Regular readers have probably had enough of me complaining that European cities manage to have classy low-rise centres full of historic buildings, while Hong Kong has ugly 30-story office blocks sitting on top of three storeys of expensive shops. So here’s a variation: Chinese cities can manage it was well.
Recent gap in posts was because I was away in Xian. The tourist attraction which everyone knows about in Xian is the Terracotta Warriors. Actually they are an hour’s drive out of town, but don’t let that put you off: they’re well worth a visit. Xian itself, though, also has its attractions. The centre of the city is enclosed by a historic wall. Apparently in the 70s this had been used as a source of free bricks for so long that only a wall-shaped mound of earth was left in many places. The city then decided to restore it to its original condition and it is now a magnificent structure, about five storeys high and wide enough at the top for walking and cycling. Inside the wall there are a lot of old, and therefore small, buildings and a serious effort has been made to keep the new ones down to the same altitude. There is also a linear park which runs for miles between the wall and its moat. The park is used for exercise (and for other things, judging by the number of posters advocating safe sex), the moat for boating and fishing. The whole show provides miles of wonderful walks – or if you prefer of cycling. It is a credit to the city council.
Why can’t Hong Kong do these things?
tim's experiment 
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