| The addition of more formal public squares and parks is also a part of the modernization of cities. The best parts of Xi'an are the neighborhoods with shade trees on either side of the road. Any empty lot is quickly turned into a park by function. People gather there in the morning to exercise, chat, and play games. Xi'an is a city with a human scale and has managed to maintain many of its neighborhoods, resisting a glut of high-rise anachronisms. The city center is full of modern buildings like the hotel shown above, but they are still, for the most part, under 10 stories. I expect that the next time I go that will have changed, but I hope not. |
