and even some huge lots that appeared to be freshly cleared of a demolished building.  That’s one of the interesting things about China: it changes so quickly.  There are constantly buildings coming down and new ones going up.  I’m curious to see how much Xi’an will change during the time I’m gone over the summer.

I think the 40 RMB just to get onto the wall is a bit much to pay but I forked it over anyway.  I climbed up at the South Gate of the city but I think you can get up by the West Gate as well.  There’s one building there that contains a souvenir shop and a small tea house.  Not anything very exciting.  As everyone should know before heading up there, the main reason for going is to rent a bike.  So that’s what I did.  The renter’s speak English well enough so it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone that doesn’t speak Chinese (or barely passable Chinese in my case).  For 100 minutes you can rent a single bike at 20 RMB, or a double bike for 40 RMB.  Another jab in the wallet, unfortunately.  It’s a far cry from renting a bike for 10 RMB in Yangshuo, which you get for the entire day.  Anyone traveling on a budget through Xi’an may want to consider skipping this stop.

Every 120 meters there is a defensive tower to prevent enemies from climbing up.  There are 98 towers in total. Where I climbed up, the South gate is the most well known and recognizable. It is only a short walk North to the Bell Tower–designating the center of the city–making it a popular area for tourists.  Each city gate has three towers.  The first tower was used to raise and lower the suspension bridge. The second, with small windows in the front and sides was used as a defensive outpost. The third is the main entrance to the city.

If you plan on going, make sure you bring something extra to drink with you.  I lacked the foresight at the time to think of this and had to stop at one of the few concession stands to buy a bottle of water.  The girl tried to charge me 5 RMB for it!  Yes, to you Western denizens that may not seem like a lot ($0.73 to be exact) but to me that’s outright robbery.  Fortunately I only had 2 RMB in my wallet at the time so I was able to convince her not to rip me off so bad.  Even 2 RMB is a bit much; bottles of water are usually 1 RMB.  It’s frustrating when Chinese think they can rip off us foreigners because they think we don’t know any better.

Over all I enjoyed myself and had a good bout of exercise to boot.  Yeah, the 60 RMB I paid seems like a lot but, as a one-time expense for however long I stay in Xi’an, I think it’s OK.

Related Posts:

1. Biking Through Yangshuo
2. Surviving Xi’an: 5 More Things to Know
3. To the Very Top
4. Visiting the Second Tallest Building in the World