The Ba River flows east of Xi'an and joins the Wei, and for most of Chinese history it marked the point at which a journey out of the capital began. Tang poets wrote about seeing friends off at the Ba bridge, and the custom of breaking a willow branch by the water as a farewell - the branch bending without breaking, as a wish for the traveller's return - belongs to this stretch of river. The bridge is a modern crossing now and the willows are not the ones the poets wrote about, but the river still runs in the same place.
What is there now
The banks have been rebuilt as a chain of linear parks and greenways, with paved cycle and walking paths, planted terraces, wooden boardwalks out over the water, viewpoints and picnic lawns. In the stretches closest to the city, the paths connect with the wider riverside system that runs through the Chanba district, so it is possible to ride a long way without using a road. The water is broad and shallow in places and backed by willows and reeds, and birdlife - herons, egrets, ducks and, in season, migrants - is common along the slower reaches.
Getting out on it
Shared bicycles are the natural way to use the greenways; the surface is flat and continuous and the distances are long enough that walking the whole thing is impractical. Early morning and the last two hours before sunset are the pleasant times, when the light is low over the water and the paths are used by cyclists and runners rather than by crowds. The riverside is popular with families at weekends, when food stalls and small vendors appear at the main access points.
Practical notes
The Ba River parks are free, open at all hours and reached by subway and bus from the old city, though the further stretches really need a bicycle or a car. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; summer is hot and humid with little shade on the water side, and winter is cold and bare. Mosquito repellent is worth carrying in summer. Because the area is a chain of separate parks rather than one site, decide in advance which stretch you want and enter there rather than trying to cover it all.
