The 14th National Games held in Xi’an has triggered great interest — not only in sports and fitness, but also in the host city itself. If you are planning a tour of Xi’an taking less than 3 days, you’ll want to hit all the following highlights.

The Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army is not just China’s premier historical attraction but one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century, which was constructed by China’s First Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). It is a collection of thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers, horses, and chariots (战车) in battle formation, showing the emperor’s armies in full splendor.

Ancient City Wall

Xi’an City Wall was built in the 14th century by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as a military defense system. Now it is one of the oldest and best-preserved Chinese city walls. The wall is now a landmark, dividing the city into inner and outer areas.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

One of China’s most famous Buddhist pagodas, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) for the study of Buddhist scriptures. One of the main functions of the pagoda was to store sutras (经文) brought to China from India by the famous monk and traveler Xuan Zang. It was built with layers of bricks and has a grand structure and appearance. It is exemplary of traditional Chinese architecture.

Shaanxi History Museum

The Shaanxi History Museum is home to over 370,000 precious relics unearthed in Shaanxi over the years. Its collections range from bronze wares to pottery figures, gold and silver wares and wall paintings from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) tombs. Among its precious collections, 18 pieces have been listed as national treasures.

Libraries have existed for nearly as long as humans have had written languages. They have been esteemed (受尊敬的) places of learning and comprehensive repositories (储藏室) of human knowledge, history, and ideas. Written materials from all over the civilized world have been collected and preserved in libraries and without them much of what was known to ancient peoples would have been lost in the moden world.

Open societies especially like the free exchange of ideas and information—all ideas, not just those that are socially acceptable at a particular point in time and all opinions, no just mainstream ones.

Our public libraries need to be places that broaden our perspectives and stretch our minds and imaginations. There’s no reason to ban any books from the general public. That’s not to say all books are appropriate for all age groups. But it’s easy enough to limit access of the very young to “adult” literature without preventing mature readers from a full range of materials.

Private libraries may sometimes regard certain topics as too offensive (冒犯的) or objectionable to include in their collection. And elementary school libraries should probably not include books that would be inappropriate for young children on their bookshelves. All libraries have to be selective, due to limited budgets, and space and age are always considered in acquisition (购置) decisions. But this is very different from actually banning specific titles.

And who is to decide what is acceptable and what is not? Should we get rid of all materials that are unconventional, that challenge the present situation, or that make anyone uncomfortable? Should we restrict all materials in public libraries to what is inoffensive to the most sensitive members of society or to what overprotective parents believe will not disturb young children?

Open societies, as they say, are messy. The Harry Potter novels may be the greatest children’s books ever written. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States may be a publication of nation’s rich history, but sometimes brutal history to some else, especially those ever hurt by the country. Anyway, libraries exist to preserve all human thoughts and recorded experience.

What a Scoop! Readers’ Favorite Ice-Cream Shops

From pear and cheese in Edinburgh to pomegranate ripple at Ventor, our reporters show off the coolest licks.

Mary’s Milk Bar in the Grassmarket is popular with locals and visitors, and is the perfect pit stop for people dashing between fringe festival shows. Flavors change every day, with pear and cheese among the regulars. You can grab your ice and walk up the Vennel Steps for breathtaking views of Edinburgh castle.

Aisha

“Che buono! The best gelato (ice cream) outside Naples!” exclaimed my son’s Italian girlfriend on her first visit to Delphini’s. Giovanni grinned and gave her an extra, free scoop. Every day there’s a queue outside this shop in this progressive south Devon town. Delphini’s gelato is made out of organic local milk and cream. What’s more, it is dairy-free, making it a good option for vegans in Totnes. Flavors change daily and they do free tasting.

Kate

Shepherds Ice Cream Shop in Abergavenny is a Wes Anderson-styled drop-in. It’s all made locally from goat-milk, the business is run by two generations of a family that has some sort of tradition around a golden scoop. Shepherds often pop up with a vintage ice-cream trailer at festivals and events around the UK. It’s my family’s year-round Friday treat.

Alexia Tucker

Crave Ices at Ventnor invents new flavors constantly. Always over 20 choices, plenty of sweet, creamy ones, but also salty, alcoholic and non-dairy delights. Recent highlights include pomegranate ripple, whisky marmalade (over-18s only!). Once I mentioned a flavor I’d enjoyed the previous year. They made some especially for me so I could have it again before I left for home.

Lucy Marder