A Rejuvenating Visit Back to My Hometown in China

Cynthia Luo, RMT - Registered Massage Therapist

Everybody has a special place in their heart and for me that is my hometown. After a long time, I finally went back to my hometown in the spring this year. I was ready to immerse myself in the city’s lifestyle, culture and history.

Xi’An is my hometown. A lot of people may not know the city’s name but if I mention Terracotta Warriors Museum, lots of people know it.

Xi’An is in the middle of China, so it is not too far to also explore other areas of the country. It is such an important city, not only in China but also in the world’s history. It was the starting point of the famous ancient Silk Road. It has a history that is over 7,000 years old: over 3,100 years of history as a city and over 1,100 years of history as China’s capital for 13 dynasties. Having such a long history, the city has some other names, like “Thousand Years Ancient Capital”, “Natural History Museum” and “Carbon Capital” (for the food). It is a city that perfectly combines ancient and modern looks.

As a famous tourist destination, Xi’An is busy all year round. It has so many places to visit during the daytime and nighttime. There are lots of parks and museums. Even just walking in the streets is so pleasant: there are wide roads with lots of trees, bushes and flowers that are planted between the lanes and roadsides. The whole city is like a garden and forest. Most people walking down the street are confident, have relaxed expressions and smiles on their faces.

As the subway system continues to build up, most people travel that way. There are lots of electric cars but in general, the streets are quiet and clean.

The food in Xi’An is very famous too. With so much selection and reasonable prices, eating out is very popular for all meals. Experiencing supermarkets, shopping centers, small stores and the morning markets is another important part of the lifestyle. Every morning market has all kinds of fruits, vegetables and other foods. It gets busy at 6:00am, stops at

10:00am and then the street is cleaned up for a normal view again.

Xi’An is built on a big, flat area. To the south of the city, about a one hour drive, there is a huge mountain area with lots of trails. It is popular for the local people to escape the busy city life and hot summer days, to hike or relax and enjoy countryside style meals.

Sometimes we would all like to escape from our daily life, to go to destinations we know or for new adventures, to relax our bodies and to free our spirits. Once we are fully recharged, we can go back to our regular routine with better energy and feeling life more meaningfully. It’s possible for life to be the same as usual but our emotions could be very different.

I do feel I am very lucky for being born and growing up in such a great city. It is a place I can always go back to at any time. It contains such rich culture, history and lifestyles. They are always ready for me to relax, to seek, to discover and to refresh my mind and spirit. It is my form of therapy for rejuvenation.