June 8 – Shanghai to Xi’An
Today we head to the airport for a domestic flight on China Eastern (the southwest or Frontier Air of china). We’re heading to Xi’An to see the No. 8 Wonder of the World, the Terra Cotta Soldiers! There were more than 720,000 made over a span of 38 years at the request of a loopy emperor, who wanted to maintain his dynasty and rule in the afterlife and built these soldiers to help him do that. Didn’t quite work out, as he was eventually overthrown and most of his soldiers were destroyed. Of the 720,000, only 8,000 have been restored and are on display at this fabulous site.
The soldiers were discovered in the 1970s when four farmers found them while digging in their fields. The four founders, who were once friends, are all now bitter enemies and hate each other. Good times! They’ve fought over the fame and notoriety which came from being the discoverers of such a significant archeological and historical treasure … it’s kind of a sad and ironic story. Anyway, while we were there, the most famous of the founding farmers was there signing his book. We were not allowed to photograph him, and he even held a fan in front of his face that read ‘no photos please!’ to prevent this from happening …. It was actually quite funny!
There are three pits of soldiers you can visit … the first pit is HUGE … about the size of your average airplane hangar, and only natural lighting is used – flash photography is not allowed! Interesting note, when the soldiers were found, they were all painted – they even still had their rosy cheeks! But the exposure to air and light turned them black through the years. In the first pit, the soldiers are still the terra cotta color and they are lined up in a certain order … with the lowest ranking soldiers first … then officers … then generals .. then emperors. The second pit has one of the only chariots found …. 4 horses and the soldiers behind them …the chariot didn’t make it, but you can see where it would have been. The third pit we visited showed how the soldiers were found … all jacked up and busted … pieces everywhere …. It’s amazing how much work had gone into restoring them. As Melanie and I cruise around, we find another cheesy Chinese photo opp … we pay $20 US to dress in terra cotta warrior costumes and get our photo taken! We feel like we’re in those big sumso wrestling costumes … but once you get into these costumes you just want to have a sword fight! We get the nice lady to take our picture with our own camera … This is no costume prop … the swords are real and heavy!
We love the city of Xi’An … our guide “Maggie” tells us it’s a city of 8 million people, and although it is not the most populous city in china in present day, it was the “No. 1 big city in china in 2000 B.C.!” it is also the “No. 1 Education City” as it has more colleges here then anywhere, and has the “No. 1 hot springs in china!”
Maggie, who calls Xi’An home, shares with us some interesting tidbits about china and her city … for example China invented 4 key items that impacted the rest of the world: paper, printing, gun powder and the compass. She told us about the Tang Dynasty, which featured “plump women with big bottoms” …. I love the Tangs! These are my peeps!
Xi-An, a former capital, is an ancient city, and no building is more than 6 stories high. It also doesn’t have a subway system, as if they were to dig one, they would likely hit many historical relics still buried. She said they plan to build one within 20 years, but it will take a long time due to the careful job they must do with excavation.
The soldiers were discovered in the 1970s when four farmers found them while digging in their fields. The four founders, who were once friends, are all now bitter enemies and hate each other. Good times! They’ve fought over the fame and notoriety which came from being the discoverers of such a significant archeological and historical treasure … it’s kind of a sad and ironic story. Anyway, while we were there, the most famous of the founding farmers was there signing his book. We were not allowed to photograph him, and he even held a fan in front of his face that read ‘no photos please!’ to prevent this from happening …. It was actually quite funny!
There are three pits of soldiers you can visit … the first pit is HUGE … about the size of your average airplane hangar, and only natural lighting is used – flash photography is not allowed! Interesting note, when the soldiers were found, they were all painted – they even still had their rosy cheeks! But the exposure to air and light turned them black through the years. In the first pit, the soldiers are still the terra cotta color and they are lined up in a certain order … with the lowest ranking soldiers first … then officers … then generals .. then emperors. The second pit has one of the only chariots found …. 4 horses and the soldiers behind them …the chariot didn’t make it, but you can see where it would have been. The third pit we visited showed how the soldiers were found … all jacked up and busted … pieces everywhere …. It’s amazing how much work had gone into restoring them. As Melanie and I cruise around, we find another cheesy Chinese photo opp … we pay $20 US to dress in terra cotta warrior costumes and get our photo taken! We feel like we’re in those big sumso wrestling costumes … but once you get into these costumes you just want to have a sword fight! We get the nice lady to take our picture with our own camera … This is no costume prop … the swords are real and heavy!
We love the city of Xi’An … our guide “Maggie” tells us it’s a city of 8 million people, and although it is not the most populous city in china in present day, it was the “No. 1 big city in china in 2000 B.C.!” it is also the “No. 1 Education City” as it has more colleges here then anywhere, and has the “No. 1 hot springs in china!”
Maggie, who calls Xi’An home, shares with us some interesting tidbits about china and her city … for example China invented 4 key items that impacted the rest of the world: paper, printing, gun powder and the compass. She told us about the Tang Dynasty, which featured “plump women with big bottoms” …. I love the Tangs! These are my peeps!
Xi-An, a former capital, is an ancient city, and no building is more than 6 stories high. It also doesn’t have a subway system, as if they were to dig one, they would likely hit many historical relics still buried. She said they plan to build one within 20 years, but it will take a long time due to the careful job they must do with excavation.
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