| Fashion Night (4-25-2005) By Joey Daniell It was fashion night in Xi'an tonight. Earlier in the week Jenna, Kate, and Jess custom-ordered prom dresses. The dresses are made out of silk and a fitting was arranged for the next night at the hotel. It so happened that we were in town and decided to have the fitting at the dress store. We spent about an hour there and some of us got a little bored, so a mysterious boy tried some clothing on.
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Drum Tower - Tuesday (4-26-2005) by Joey Danielle Our fabulous tour guide Christina, took us to the Drum Tower in the center of Xi'an. Just a little history: Xi'an was the capital of China for 100's of years before Beijing became the capital. Because Xi'an had been the capital, there are a lot of historical landmarks still standing, such as the Drum Tower, the Bell Tower and the City Wall and all four gates. This is the most famous fully standing city wall in China since Beijing's was torn down during the Cultural Revolution. The Drum tower was built in 1380 (the 13th year of Hongwu Emperor Taizu’s reign period in the Ming Dynasty). There was a huge drum in the tower, hence the name. Of brick-wood structure, the tower is a pronounced Ming style and is 34 meters high and covers an area of over 1840 square meters. It has been renovated many times. The Drum tower is the home to the world's largest drum. Some of us got to beat the drum while some got a hug.
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 East Gate of the Xi'an City Wall in background and kite sellers and fliers in the square. |
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 This drum is Guinness Book of Records winner. It is beat at dusk and the bell from the Bell Tower, nearby, is rung at dawn. |
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