Xi'an Wall and Wild Goose Pagoda

Yesterday we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an and walked along the city wall which is really the ancient fortress/lookout for the old part of the city. It is surrounded by a moat and then the new city springs up in skyscrapers all around it (although on the opposite side of the river you can see the extreme poverty). Talk about a clash of the old and new!

There was a guy flying a kite from the top of the city wall. I went over to take a picture and he handed me the kite. Then he took it away again because I wasn't doing a very good job. He made a point of not looking at me directly but clearly indicating - to nobody in particular - what I should have been doing.