Still Friday Day 8

We visited Kingway Beer, a "joint venture" with Heineken here in Xi'an. We took a tour of a sort of museum of beer, discussing the history, as well as the methods of making, and the different types. We then saw a very large and impressive bottling facility. The number of beer manufacturers in China was on the rise until the early 90's, when the government installed stricter regulations on the process, thus making the product safer. Larger companies thrived, and the smaller, and more risky product manufacturers went away. Just like in the U. S., China makes use of regulation to improve standard of living by protecting the people from unsafe products. Not perfect, but progress is being made. We then had a great dumpling dinner, and then a visit to the largest water/music show in the world. The next morning (Saturday) we took a bike ride on the City Wall in Xi'an. The City Wall is the only wall in China to be completely standing, and surrounds the area of Xi'an known as the inner city. Tunnels all around the wall provide easy access. We witnessed from up on the wall several weddings in the area, which are celebrated by fireworks, dinner and dance. We then visited a market near the Bell Tower at The City Wall, and bought more stuff. It was there that I realized how clean the entire city is, even in the poorer areas. I also noted how friendly the merchants were, even when haggling for price. I think Xi'an is a beautiful city, and one that I would love to have the opportunity to return to. Then it was a full day of travel to Vietnam on Saturday afternoon.