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Gay Travel China: Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors
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The chance to see Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors is well worth a trip to Xian. Once you get there, however, you will be surprised at how much more there is to this Silk Road city than you ever expected, from colorful, rustic side streets, amazing shopping, and even some surprising gay nightlife.
You can take an instant discount when you combine two or more Purple Dragon China packages. More details are on the Club Sanook website. Click on "Join the Club" below.
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Once the very center of the Chinese Empire, Xian at its apogee during the 8th century was the world's largest city, a magnificently imposing walled metropolis and a crossroads on the fabled Silk Road between eastern China and central Asia. The resulting mix of Chinese, Islamic and Nestorian (an ancient Assyrian Christian sect) cultures lends historic Xian a distinctly exotic atmosphere. You do not have to be gay to enjoy Purple Dragon's Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors adventure. Many of our mainstream guests choose us because they know they will get something better from a gay company.
Private transfer from the airport to your hotel. As you drive into the city you will pass numerous pyram-shaped hills dotting the flat farmland. These are the man-made burial mounds of dozens of Chinese rulers, completely undisturbed and no doubt containing unimaginable wonders awaiting archeologists. If you arrive early in the day, consider adding our half-day Xian City Walk side trip (described below) to explore some of the less-touristy temples, neighborhoods, and pleasure garden parks. Otherwise, you are free to explore on your own for the remainder of the day. Tonight, get a sample of gay nightlife Xian style. You are in for pleasant surprises.
After an early breakfast your guide and driver will take you 35km east of the city to the world-famous Army of Terracotta Warriors, 6,000 imposing life-size figures of soldiers (each bearing a unique face and hairstyle), chariots and horses in full battle array. Archeologists believe that these discoveries are only a fraction of a larger army buried in the third century BC surrounding the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of unified China, who sought in this way to ensure his immortality. On your way back to the city, you will pay a quick visit to the Huaqing Hot Springs, the pleasure palace of the emperors and their concubines and catamites. Arrive for lunch at Xian's charming Muslim Quarter, where we recommend you sample succulent roasted lamb and other traditional dishes in a cacophonous but spotlessly clean local eatery. Then, walk off your lunch by exchanging banter with the giggling vendors along the colorful shopping bazaar leading to the Great Mosque, one of Asia's first (though the original buildings are long gone) and a gorgeous mixture of Chinese and Islamic design. This picturesque temple, with its human-scale gardens and architecture, is one of China's most beautiful. Finish your day with a visit to the Forest of Steles, over 2000 engraved stone tablets which serve as library and repository of China's most famous calligraphic styles. Outside is the Alley of Calligraphers and a row of traditional craft shops (be sure to bargain!).
If you have time before your onward flight, explore the city at your own pace or add on a half-day Xian City Walk side trip with our guide. Private transfer to the airport for your flight to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau, or Thailand.
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