Day 6 Journal

Prompt: Compare and contrast for Xi’an and Beijing: food and culture. (6/12/10)

Xian and Beijing may be in the same country but are two very different places. Xian is where the beginning of the Chinese civilization started and is more important than Beijing in the overall history of China. Beijing though is a larger city than Xian and has more people living there. It is the capital of China, making it a very important part of China. It is where the later emperors, especially the Ming Dynasty, lived in the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is huge and full of historical items. The throne rooms and sculptures are very well preserved. I was surprised to see huge brass fire bowls that were 1,000s of years old. Another difference in the two cities is that Xian is the center of a farming area and Beijing is basically a large city with skyscrapers. The two cities have the same religion, Buddhism, with statues of Buddhas everywhere in the cities.