My favorite part of Xi'an was the Muslim Quarter and Great Mosque. I'd read rave reviews about this part of town on tripadvisor and other blogs and so I wanted to check it out. It lived up to its reputation. The streets are lined with amazing market stalls, small alleyways separate the buildings leading who knows where, dumplings steam, coal stoves shoot fire, and all the while mopeds and bikes navigate the throngs of people. We watched a man making rice noodles- which was magical. He'd start with a log of dough about the size of an unrisen baguette and then he'd start circling it like a jump rope, each time holding the ends together, twisting it and circling it again, each time he threw it away from himself new noodles would form. After the dough had turned from one long strip to 40+ noodles he'd throw them into a huge boiling vat of water, and start again. I can't do it justice with words. It was unbelievable. There's amazing energy here. I loved looking at the varied items for sale; but more, I loved watching the people.
Different ideas about hygiene 
Dumplings steamingRight after I saw a girl squatting on a dirty street trying to crack a bone with a small pick-ax, I saw another girl dressed to the nines navigating the narrow sidewalks in her dainty heels. We saw muslim men with head coverings and women with extremely short skirts. What I loved, however, was that the vendors were much less aggressive than in the touristy places, they didn't shout out at you or follow you down the street, but waited, ready to bargain. We purchased a few food items that I'd read were specialties from the region: haw– fruit leather made of crab apples, Xian Huanggui- deep fried persimmon cake, sliced sausage marinated and roasted, some local breads cooked right in front of us over coals, and a sweet rice treat on a stick. The persimmon cakes were my favorite, but we also loved the Muslim round bread with the decorative design in the center. (Much of the bread I've tasted here doesn't have salt, and it's dense and flavorless.)
Ying Gao- steam rice with a sauce of choice, some sugar, and nuts. Our sauce was unusual and savory. It would have been better with a fruit sauce.
Street meat- I thought it was going to be chicken, but it was somestrange sausage, not our favorite.
In the center of the Muslim Quarter is the Great Mosque, the oldest mosque in China. It's a beautiful space, and remarkably peaceful, considering the chaos of the surrounding streets. The street leading to the entrance was lined with bird cages featuring beautiful birds singing enchanting songs. It cast quite a peaceful spell on the place. This was my first mosque experience and I was impressed, mostly by the peaceful and beautiful surroundings. I was hoping to witness a call to prayer, but wasn't so lucky.
Gorgeous stone reliefs
Muslim men awaiting their call to prayer
House of Prayer
Scripture carved into stone
Near the Great Mosque was another market. This one quieter and less congested. I had my first bargaining experience there. I bought a beautiful “100% Pashmina” scarf. (I put it in quotes because the authenticity of items at the market is rarely what the seller claims.) It's bright red with all sorts of other colors woven in. The red symbolizing China and the ornate design the Muslim Quarter where it was purchased. It has a lovely artist feel that I think will fit nicely into Seattle fashion, and well, it matches my rain boots! Stan bought a T-shirt of Obama dressed in the communist green jacket and green hat with red star, with the words Maobama on the back, as a joke to wear his first day back at work. While Stan an our feelings about President Obama differ, we all thought it was too funny an opportunity to pass up!
Xi'an Drum Tower
I found these alleyways so enticing, in a “what lies beyond?” sort of way. It made me all the more excited for the day when I can serve a mission and walk down these alleys with the intent of meeting people. At present it felt a little like snooping to walk down them.
Xi'an used to be the capital of China. In fact it was the Emperor at the time who unified China. The city is completely surrounded by a HUGE city wall. Somehow I left with out getting a picture of it, which is really to bad as it is both impressive and beautiful. City walls are common in Italy, but rare in China. I guess, here they just wall their whole country!
Homemade brooms like these are used all over China. They're quite impressive in both their workmanship and utility. I wish one would have fit in my luggage!
This is what a traffic jam looks like in X'ian. A female police officer had to literally pickup a coocoo car (large tricycle) and move it out of the way (to the vocal frustration of its driver) to clear the congestion.
A few things of note in this picture: One, nearly everyone wears suits in Xi'an. Two, squatting is very typical. Three, so are these tiny little stools. Four, I love the cross section of business man and construction worker. 
Coal stove. One of the things that shocks you in China is the lack of regulations. There were stoves like these shooting flames out towards the sidewalk. There are huge holes in the sidewalk from construction with no covering, or yellow tape. Raw meat sits out all day, unrefrigerated, at market stalls (and in airports!) I'll comment on this more when I cover Lhasa.