Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
Before anything else, Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary to you. I love you lots!!!
Our tour began slightly late due to some of the members of our group just arrived from a different hostel and had a late "free" breakfast. There were 11 people in our group: 2 Swiss, 7 English and the two of us.
The drive East was about an hour or so. The rain cleared this morning so it was a pretty nice day for our sightseeing. We went to the factory that officially makes reproductions of the Terracotta Warriors. For about 35 minutes a guide led us through the process of making these replicas (small), to the area where they make lacquer furniture - learned that lacquer was a sealant made from sap which they use to paint layers on the wood which gives it its sheen. Then to the main area where they sell all these things. (Peter was close to getting this small replica for 50 yuan, which was cheap, but he decided to think it through until it was already time for us to leave.)
Next stop was the visit to the Terracotta Warriors museum. For 90 yuan per person you get to go inside the 3 main excavation pits, the museum and the place where they show a film of how it was during the Qin era.
The first pit was enormous. The farmer who accidentally dug out broken pieces of pottery which looked like it belonged to the Qin emperor was the one who told the government about it in the 1940s. It took them about 30+ years excavating the area only to discover this whole area in 1974. There are more than 1,000 terracotta warriors in this pit, mostly infrantry and some chariots. All of the men faced east, in the direction of the Qin emperor's tomb. Not all have been dug up. Some have been reburied because the color (yes, they were in fact painted in different colors) once exposed to the air have oxidized. Until the time when there is technology available to protect the color, all these other warriors will remain buried.
The second and third pits were smaller. Not too many dug up. It was actually just by accident that they discovered this next 2 pits when they were erecting the building to house the first pit. Here there are a few warriors that were dug up but mostly it is just dirt. All you see are the schematics of how it looks underneath.
The museum housed some of the brass sculptures of 2 kinds of chariots and some other artifacts. And the film was not too interesting, just showed how things were in those days during the Qin era.
Next stop was the Qin emperor's tomb. There is really nothing to see here except for the artificial hill that was made on top of his tomb where people can climb the stairs up to the terrace. Around this hill you can see some of the entrances to the tomb but you would need to hire a car (small electric car) to go around because it is just so huge. Our group just went around near the entrance and checked out some of the pictures which shows the other excavated pits looked like.
It is said that there are about 618 pits and only about 4-6 have been dug up and discovered.
Lunch was included in the tour. We went to a nearby restaurant and our group was led to room 203 for a 14 viand lunch. Really good, not too oily except for the hard, tasteless cake. We were pretty much full by the time we left for the next stop.
Lintang Museum was the next stop. This used to be a Buddhist temple now turned museum that houses local cultural relics from most of the early dynasties.
Final stop was the Huaqing Hot Springs. This is a big place where you can find different bath houses once used by the Emperor, his empress and the prince. Most of the emperors who ruled in Xi'an (once called Chang'an) loved this place so much that they all built their own rest houses here where they spent their winters there. The hot springs came out from 3 sources and the water has been diverted to the fountains (where you can pay 20 yuan for legs and body indoors and .50 yuan to wash yourself outdoors - belief is this water brought healing properties).
Driving back to the Hostel, the rain began to fall lightly. It was really perfect timing.
History fact: Xi'an was the first capital of China and remained to be so for about 400 years or maybe 1,000(?). It's popularity had waned after the capital was moved and only due to the Terracotta Warriors that it has become a bustling tourist city once again.
The main city of Xi'an is enclosed in a large wall, used to have just 4 gates but now has 16 gates. Right in the middle of the city is the Bell and Drum towers. A huge number of Muslim live here because right in the outskirts of this city is where the silk road began.
Tomorrow we explore the city wall and the city itself.
Before anything else, Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary to you. I love you lots!!!
Our tour began slightly late due to some of the members of our group just arrived from a different hostel and had a late "free" breakfast. There were 11 people in our group: 2 Swiss, 7 English and the two of us.
The drive East was about an hour or so. The rain cleared this morning so it was a pretty nice day for our sightseeing. We went to the factory that officially makes reproductions of the Terracotta Warriors. For about 35 minutes a guide led us through the process of making these replicas (small), to the area where they make lacquer furniture - learned that lacquer was a sealant made from sap which they use to paint layers on the wood which gives it its sheen. Then to the main area where they sell all these things. (Peter was close to getting this small replica for 50 yuan, which was cheap, but he decided to think it through until it was already time for us to leave.)
Next stop was the visit to the Terracotta Warriors museum. For 90 yuan per person you get to go inside the 3 main excavation pits, the museum and the place where they show a film of how it was during the Qin era.
The first pit was enormous. The farmer who accidentally dug out broken pieces of pottery which looked like it belonged to the Qin emperor was the one who told the government about it in the 1940s. It took them about 30+ years excavating the area only to discover this whole area in 1974. There are more than 1,000 terracotta warriors in this pit, mostly infrantry and some chariots. All of the men faced east, in the direction of the Qin emperor's tomb. Not all have been dug up. Some have been reburied because the color (yes, they were in fact painted in different colors) once exposed to the air have oxidized. Until the time when there is technology available to protect the color, all these other warriors will remain buried.
The second and third pits were smaller. Not too many dug up. It was actually just by accident that they discovered this next 2 pits when they were erecting the building to house the first pit. Here there are a few warriors that were dug up but mostly it is just dirt. All you see are the schematics of how it looks underneath.
The museum housed some of the brass sculptures of 2 kinds of chariots and some other artifacts. And the film was not too interesting, just showed how things were in those days during the Qin era.
Next stop was the Qin emperor's tomb. There is really nothing to see here except for the artificial hill that was made on top of his tomb where people can climb the stairs up to the terrace. Around this hill you can see some of the entrances to the tomb but you would need to hire a car (small electric car) to go around because it is just so huge. Our group just went around near the entrance and checked out some of the pictures which shows the other excavated pits looked like.
It is said that there are about 618 pits and only about 4-6 have been dug up and discovered.
Lunch was included in the tour. We went to a nearby restaurant and our group was led to room 203 for a 14 viand lunch. Really good, not too oily except for the hard, tasteless cake. We were pretty much full by the time we left for the next stop.
Lintang Museum was the next stop. This used to be a Buddhist temple now turned museum that houses local cultural relics from most of the early dynasties.
Final stop was the Huaqing Hot Springs. This is a big place where you can find different bath houses once used by the Emperor, his empress and the prince. Most of the emperors who ruled in Xi'an (once called Chang'an) loved this place so much that they all built their own rest houses here where they spent their winters there. The hot springs came out from 3 sources and the water has been diverted to the fountains (where you can pay 20 yuan for legs and body indoors and .50 yuan to wash yourself outdoors - belief is this water brought healing properties).
Driving back to the Hostel, the rain began to fall lightly. It was really perfect timing.
History fact: Xi'an was the first capital of China and remained to be so for about 400 years or maybe 1,000(?). It's popularity had waned after the capital was moved and only due to the Terracotta Warriors that it has become a bustling tourist city once again.
The main city of Xi'an is enclosed in a large wall, used to have just 4 gates but now has 16 gates. Right in the middle of the city is the Bell and Drum towers. A huge number of Muslim live here because right in the outskirts of this city is where the silk road began.
Tomorrow we explore the city wall and the city itself.
posted by Mimi | 1:08 AM
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