Travel Journals - Beijing, Xi'an and Nanjing

This summer I took a 10 day trip to China. My itinerary was packed with historical sites that I dreamed about seeing in person but the best part was getting to eat my way through some of the oldest and most culturally-rich cities in the country: Beijing, Xi'an, and Nanjing.

I met up with one of my best friends in Beijing where we spent 1 day biking to famous landmarks including Tiananmen square and the Forbidden city. Later on, we wondering down a popular alley lined with interesting shops.

Inside the Forbidden City. All those tourists at the bottom of the steps are trying to take my photo ;)

Yandaixie Street or Tobacco alley, so named because the long street is shaped like an old pipe

The main dish at lunch was roasted lamb spine which was really tasty. There is a surprising amount of meat left on the spine. The fattiest part is the tail. Apparently, the trick is to eat the tail last so it doesn't fill you up right away. This way you can still eat all the other delicious dishes served along with the main.

Roasted lamb spine for lunch on my first day in Beijing

Next stop was Xi'an, 5 hours from Beijing on the high speed train. Xi'an is an important historical city in China, playing a key role in trade along the Silk Road dating back 2000 years. It is also home to the Terra Cotta Warriors and beautiful ancient walls that surround the entire inner city.

We wanted to eat local food as much as possible while on our journey. In Xi'an, it is common for people to start their day with roujiamo (shredded braised pork in a bun). Naturally, we had to try it out.

Roujiamo (braised pork chopped up with a meat cleaver in a fresh bun)

A cold noodle dish to accompany roujiamo. A pretty delicious breakfast

Xi'an was my favourite stop on the trip because of the Muslim quarter. There you can find restaurants and street food vendors preparing traditional food like crumpled bread in mutton stew, hand stretched noodles in broth and chilli oil, lamb on sticks.