For our sixth day in China, we stayed in Xian. Xian is the oldest city in the country and China's original capital.
A fun way to explore the city, 12 metres above ground, is to rent a bicycle and ride the 13,74 kilometres long city wall. It's the oldest and best preserved Chinese wall - a big giant square surrounding and protecting Xian and its inhabitants.
We highly recommend navigating the ancient fortifications by bike as it can be a very long and monotonous walk. We didn't find the surrounding scenery always attractive or interesting but the bike makes it all more fun.
It was slightly raining that day, but it didn't spoil the pleasure to cycle the Xian's Wall. We started from the South Gate ( which is also the most impressive Gate) and finished by the same gate. Along the way, we pass by 5,948 crenellations, namely battlements and 98 ramparts spaced out at 120 metres to allow the archer's bows to reach their enemies.
To finish the day, we found a charming restaurant, and we tasted a Sichuan pepper based dish and the famous Xian veggie noodle. The meal was not hot or pungent but it left a tingling and numbing sensation that enveloped our lips for a few minutes. Weird. We never experienced that sensation before. Or maybe just when we visited our dentist.