I have been to Xi'an a few times and was particularly looking forward to heading back to the city's Muslim quarter, which did not disappoint.
Tucked behind the Drum Tower, the back streets have long been home to the city's Muslim community and are bustling with shops, traders, a couple of small mosques and hundreds of food stalls.
I visited at night, when the area comes to life, with hand-pulled noodles being thrown around and bubbling pots spurting out steam that shrouds the dazzling neon lights.
Although I came straight from a filling hotpot dinner, the tour got our taste buds going and I couldn't resist tucking into local treats while picking up souvenirs for friends and colleagues at home.
My other evenings in Xi'an were just as entertaining and one night we went to watch a Tang Dynasty show featuring impressive displays by dancers and singers in colorful costumes.
I enjoyed the performances with a dumpling banquet, where we were served no less than 32 types of jiaozi, or dumpling, which varied in color from purple to green and came in all shapes and sizes, including some like little ducks that looked almost too good to eat.
Mealtimes throughout the trip were almost as enlightening as the sights we saw and as a group we bonded over big bowls of Shaanxi's famous noodles and yangrou paomo, a dish that required us to crumble up a flatbread before adding it to a warming mutton broth.
I welcomed the opportunity to walk of all the delicious food at the Hanyang Mausoleum, which covers 20 square kilometers and is the largest museum by floor space in China.
Also known as the Yang Mausoleum, the cemetery that includes the final resting places of Emperor Jing of Han and his queen was built from 153 BC to 126 BC and is a must-see for any history fan. All too quickly, our busy time in Shaanxi came to an end and after four days in the province each of us had formed our own impressions of what we had seen and done. The night before we were due to travel our separate ways home we compared ideas about the stories we would tell through our writing and photographs. Some of our group wanted to focus on the rich history and culture, while others were struck by the stunning scenery. But one thing we all agreed on was that we would have no shortage of experiences to share.
The author Clare Buchanan was a freelancer for China Daily.
