Springtime in Xi'an

Springtime in Xi'an is lovely, as far as I can tell. It's hard to make pronouncements like that when you've only been in a city less than a week, but it's been a great week, weather wise. The climate is quite dry here. It reminds me of Arizona, as far as the low humidity goes. I'll be out walking, and I'll suddenly realize that I'm very, very thirsty, like all of the moisture has been sucked out of me. Of course, I'm told that May can be rainy here, so maybe the humidity will creep up a bit. I hope not. I can do without that sweaty sauna feel in the air.

One thing I'm having trouble adjusting to is the dustiness of this place. Xi'an is on a plateau, surrounded, at least in part, by mountains. I guess the arid climate, the wind, and the lack of vegetation on the mountains result in dust. Or something like that. The end result is that there's a fine dust in the air most days, and it settles onto floors and furniture, cars and streets and business signs. Some days, i think I can feel it settling into my lungs. I definitely get it in my eyes. Honestly, if i hadn't seen the mountains when we were flying into Xi'an, I wouldn't know they were there. I don't know if its dust or something else that blocks their view, but i haven't seen them at all. Anyway, there was a bit of rain yesterday, and the air felt lighter to me afterwards. I've heard there can be some big dust storms here; that's something I'd prefer to miss. I've also heard that Beijing is even more dusty, so I'll have that to contend with next month.

Right now, Xi'an is bursting into bloom. Here are a few photos for you flower lovers. Oh, by the way, the World Horticulture Expo is in Xi'an this year, and I'll be here for the opening. I'm really looking forward to that.













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