On April 28, 1908, Gustaf Mannerheim’s small horse caravan entered the western gate of the fortress wall surrounding Xi’an. The city, located in Central China, is one of four ancient capitals. It was once known as Chang’an and had been the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. Yet it wasn’t the city’s great antiquity that made an impression upon Mannerheim. “I had the feeling that I had come to one of the hothouses in which the newly awakened China was being nurtured,” he wrote about Xi’an in his diary.
I felt that same euphoria. The city was pulsating with life. I spent a week touring universities, high-tech and export processing zones, industrial parks and suburban developments in this city of 8 million. For part of the time, I tagged along with an American trade delegation from Fremont, California, which is located in Silicon Valley. I soon learned that Xi’an municipal officials and economic development leaders are trying to market the city as the “Silicon Valley of China.”
Click on the icons to view photos of my tour of ancient sites, industrial parks and hi-tech and export processing zones in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province.
Slideshow: Xi’an
Slideshow: Hua Shan
Links
For more information about Xi’an, check out these links:
Lit Hits the Road (Travel Writing Panel)Saturday, March 31st, 2012 - 3:00 pm
at the Workers' Arts and Heritage Centre (51 Stuart St.)
GritLit - Hamilton Literary Festival. More info >
Will Ferguson, Eric Enno Tamm, Merilyn Simonds & Wayne Grady
