"Start of the Silk Road and a place of... " a Xi'an Travel Page by SPW

Like many Chinese cities, the drive in from the airport was nearly as long as the flight, but gave an insight into the local environment.
Much of the way was developed, with many small stores and workshops as well as more distant larger industrial complexes. In one town, the median strip was occupied by a large concrete group, including camels, presumably a tribute to the Silk Road of ancient times.
I regret we only had 2 nights here as the city held many interesting features which we didn't have a chance to explore but the air pollution was marked. At times during our stay visibility would have been down to about 200m, and the taste was in our mouths and throats.