and into the Great Mosque.
Then back out to the city center. While most of the group browsed through the Sauq "She Who Must Not Be Named" and her shopping buddies set out on a quest for Xian's "Underground Mall" rumored to be filled with modern Western-style shops. After a while we found it underneath the square between the city's famous Bell and Drum towers.
We were scheduled to meet in the central square, near the bell tower. While we waited for the last stragglers to rejoin the group we were treated to a demonstration of the amazing kites of Xi'an.
Note that there are four separate strings of kites in this picture. There were many more in the sky. The wonder is that the operators were so skilled that none of the lines intersected and tangled.
Here is one of the kite fliers setting out a new string.
