Baoji is a large city in Sha'anxi Province to the west of Xi'an and to the west of my town of HuaiYa. I have been told that it is the second most populous city in Sha'anxi. Although, like all places big and small in this part of China, Baoji has a long history, its history is not on the scale of Xi'an.
I spent less than 24 hours in Baoji. I didn't visit any major attractions. As is my style, I merely took a wanderer's tour of the city. This surely disqualifies me as any kind of expert on Baoji. But I can safely say that Baoji is a nice city to which I intend to return in the future.
Baoji awakes to November.
As I alluded to in the previous entry, Baoji's transportation system is pretty convenient. The long-distance bus station is right by the train station. So if you are arriving by bus, you can immediately board a train. Or if you arrive by train, you can immediately travel to all parts of the city. And since this area of Baoji is something of a hub, there are plenty of hotels and a sprawling shopping district centrally located to accommodate travelers.
Baoji at night. The neon sunlight of international hotels and banks drown out the moonlight.
I arrived in Baoji in the evening. After the ordeal of booking a hotel (described below), I was game for some exploration. Baoji has as much street food as Xi'an, so I sampled some of it. My favorite item was a large, warm, doughy pancake of freshly spicy goodness! One of the other people buying the item asked me if it was comparable to pizza as he imagined to be... "zhongguo de pizza" he called it. I politely acknowledged the similarities but inside I secretly gave his comparison the big thumbs down... without cheese and tomato sauce, you most certainly do not have pizza. But food doesn't have to be pizza to be delicious... this thing was absolutely "haochi ji le!" The street food in Baoji, at least in this area of the city, was rather expensive though. I paid 6 kuai for a small portion of fried rice. The beverage prices were standard (3 kuai for Sprite is the exchange rate by which I measure such things).
The stores were mostly closed and I wasn't at all interested in shopping anyways, so I cannot say anything specific about shopping opportunities. But there is indeed much to buy. Immediately to the west of the train station is a long plaza of uncountable stores that sell a variety of high and low quality items of all types. To the north of the plaza there is a street market district. Here you will find cheap goods and plenty of street food. With shopping this conveniently and efficiently located, I imagine it's easy to toss money about in Baoji!
Commerce aplenty in Baoji
The next morning I wandered through the streets of Baoji from park to park. I would say that Baoji is a park city. There are little parks everywhere. And then there is a big park in the center of the city that stretches as far as the eye can see both east and west. With a park this big, even the couple million inhabitants of Baoji can enjoy peace, nature, and solitude here. And to the north of Baoji is an equally massive park for hiking up the loess hills that that hem the city into the valley of the Qinling Mountains' shadow.
Welcome to Baoji's Central Park! This park as at least as long as NYC Central Park and perhaps longer, but not nearly as wide. There are open courtyards, forested areas, recreational areas, dance clubs, a riverside walkway. It's a nice park!
Poolsharks of the world may retire happily in Baoji. There are pool tables all over this city... blanketed in blue against the cold morning and longing for the heat of the next night's game
a 'chill' bike ride
From these stairs to the tippy top of the loess hill in the background. Purge those lungs of all the second-hand smoke they have consumed since arrival!
The fortune cookie told me: "Look not only up and forwarad. Pause now and then to enjoy the sights of the world behind and below." So I did, and this was my reward!
At the top of the stairs, there is yet another park and a gateway to a network of trails by which to hike through and up the loess hills even higher to their plateau. Let's keep going...
The path up and forward has been paved by those before you.
At the top of the loess plateau (actually this is not the top, but I like this picture and we can safely pretend it's the top), you can enjoy a nice view. A cliffside forest in the foreground... the Qinling mountains in the background rising into the mist and out of view... and urban society carpets the valley in between! 
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