When you live in a back area of West Virginia, you get to know the area very well. During the Summer, it wasn't uncommon for me to grab my sleeping bag some nights, wander around in the woods till I found a good spot and just go to sleep there. In the morning, I'd just pick my stuff up and come home. I new the area near my house very well.
Slowly but surely I'm trying to get that same way with Xi'an. I know this is a huge difference. The city is miles wide, and filled with side streets and back alleys. But I hate the idea of being lost, and I want to be able to make it home even if I'm on the other side of the city and can't afford a cab.
I'm starting slow. I've been using Google Earth to locate areas I know, and get a general feeling for what direction things are in relation to everything else. Soon, I'm going to start making an encyclopedia of sorts for what buses stop where. I've got a couple ideas for how that will work, but I haven't tried any of them yet.
So far I've mostly been in the Southwest part of the city where I live, and the Southern part of the city where most of the shops are. There are still some places that I want to find and add to my growing mental database of the city. Tomorrow, I plan on going out to find Computer City. I keep hearing this place mentioned, and the idea of a whole building of computer parts makes me rather giddy.
With Google Earths view of the city, I can see a lot of cool things that I used to think were highly ordinary. There's a park that I go by on my way to Jin Yuan. Normally I only take not of this place because it has an interesting wall going around it, and there are usually people practicing Tai Chi, Badminton, and what appears to be a combination of the two. After looking at at Google Earth, I now know that there is a good sized lake inside that park, along with a couple other interesting buildings that I want to get a look at.
I know it will take a long time (if I ever) to get to know the layout of the city well. But with the weekend off, I'm going to get to know it at least a little better.
Friday, December 5, 2008
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2 comments:
Learning the city of Xi'an is such a fantastic idea! Think how cool you will feel when you know it like the back of your hand and can do a "crow flies" from any point to any point. Best of luck!
You can get a Map of Xian or any Major Chinese Cities with BUS Routes and Bus Stops at any NewsPaper Stand/Chinese Book Shops at about RM5-RMB10.
Remember to ask for the Map with Bus Routes. Most of these Maps are in Chinese but some have PingYin English words on them.
GoodLuck
Third Eye
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