We spent most of the 24th getting to Xian. Almost as soon as we made it to town, we were on foot headed to the City Wall. We estimated that walking there from the Square Youth Hostel would be a quick hike. Wrong. We did make it, sometime after dark, and managed to see a lot of interesting stuff on the way. I'd been to Xian in 2003 but it was rushed as there's quite a lot to see in Xian. Xian has a long and distinguished history as the first Chinese Capitol city and home to some of China's signature attractions (like the Terracotta Warriors). In 2003, it seemed like a pretty beat up, dusty and depressing city. It's still dusty (smoggy) but they have been building like mad in Xian since then.

On the 20th we were headed to Dali, in China’s Yunnan Province. Dali is a 40 minute flight from Kunming, and a roughly eight hour bus ride from Lijiang, both of which I visited in 2006. Yunnan is one of China’s most heavily minority populated provinces, and has significant representation from almost 30 different minority groups. As such, it has a very diverse and complicated history. Dali itself is the ancient capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao, which flourished in the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Kingdom of Dali, which reigned from 937-1253. Dali was also the center of the Panthay Rebellion from 1856-1863.