China 2015 Installment #2: Xi'an

We caught an early flight from Beijing to Xi'an. When we arrived, we were met by our guide Mary. Most foreigners' knowledge of Xi'an stems from the fact that an army of terra cotta warriors was discovered here as part of the massive tomb complex of the first Chinese Emperor.

The warriors were discovered in 1974 when a local farmer named Yang Zhifa dug a well and discovered some terra cotta shards. After further excavation, 8,000 warriors have been found. There were also weapons, including chromium plated swords which could still cut through 20 pieces of paper when discovered. Chromium plating technology was only discovered by the west in the 1940's in Germany. The warriors were commissioned in 221 B.C. by the 1st emperor of the Qin dynasty (Qin Shi Huang) who unified China (the word China comes from Qin). Xi'an was the original capital and the start of the silk road during the Han Dynasty. 720,000 people made the first emperor's tomb 2200 years ago. His tomb is the largest in the world and he started construction when he was only 13 years old. It took 38 years to complete.

After a stop for lunch at a tourist complex where we saw demonstrations of how replicas of the terra cotta warriors are made as souvenirs using the same clay and original techniques, we drove to the location where the warriors were discovered.

On our drive to the warrior site, we passed the emperor's burial mound which looks like a small mountain. It is still unexcavated, partially due to superstition and fear of boobytraps like a mercury lake (the surrounding soil does have high amounts of mercury) and partially due to the desire for better archaeological techniques to be developed before disturbing the site. It is 1.5 miles from the warriors. The emperor chose the spot due to good feng shui with the Mount Li behind it and a river in front.

Mary said that the beautiful sunny clear weather was very rare here. She hadn't seen the mountains this clearly since she can remember. Yesterday there had been a lot of rain. We were very lucky with the weather once again. (the next day she would tell us that today's air quality in Xi'an was the best in all of China! How does this keep happening to us?!)

Pit #1, Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an

Fallen warriors waiting to be restored

We arrived at the warrior complex and Mary bought our tickets. We walked through a gauntlet of shops and then took a golf cart to Pit 1, the first and largest to have been discovered. There is a large hangar over the pit, but it has many windows which give sufficient natural light to view them. When you enter, you are in the front of the pit and it is overwhelming in its impressiveness. Everyone is crowding at the front to get the best photos, and Mary helped us get to a very good spot. You could see countless restored warriors and horses. Each of them is unique with individual facial features, expressions, and uniforms based on their rank. The vanguard of footsoldiers were in the front along with their horses. The soldiers were larger than the Chinese at the time in order to provide super-human protection.

A terra cotta warrior under restoration, wrapped in Saran wrap as his glue dries. Pit 1 

After enjoying the view from the front of the pit, we proceeded clockwise around the perimeter. We saw the location of the farmer's well in the front left corner. It is at the very edge of the pit, so if he had dug just a few inches further left, they might never have been discovered at all! The observation platform / walkways were surprisingly close to the warriors, and you could get a very good view. It is still an active archaeological site, and archaeologists were hard at work restoring warriors. Photos were not allowed in certain active areas, and we respected the signs though many tourists did not. Archaeologists were using computers, winches, ladders, etc.in their restoration efforts. Some of the warriors were wrapped in saran wrap as their glue dried, or were belted together. On these warriors, you could see the fractures where the pieces had been joined. When the warriors were first created, wooden beams draped with bamboo mats acted as a ceiling above them. Over the years, some of these collapsed, smashing the warriors into hundreds of pieces. It must be such painstaking work to figure out how to reassemble these pieces, but also very gratifying, as it is so historically significant!

A terra cotta warrior under restoration. Notice how many separate fragments were put together for his head alone! Pit 1

We spent the majority of time at Pit 1, since it is the most extensive. Then we went to Pit 3, which is the command center, discovered in 1976. It is located behind the soldiers in Pit 1, and the officers are facing one another, not in battle formation. No battle weapons were found here, only ceremonial ones. Animal bones discovered here indicate sacrifices for good battles had taken place. There was also a horse stable with fully restored horses, which even had terra cotta tails.

Pit 3 - High ranking officers conferring on the left, horse stable on the right

Lastly, we went to Pit 2, which is not fully excavated. It was discovered in 1976. When the original Pit 1 warriors were excavated, they had been decorated with colorful paint. Upon exposure to the air, the coloration disappeared within minutes (luckily, it was photographed at the time). They are saving some of the rest of the excavation until better techniques are discovered. It looks like the ceiling is still intact, so perhaps the warriors underneath are in good shape. We are glad that they are holding off on some excavation until better technology exists.

Pit 2 - logs and bamboo mats burying the warriors

There were warriors in glass cases that were well lit and we were able to get up close to them from all angles. Mary suggested we spend most of our Pit 2 time here, and she was correct. One archer had a very precise hairstyle and very elaborate shoe treads. The amount of detail was amazing!

Kneeling archer terra cotta warrior in display case in Pit 2. Note the detail on the sole of his show! These archers operated crossbows.

Terra cotta horse and warrior in display case in Pit 2.

In the gift shop, we bought a book and DVD combo pack.The farmer who had discovered the warriors back in 1974, had been nearly forgotten. When Bill Clinton visited the site in 1998, he asked what happened to the farmer, and asked to meet him. They tracked him down, and at that point he was illiterate. They taught him to sign his name, and now he works full time in the gift shop, signing books and meeting visitors who are grateful for his fortuitous discovery. He signed our book and shook our hands, and it was an honor to get to meet him.

Meeting the farmer who discovered the warriors while digging a well in 1974

Then we went into the museum where they have two bronze chariots on display. These were discovered in 1980 in Pit 3. The emperor planned to ride in this bronze chariot convoy to the underworld. These are smaller than life size as it was believed that the soul is smaller than a human. Chariot 1 was for the emperor's bodyguard, and featured an articulated parasol. Chariot 2 (a replica, because the original is on display elsewhere) was for the emperor himself. When it was discovered, it had a sliding window and hinged door which still functioned.

Replica of Chariot #2, the bronze chariot which would take Emperor Qin's soul to the underworld. 

Getting to see the terra cotta warriors was very humbling. The sheer scale and age of them (2200 years!) was hard to wrap our heads around.

Wild Goose Pagoda

Jade carving depicting seven steps taken by S'âkyamuni (Buddha) immediately after his birth. 

The next day, we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist pagoda built in 652 A.D. There were various buildings containing Buddhist shrines, and we were allowed to take photos here. There was a hall with three entire walls carved from jade. It depicted the life of the Buddha (known here as S'âkyamuni) - from his mother having a dream of a white elephant which impregnated her, to the baby Buddha taking 7 steps right after his birth, etc. It was beautiful, and had only been carved around 5 years ago. It is nice that this country which has such an historic tradition of art is still creating such magnificent masterpieces, and that it is not a dying art.

Buddhist shrine at Wild Goose Pagoda

Hall of the God of Wealth (note that the ceiling is adorned with oversized Chinese coins)

Next, we headed to the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, which traces the history of the province from pre-history (1.5 million B.C). through the Tang Dynasty. There were skull replicas of 2 ancient hominids found in the area, as well as replicas of their stone tools. We moved chronologically through the history of Shaanxi, through the Warring States period. (pre- Emperor Qin, who had unified China). Gallery 2 had some gold objects and culminated with some terra cotta warriors. The final gallery featured the Tang Dynasty (Silk Road) and reflected interactions with foreigners. The exhibit concluded with a Buddhist grotto carved from stone, It was beautiful.

Buddhist Grotto carved from stone at the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum 

Next we visited the Muslim Quarter. As the easternmost point on the Silk Road, Xi'an hosted many traders and merchants from along the trade route. Islam arrived in China via the Silk Road in the mid 7th century.The Arabs intermarried with local women, and now, 1500 years later, Xi'an's Muslims are virtually indistinguishable from the Han Chinese except for their dress and customs.

We ate a delicious lunch at a restaurant in the Muslim Quarter. It was a very interesting hot pot, boiling away in a single-serve cast iron pot. It contained beef meatballs, boiled quail eggs, greens, and glass noodles. It was so piping hot that we couldn't eat it for a while, but it was absolutely delicious, with lots of Middle Eastern spices. It almost tasted like some Indian lamb dishes we have had. Craig ate way more than he should have, because of his love of spices and peppers.

A delicious individual hot pot consisting of meatballs, quail eggs, greens, glass noodles, and delicious Middle Eastern spices.

Next we visited the Xi'an Great Mosque, which dates back to 742 A.D. Its architectural style is distinctly Chinese, but with Arabic lettering on the outside and Persian carpets on the floor. Despite being within the hustle and bustle of the Muslim Quarter, the mosque sits in a peaceful courtyard where you can hear birds singing and enjoy the beautiful gardens.

Great Mosque of Xi'an

Next we had a couple of hours to explore the Muslim Quarter on our own. The sights and smells were intoxicating. Men pounded sesame and honey into candy with large wooden mallets. A man pulled taffy by hand using a massive hook on one end. He pulled it out into the street while passersby watched in amazement. A young man stirred a huge pot of peppers and the aroma made our mouths water. Bouquets of wooden sticks sat next to a shish kebab vendor.

Shish kebab in the Muslim Quarter

Bubbling vat of spices and peppers, cooking on the sidewalk in the Muslim Quarter.

On our way back to the car, we ran into several "ugly Americans", who were very disrespectful to the locals. A group of "frat boys" repeatedly shouted obscenities in English, thinking themselves to be very clever, and assuming that nobody else could understand what they are saying. We were disgusted, and Craig gave them such a dirty look that we heard them comment, "Man, those people were pissed!"
We had also overheard a man telling his girlfriend that these people were "Taliban terrorists." She laughed, and he repeated himself. We don't understand why people who are closed-minded and prejudiced against Islam would even bother visiting the Muslim Quarter, if they only wanted to mock it and use it to reinforce their own ignorant stereotypes. Travel is about learning about other people and how despite our differences, we are all human beings. We were ashamed of these countrymen of ours. There weren't a lot of Western tourists, so it was sad that the majority of them were setting such a bad example. Regardless, all of the locals were very friendly towards us and we felt very comfortable and safe wandering around and exploring on our own.

Xi'an Bell Tower

Next we went to the Tang Dynasty Show. The show has been running since 1988, and is a must-see experience. We had seen it featured on Samantha Brown's Passport to China, which aired around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We started off in the dining room, and enjoyed a "Dumpling Banquet". We were served dumplings shaped like animals and flowers, and they were delicious and incredibly cute as well - I mean, dumplings shaped like hedgehogs?!

Dumpling banquet!

Then we headed into the theater for the show. The show was extensively researched and the costumes, choreography, music, and instruments are authentic to those used during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.) It was breathtaking.

Musicians perform on period Tang Dynasty instruments

There was an instrumental number followed by some dances. The first featured women in dresses with ribbon-like sleeves of ramie cloth which made intricate flowing patterns as they danced. It was so elegant and mesmerizing!  Then there was a wizard dance that reminded us of Bhutan. Next was a dance choreographed by Yang Yuhuan, one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China and the favorite concubine of Emperor Xuanzong. It featured cascading waterfalls.

Flutist and dancer at the beginning of "The Oriole Singing in Spring".

World famous panpipe master Gao Ming performed an amazing rendition of "The Oriole Singing in Spring."

Panpipe master Gao Ming performed an amazing rendition of "The Oriole Singing in Spring." It is said that an oriole had interrupted the emperor's speech one time, and its song was so beautiful that the emperor commissioned this song. There was a warrior dance which included kung fu and acrobatics. The grand finale was the spring festival, where the emperor walks among his people. It started with a very cool dragon dance, with people in dragon costumes as well as dragon stick puppets undulating to the music. The ladies dance and the emperor enters. A woman is carried in on a giant lotus blossom and dances with a sword (similar to the saber tai chi that we witnessed at the sports school). It was a grand finale.

Dancers perform for the emperor. 

Dancer is brought onstage on a giant lotus, and gracefully dances with a saber for the emperor. 

We were absolutely blown away! The production values of the show were top-notch. The scale of the production (number of performers, costumes, lighting, sound quality, narration and explanation of the acts, beauty of the theater itself, and variety of performances) was staggering. It exceeded all expectations and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting Xi'an!

We went back to the lovely Shangri La Hotel Xi'an, and chatted with the lovely staff. We enjoyed our final night in our corner room with two walls of windows. We got a short night's sleep before rising early for our flight to Wuhan to begin our Three Gorges Yangtze River Cruise.