None of us slept very well because the rooms were very hot, and the temperature controls didn't work at all. We finally realized we could open the windows around four in the morning. P and M were primed to fight off several Chinese students to find us a table at breakfast in the Grand Mercure dining room. It was very crowded and noisy, but the crowds soon dispersed and we nearly had the place to ourselves.
Our first stop this morning was the south gate of the Xian City Wall, one of the oldest, largest and most well-preserved walls in China. The rectangular shape is fourteen kilometers in length; bicycles can be rented and one can circle the old city area in about seventy minutes. Ninety-eight ramparts are spaced every 120 meters along the wall; since archers were able to shoot 60 meters, this had every inch of the wall covered. The wall was first built in the fourteenth century, and has been restored several times. The south gate was just restored in 2014, and is the only one of the four gates that still has three towers: the drawbridge, the archery tower, and the watchtower. The old city drum and bell towers are in sight of this gate. The seven animal figures on the gables indicate that this place was lower in importance to the palace, which has nine figures.
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| The seven figures |
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Bicycles on the right could be rented to
ride around the wall. |
A moat still encircles the wall, with a lovely parkway between, where locals could be seen practicing tai chi. I even saw and older woman practicing with a sword.
Tai Chi near Xian City Wall That would probably get you arrested in the US! Preparations were being made on and near the wall for the Chinese New Year festivities.
Next stop this chilly morning was the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Xian Museum. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 707 A.D., and originally had 15 stories; damaged from numerous storms and earthquakes, it now stands 13 stories high. In 1487, a violent earthquake caused a crack in the middle, over a foot wide. Then in 1482, a second earthquake hit, the crack miraculously repaired itself. Interestingly, each level is a bit shorter than the one below it.
This Small Goose Pagoda was where the famous monk, Yi Jing, translated and stored the Buddhist manuscripts (
sutras) he brought back from India. The story goes that the monks asked the gods to send more meat, as they had little to eat. Looking to the heavens, geese flew overhead in a V-formation, and the lead goose suddenly fell to the ground dead. They took this as a sign to stop eating meat; hence, the name. (A larger, Giant Goose Pagoda, is located in southern Xian.)
Outside the pagoda, a huge brass bell hangs on a red steel frame. This is a copy of the original, which now hangs in the adjacent bell tower. For a small fee, visitors are invited to toll the bell three times in remembrance of one's ancestors. We all took hold of the huge ramrod and paid our respects. It was so loud, even the deaf members of our party could hear it!
Next to the bell was another post where visitors could write the names of their ancestors and hang it on the posts. For another small fee, we all selected a red tag and scrawled the names of loved ones who had gone before us. Thousands of tags were tied to these posts. We also saw a couple of 1300-year-old pagoda trees in the same courtyard.
The small Xian Museum had relics dating from the bronze age. A collection of chubby lady statues illustrated the fact that heavy women were once considered more attractive. Several three-legged pots showed the common form used through the ages. Some of the figures looked decidedly western - an influence of the international trade on the Silk Road. One room was entirely devoted to Buddha images.
We then returned to the van for a one-hour drive to Lintong, the location of the famous Terra Cotta Warriors; this was what I was most excited to see. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the plaza outside. Here we sampled the "belt-shaped noodles" the area is famous for, and enjoyed an informal tea ceremony presented by the staff at the restaurant. It was quite chilly in the restaurant, and the tea mistress (?) served us in her winter jacket.
Officially called the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, the Terra Cotta Warriors site was, once again, a long walk from the parking area. Electric cars carry visitors part of the way
to the site, but not back. In the distance, we could see the great mound under which Emperor Qin is entombed, about 1.5 Km away. Through security checks and turnstiles, we finally arrived at what looked like a small museum from the outside. But once inside, the magnitude of the site is breathtaking. It is huge, like a football stadium, with a walkway around the massive Pit One, where hundreds of clay soldiers stand in military formation, seemingly waiting for the order to march into battle.
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The red arrow points to the location
where the well was dug |
The construction of the pits was ordered by Emperor Qin (pronounced
Chin), for whom the country is named. The figures were made to be buried with him, as he felt he would need an army in the afterlife. The army and the emperor's tomb nearby were built by 720,000 builders. The entire army was first covered with mats and wooden beams, then dirt was heaped onto the mats. Soon after its burial, marauders uncovered the site, stole the real weapons that were buried with the soldiers, and set fire to the entire place. The wood beams and mats collapsed, and the soldiers were entombed in dirt for 2000 years, until farmers digging a well in 1974 stumbled upon the amazing archaeological find. The corner of the pit where the well was dug is clearly marked for visitors to see. It is clear that, had the well been dug just a meter away, the site may have never been discovered. When the farmers' fields were taken over as a significant historical site, the men were given new jobs: greeting guests and signing autographs.
The authentic nature of the warriors is astounding - each one is said to be modeled after an actual soldier, no two alike. The style of hair or hat indicated the rank held by each. Terracotta horses stand behind empty spaces where wooden chariots once stood, but were destroyed in the fire. The soldiers and horses, 8000 in total, were made bigger and stronger-looking than real life. Infrared detection was used to detect the location of all the statues, so archaeologists are certain they have found all there is to find.
Three pits in total, Pit One is the largest. Pit 3 is smaller, with higher-ranking officers, and Pit 2 was arranged like a meeting room where officers would plan battle strategies. The layouts of all three pits were exactly as described in ancient military tactics books.
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| Figures in various states of repair |
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| Pit 3 |
Only one soldier was found completely intact: a kneeling archer encased in a special display. All the rest had to be painstakingly reconstructed, an effort that is ongoing. Many of the soldiers had colors that quickly faded when exposed to the air. The kneeling archer still has a bit of red on the back.
Also displayed is an example of a middle-ranking official, identified by his long tunic, square shoes and flat hat. Next to him, the high-ranking official displays the double tunic, square shoes with upturned toes, and a butterfly-shaped hat of his rank. The lone surviving bronze sword was discovered under the body of this high-ranking official, still intact and well-sharpened.
In Pit Two, we could see archaeologists at work, labeling and cataloging each tiny fragment. It is obviously a job that requires a great deal of patience. We also walked through the Exhibition Hall of Bronze Chariots, which felt a bit like an afterthought. The two bronze chariots displayed here were discovered about twenty meters from Emperor Qin's mausoleum in 1980, and are the largest pieces of ancient bronzeware found in the world. It is assumed that their intent was to allow the emperor to tour his kingdom in the afterlife.
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| Still an active archaeological dig |
Vendors offered horrible souvenirs of your own head photoshopped onto a photo of a terra cotta warrior - really took away from the dignity of the place. Upstairs was a shop selling black jade, a local resource. This jade looks black, but is green when held up to the light. I bought a black jade bracelet, and M got a medallion.
The long walk back to the parking area took us through multiple hawkers selling small replicas of the soldiers, among other things. The price they quoted as we walked in was now half! We also saw vendors selling locally-grown pomegranates, and Sally bought one for us to share.
As we headed away from the museum, Sally pointed out a large statue of Lady Yin. According to our guide, she is one of four women in Chinese lore, often seen depicted on four adjacent screens. Our guide said one lady had small earlobes, and is associated with earrings. The second had small shoulders and is linked with shoulder pads. The third smelled nice and is linked with perfume. And the fourth liked to bathe in herbs, and is connected to spas. I tried to find info online to back this up, and found instead The Four Great Beauties, ancient Chinese women renown for their beauty who wielded great influence over kings and emperors. This sounds the more likely explanation to me.
Most of us dozed on the drive back to the city. The guys took Sally's recommendation for refloxology massages, and she and I walked around the local shops while we waited. It was interesting to shop with a young Chinese woman - see what clothes caught her eye, her interest in shoes, etc. Not too different from some American women I know. In one shop, I chatted with a saleswoman who had lived in Minnesota for a year. We saw lots of dates and pomegranates in the fresh food shops. A woman gave me something to taste; not sure if they said it was a "pie seed," or a "pine seed," but it had a husk that I had to discretely dispose of, as it didn't seem edible. Sally bought a bag of Chinese lanterns for us to share for the New Year - quite bulky to try to fit into our luggage, but a nice gesture. She also offered an invitation to return, when she would cook belt-shaped noodles in her "tiny apartment."
After retrieving the men, we went to dinner on the second floor of a building near our hotel. Once again, nearly no English was spoken, save a young waitress who probably did a little better in class than the others. At one point, another customer was brought to our table to help interpret. As we'd seen in other places, a pillowcase-like cloth was placed over our chairs when we sat down. (We asked our guide about this, and she said it was to protect our belongings and to save the chairs.) We saw others go up to a display of vegetables and such with trays, so we followed suit, each piling a tray with things we thought we recognized, and handing the tray to the man behind the counter. Pretty decent food, quite reasonable.
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In the lobby of the restaurant -
reminds me of an old boss... |
It was a short walk back to the hotel, where my few laundry items were waiting, and the heat was still working overtime. We went for drinks, this time at Bar Bambu, and were amused by the snacks they brought - three little dishes, one with three pringles in it! I had a Flaming Dr. Pepper which had nothing to do with Dr. Pepper, but was entertaining, nonetheless. Back in our rooms, we flung open the windows, hoping for a better night's sleep.
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| The walk back to the hotel |
