Xian January 24-25, 2007
January 24th, 2007
Today, we left Shanghai for Xian. China's First Emperor Qin unified china in Xian. Xian is most famous for the life sized Terracotta Warriors that were buried with the First Emperor. Xian is China's leading historical site as it served as China's capital over the course of 11 different dynasties.
With only one full day to explore this city, we had our work cut out for us. Upon arrival in Xian, we hired a car to take us from the airport... he then became our driver for the remainder of our stay in the city. As usual, the airport is about an hour outside of the city... which gave us an opportunity to look at some of the countryside. We were very impressed with what we saw on our way in from the airport. Our first glimpse of the City Walls were overwhelming... the walls stand 12m high and the old archers' towers are still intact. We checked into our hotel, inside the City Walls and went for our first walk through Xian.
We were all anxious to see the City Walls. We walked from our hotel to the East Gate of the city, about a 10 minute walk down the same street as our hotel. Currently, the East Gate is under construction and it was not possible to walk up the steps to access the wall. However, we did get an opportunity to see the wall up close and were amazed that it is still standing after all of this time. The City Walls were built in 1300, it is one of the largest and most complete ancient military defence systems in the world and they are the most complete city walls that have survived in China. The entire city wall is 13.7 Km.
We then proceeded to walk along the East Road towards the center of the city so that we could see the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. Our walk took us past many different shops... the street was crowded with people and reminded all of us of Robson Street on a Friday night. The street was crowded with people shopping, strolling, and trying to get us to buy ice cream and watches!!
At the heart of the city are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. At one point in Chinese history bell and drum towers were a fixture of city life in China. The Bell Tower is situated in the exact center of the city. It was originally built in the late 14th century, rebuilt in 1582, and restored by the Qing Dynasty in 1739. It originally housed a massive bronze bell. The original bell was used to tell the time each day. The Drum Tower was built in 1380, during the Ming Dynasty, and served to indicate the time at dusk. Originally, the Drum Tower housed a massive drum. The Drum Tower now serves as the gateway to the Muslim quarter. They are now tied together by a city square; a wide, flat, open courtyard bordered by a modern chopping arcade.
January 25th, 2007
The next day we proceeded to the Terracotta Warrior Museum. The site lies around 29 km away from the city of Xian. Emperor Qin spent more years constructing his tomb than he did building the capital where he lived and reigned. The life-sized soldiers and their horses were discovered accidentally by a group of farmers digging a well in 1974. While digging the well, they came upon a hollow area filled with terracotta fragments. Believing that they had found something important, they alerted the government. To this day, two of the farmers remain alive... they are taken care of by the government and are given a monthly stipend for their find.
To this day, the restoration of the site continues. Archeologists estimate that they will need 30 years to finish excavating and restoring the soldiers from Pit #1 and another 20 years to finish excavating and restoring the soldiers form Pit #2. The soldiers are incredibly well preserved, some of the colour on their uniforms has survived. No two warriors are alike, they all have unique facial features. The Qin Emperor was thought to have buried them to await him in the after-life and protect him. The Terracotta Warrior Museum is the largest on-site museum in China. We had an opportunity to have a book about the site signed by one of the 2 surviving farmers who discovered the site... all of the farmers are considered National Heroes.
Photos from Pit #1
The first vault was discovered in 1974 and contains 6000 horses and soldiers. The soldiers are arranged in columns filling 11 corridors. They all face east toward the tomb of Emperor Qin. All of the soldiers stand at least 1.7m tall. The faces of the soldiers are all unique and are said to be modeled after the actual soldiers in the emperors army. They carried real crossbows, spears, swords, and arrowheads. At this time, there are around 1000 of the soldiers restored.
The rear of this pit allowed us to have a good view of what the archeologists are up against. Several of the soldiers and horses were being restored.
Photos from Pit #2
This vault displays an excavation in progress. Few of these pits are opened. This vault contains archers, infantrymen, charioteers, and cavalry.
Photos from Pit #3 The Command Center
This vault is the smallest of the three. It served as a command center. Most of the figures found here appear to be officers. The higher-ranking officers appear to stand taller than those of a lower rank. The figures appear to be in discussing strategies.
Photos of Emperor Qin's Tomb.
Emperor Qin's tomb has not be excavated. The construction of his tomb and guardians took over 700000 artisans 36 years to construct. Upon completion of the tomb and warriors, the artisans were killed to protect the Emperor's secret. The mound is the center of a grave complex that is the size of a city. The burial mound occupies half the area of his underground inner city. The remains of a palace have been detected within the walls of an inner city. An outer city encompasses the royal tomb. Outside these walls, the bronze chariots and skeletons of horses were found. The ruins of a zoo and the gravesites of some of the prisoners used to build the tomb have also been found.
It is rumored to contain precious stones and ingenious defences against intruders. The ceilings are vaulted with pearls, and statues of gold and silver. The tomb has not been excavated because of the mercury that is rumored to be inside the tomb.
Following our visit to the Terracotta Warriors, we returned to Xian City. We visited the Great Goose Pagoda, which is Xian's most famous Tang Dynasty landmark. The seven-story tower houses large windows from which devotees throw coins for luck. The pagoda was built in 652 AD and stands in what was formerly the Temple of Great Maternal Grace. It was originally built to house the 1500 Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by the traveling monk Xuan Zang. The story says that he journeyed west over 22 years. He lit his way with oil lamps affixed to his pack frame and traveled along the silk road across the Gobi Desert.
Our last stop was the City Walls of Xian. It is possible to climb to the top of the wall from the South Gate. The view of the city is spectacular from the wall. Along the South Wall, the moat still exists and remains full of water. There is a greenbelt of parks, trails, and outdoor playgrounds that gradually wraps its way around the outside of the city. While we were there, they were preparing for the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). Many workers were creating colorful lanterns to be hung from the wall. The vies from the wall are fascination. There are 18 gates through the wall with the four largest at the north, south, east, and west midpoints... where the traffic now passes in and out.
It is possible to walk around the entire wall. There are also 'golf carts' available to take you from station to station around the wall. For those who are feeling more athletic, bicycles can be rented for one person or two. We have all agreed that we need to travel back to Xian and travel the entire wall! In the morning it is off to our final stop on our self-guided tour of China, Guilin.
Please send us an email at daleandheather@shaw.ca
