Get Ready China...

I'm starting to get really excited for our China trip.  We will be there from Christmas Day until January 3.  Ten days.  In that time we are going to Shanghai, Xi'an (pronounced She-Ann) and Beijing.  We fly into Shanghai and will spend just 2 nights there before flying in Xi'an.  We were debating whether or not to go to Shanghai.  But the flights between cities in China were so cheap, we decided it would definitely be worth it for just a couple days.  And reading about it, it sounds like a really nice, interesting city.  

For those of you who don't know (I didn't before I researched it) Xi'an is where the famous terracotta warriors are located.  Thousands of them were buried to guard a king in his afterlife.  When we first started looking into China, I knew that if we were going to visit the country this was going to be on my must see list!  And the small city of Xi'an is supposed to be pretty nice as well.

So after three days in Xi'an, we will take an overnight train to Beijing.  From everything we've read and advice we've gotten on travel forums have suggested that the trains are actually pretty comfortable and a nice way to travel.  We'll be in a "soft sleeper" which is like a little cabin with a couple beds in it.  Should be an interesting experience.  

And then in Beijing, of course we will do the Great Wall, Forbidden City (our hostel is actually RIGHT next to the forbidden city..), Tinamin Square, etc, etc.  We will have 5 days there, which should be a good amount of time to get a nice taste of the city.  

The one bad thing about going to China is the expensive tourist visa.  We had to leave our passports with a travel agency for a week and pay about $150.  Just to go to China for 10 days.  Ahh.... oh well!  At least the flights were cheap.