My hard sleeper comparment on the overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an.

Jie Fang Hotel, where I'm staying, near the train station.

The view from the window of my, err, beautiful hotel in Xi'an.

Xi'an famous bell tower in the city center.

Yin and yang. A perfect blend of east and west. McDonald's meets the Drum Tower.

Entering Xi'an's Muslim quarter through the base of the Drum Tower.

Looking through a gate towards the minaret of Xi'an's famous Great Mosque.

Very old-school Chinese characters on the mosque's grounds.

Light snowfall in Xi'an.

Entrance to the prayer hall of the Great Mosque.

A peek inside the prayer hall. Parts of the mosque date back more than 1,200 years.

Xi'an shows signs of being the terminus/start of the Silk Road.

The Great Mosque's old wooden gate, built in the early 1600s.

Paying homage to the people in charge in the mosque's guide book.

Delicious dried fruits, and whatnot, for sale in the Muslim quarter.