When China Called: Xi'an Part 1
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| Grand Noble Hotel entrance and view of Chicony Plaza, Xi’an, Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim |
More good news, the baggage claim part is easy once you get to Xi’an airport, and there are no more inspections! Make sure you keep your boarding pass though; you will be asked to present it at the Xi’an airport before you can exit, leave the baggage claim area.
You need your boarding pass to exit at Xi'an airport
My guide was waiting for me when I arrived at the airport. She introduced herself with her first name only before leading me to our private vehicle, a van.
A note on Chinese names: The Chinese, like the Japanese, though I probably should say the Japanese like the Chinese, refer to each other with their last names, unless they are very close. I acquired this piece of information quite late in my studies, which made for an extremely awkward situation when I suddenly started calling my travel consultant with her last name instead of her first over email. To bypass this awkward scenario, some travel guides may introduce themselves with their first English name only. If they give you more than one name, it wouldn't hurt to ask which they prefer to be called by. My thought on the matter is that whether they give you their first or last name, unless they insist on otherwise, add Mr. or Miss appropriately ahead of their name, e.g., Mr. Jeremey. The Chinese use of names tend to be formal (2016 Etiquette Guide to China, Lafayette de Mente, p. 65).
Somewhere in our conversation to pass time on the route to the hotel, my guide mustered up the courage to ask me the most curious question she can think of, I imagine, about life in the United States. You guessed it, she asked me my opinion about President Trump. It didn't come as a surprise to me, considering extensive media coverage of a series of tweets over the past few weeks. I gave her the most neutral answer I could, the USA's face is at stake here! Eventually, the van arrived at the hotel, a camera scanned the license plate, and the barrier arm opened.
At the
hotel, she, my guide, helped me Check-in. The receptionists here speak some English, in case you need to check in without assistance, i.e., a guide or translator. The process is fairly straightforward: you provide
your passport first, they scan it, and then ask you for a deposit. The value at
the time was 500 RMB, which is about the same for American hotels.
During my trip I used the guesstimation of 5 RMB for 1 USD, 20 RMB for 5 USD, and 100 RMB for 20 USD. Admittedly, this is on the conservative end.
