Xi'an is the starting point of Silk Road, End point is Istanbul, Turkey. Xi'an is also the ancient capital of China as well as where the First Emperor of China was buried. For 2,200 years, the tomb was left non-excavated, for fear of damaging the artifacts, or disrupting Feng Shui (traditional custom highly discourages the disruption of the resting place of ancestors)
Muslim Quarter is a famous tourist attraction in Xi'an, China, where you can try different kinds of food which is very popular in central Asia. This is also the city where ethnic riots happened in 1861 where tens of millions of people were killed. The soup in the following picture is simple, yet nutritious soup, made from the legs, heads, and offal of cows and goats, is usually had in the mornings. It is is extremely popular among local men working in labor-intensive jobs
Dayan Pagoda was where the monk from "The Journey to the West" returned from India and translated the writings into Chinese roughly 1,400 years ago. One impressive result was that he founded a relevant branch of knowledge -- translation for religious purpose -- in which the ancient Chinese were not particularly good at during that time.
