Tag Archives: Xi’an

Big Goose Pagoda is just a backdrop for the sexy dancing seniors of Xi’an
When HOB and I got on a bus in Xi’an we were unclear about when we should get off. “Just look for a big pagoda” I said—this seemed logical since we were on our way to see something called the Big Goose Pagoda. And that turned out to be a good idea—-we saw this out […]

The dance of calligraphy (and noodles) in Xi’an
It was in Xi’an that I finally realized that calligraphy is an art of motion. I’d been struggling with calligraphy, trying to recognize it as an art form. Last year HOB and I intensely scrutinized the world’s most famous collection of calligraphy in the National Palace Museum of Taipei. I certainly made progress, recognizing the […]

The mosque is a temple and the soup is bread crumbs in Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter
Oh look, a cute little pagoda: Yeah, cute alright, but it’s a minaret, not a pagoda. And this pretty Chinese arch inside a garden. This isn’t a garden, it’s a mosque. Or maybe it’s better to call it a mosque complex. Anyway, the Great Mosque of Xi’an has been around almost since the beginning of […]