Xi'an City Wall 西安城墙

Jo: When I visited Xi"an recently, Feifei, I went to the Terracotta Warriors, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower and the Tang Paradise, but did I miss anything?

Feifei: Well, Jo, I think you did. But I"ll answer that question in a minute. Hello there, 欢迎收听今天的《都市掠影》节目，我是冯菲菲。

Jo: For this On the Town special, we"re reporting from our recent visit to Xi"an - the ancient Chinese city in central China.

Feifei: 那么我们来赶快回答 Jo 刚才提的这个问题，她说西安还有什么值得一去的地方？I"d say the city wall definitely.

Jo: Really? What’s so special about it?

The Bell Tower can be seen from the Xi"an city wall

Feifei: Well the Ming Dynasty started building the wall in the year 1370, so it"s about 800 years old; it"s one of the oldest and best-preserved Chinese city walls.

Jo: Wow! That sounds amazing.

Feifei: Yeah. So I decided to ask a few of my foreign friends, who"ve lived in Xi"an for few years what they think about the wall.

I think it"s one the most important things in Xi"an, to visit the city wall, definitely. You can take a look at what"s going on in the city, so you see the different parts of the city, you can look outside of the city, if the weather is nice and you"re lucky, you can see the mountains around Xi"an.

Sergi

The Xi"an city wall is one of the most beautiful landmarks in Xi"an. Going up on the city wall, you have a beautiful view of the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the ancient centre of the city as well as the rest of Xi"an. It’s definitely worth visiting.

Sam

Going around the walls you can see every neighbourhood and just the diversity, everybody is so different and the way they live is so visible. It"s one of the great things about Xi"an.

Rick

Jo: Sam says the wall is one of the most beautiful landmarks in Xi"an.

Feifei: Sam 说西安城墙是西安最美的一个地标建筑，landmark 陆标，地标。

Jo: Finally Rick says you can see every neighbourhood and the diversity of the city from the wall.

Feifei: Neighbourhood 这个词经常被使用在美式英语当中，它的意思是地区，街道。Diversity 多样性。

Jo: He says as you walk around the wall, the way people live in the city is just so visible.

Feifei: 看得见的，可见的 visible. Let"s listen again.

I think it"s one the most important things in Xi"an, to visit the city wall, definitely. You can take a look at what"s going on in the city, so you see the different parts of the city, you can look outside of the city, if the weather is nice and you"re lucky, you can see the mountains around Xi"an.

Sergi

The Xi"an city wall is one of the most beautiful landmarks in Xi"an. Going up on the city wall, you have a beautiful view of the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the ancient centre of the city as well as the rest of Xi"an. It"s definitely worth visiting.

Sam

Going around the walls you can see every neighbourhood and just the diversity, everybody is so different and the way they live is so visible. It"s one of the great things about Xi"an.

Rick

Feifei: Sam and Rick also told us what you can do on the wall.

On the wall you can stroll along or you can rent a bicycle. They also have tandem bikes, so you and a friend can enjoy a nice day cycling along the city wall, enjoying the sights of Xi"an.

Sam

You can ride your bike or you can rent a bike on any side of the wall and ride it around. I think it"s about a 13-kilometre ride, it"s tiring, but it"s a great way to see the city.

Rick

Jo: So both Sam and Rick say you can rent a bicycle or you can ride your bike on the wall. You can even rent a tandem bike.

Feifei: Tandem bike 双人自行车。Sam 和 Rick 说你可以骑自己的自行车或者是在城墙上租一辆自行车来游览城墙。

Jo: Rick says it"s about a 13-kilometre ride. I"d love to do that!

Feifei: I"ve done it before Jo, and I highly recommend it. I also asked Sam what he likes about the wall.

What I like about the Xi"an city wall is that it gives you a sense of history in Xi"an. I"ve described it before as being almost romantic, it"s large and beautiful. At night or even during the day creates a real atmosphere of ancient China and what is a fast-growing modern city.

Sam

Jo: Sam says what he likes about the Xi"an city wall is that it gives you a sense of history.

Feifei: A sense of history 一种对历史的感悟。

Jo: Sam described the wall as being almost romantic. He says the wall creates a real atmosphere of ancient China and what is a fast-growing modern city.

Feifei: Sam 说他曾经用 romantic “浪漫”这个词来形容西安的城墙；他说城墙不仅能给我们创造一种古中国时候的气氛，同时也展示了现代西安迅速发展的美景。Atmosphere 气氛；fast growing 发展迅速的。So next time you go to Xi"an, you"ll have to check out the city wall, Jo.

Jo: I"ll look forward to it, Feifei.

Feifei: Please visit our website for more On the Town programmes, at www.bbcukchina.com and it"s updated everyday. Thanks for listening and see you next time!

Jo: Bye!