Xi'an and the Terra Cotta Warriors

The flight lasted about 80 minutes, and we were out of the airport quickly. A cold front had descended from Mongolia, so the temperatures were much more moderate (17 C, 63 F). The drive to the hotel showed the city to be a bit more dusty than the others we've seen. We checked in at 7PM. I went down for dinner (on our own) with a fellow traveler to the hotel's Chinese restaurant, where I had Beijing duck. It was served properly, the skin was carved off and the meat returned to the kitchen. My guest went for lemon chicken with almonds.

The duck was delicious. I slept very well as a result.

I woke at 6AM, and went to the breakfast buffet. This one was more western than the others, with fewer dumplings. The fried noodles were excellent, though, and they had a pleasant chili sauce to accompany them.

The day was dedicated to the terra cotta soldiers. We drove to the terra cotta museum, that houses the dig sites. There are three pits found so far. The first is the biggest, with over 6000 soldiers. The recovery area is also located there. The dig is enclosed in a huge building, larger than two football fields. At the front, you face the soldiers that have been recovered. We were allowed onto a lower platform to get a closer look, then were accompanied to the recovery area.

Terra Cotta Warriors

Here, we were allowed to wander amidst the ranks of soldiers being recovered and repaired. You could see the fine artwork, where every face is different, every expression is different, every soldier is unique. This is an awesome piece of work.

Unfortunately, it was also quite dark. My efforts at photography were difficult in the low light conditions. I don't like to use a flash, so I didn't bring one. We'll see if my efforts came out.

The third pit is the second one we visited, it is an excavation of a headquarters. Instead of facing forward as a phalanx, the soldiers were facing each other in guard positions. It was here that the first colors on the soldiers were found. Not just clay, but painted clay.

The second pit is not that much to look at, I must admit. They are restoring it to the original condition, with a roof over the soldiers. Not much to see.

Last stop at the museum was the bronze chariot. This is housed in a separate building, two chariots with bronze horses pulling them. We then saw a film of the soldiers, that was somewhat amusing. Our lunch was box lunches at the museum, fairly dry and nondescript.

We stopped by a farmer's home on the way back to the hotel. The farmers originally lived in caves, but have been gradually relocating to normal houses. These were small, and poor.

Back at the hotel, I went through more rigamaroles for a transformer. Most hotels have them, but they are not always proper for grounded plugs. It took some engineering to get the right set up. I also tried to use the ATM, but had repeated failures.

I visited the business center for some Internet access (I guess I am an addict) and the connection redefined torpid. A realistic estimate was 55 bps. Apparently, a link between China and the US was severed.

For dinner we went to a famous Xi'an restaurant, Defachang, for a traditional dumpling meal. Of course, by dinner time it had started to rain. So, in accordance with my philosophy, I got wet. The meal started with cold appetizers, and then they started to bring the dumplings. Pork, vegetable, cabbage dumplings started, and then a large column of bamboo steamers filled with delicious morsels. They had abalone dumplings, duck dumplings, egg, shrimp, pigeon, and many others. I very much enjoyed the meal (although it didn't seem that filling.)

It was raining much harder by the time we finished eating, so, again, I got wet. We got back to the bus, that was blocked in by other buses. It was 8:10PM and the Tang Dynasty Show began at 8:30. We ventured out to try to get a group of taxis. Yet, again, I got wet. Although some others brought umbrellas, and offered to share, it was of dubious help, since the umbrellas were draining on each other. Instead of being lightly soaked all over, I was heavily soaked in places.

The police managed to get the buses out of the logjam, and the bus picked us up. We raced through Xi'an to make the performance, which was held 5 minutes for our arrival.

Was it worth holding? Debatable. Afterward, they mentioned that it was a synthesis of Chinese and Western art, and I was informed off the record that it was primarily influenced by Las Vegas and the Lido. While the dancing girls looked nice, it would have been more interesting to see something more authentic.

Back to the hotel and sleep.

Same breakfast. The place was crowded, so they put me at a table for 7. They wanted to seat me with a different group at first. I was not impressed with their organization.

They repaired the cable. In 15 minutes I was able to read all I needed off the Internet. And, the ATM was working.

After breakfast we had a late start to visit a jade carving site, and to purchase carved jade. Many of the items had three zeroes after the price (Including one for 988,000 yuan, just under $125,000.) I thought a carved jade dragon for my father might be nice, and I guess I could have afforded it, but I figured the $20,000 might be better spent elsewhere. My father may disagree, of course...

There was also a silk rug factory. Very beautiful. Very not good if you have cats... First hairball, I see Leela making a beeline for the silk rug...

We went from this expensive shopping location to the Little Wild Goose Pagoda. It is one of two pagodas in Xi'an, and was quite nice. The pagoda grounds included a lucky bell, and a place for a more appropriate gift for my father. We did see a pair of Chinese couples getting their wedding photographs taken. They looked quite, well, American, with white wedding dresses. The men had white tuxedos.

Lunch was at the Xi'an Restaurant. We were given the usual assortment of cold appetizers. These were not as good as at other places. The main courses were numerous, and quite good. They had a special roast chicken with a salt and pepper seasoning, sizzling beef and onions, rice noodles in spicy sauce, garlic noodle balls, spring rolls, mixed fish (with jellyfish, sea cucumbers, fish balls, and fish), and dumplings. The trip at times seems very much like an "eat your way through China" trip.

Tomb Painting

After lunch, we went to the Shaanxi Province Museum, where we were given a private tour of the murals removed from the Tang tombs. These were very interesting. The rest of the museum, I must admit, was more of the same bronzes and porcelains. While they were interesting, after a while all these things tend to blur together.

It should be noted that at Xi'an the touring experience was much more like that seen in the movies than in other places. Yes, on this trip I was touring Japanese style (as the friends I met in Thailand in 1996 would say), with a local guide provided by China International Travel Services, but in Xi'an the guide wore a CITS uniform and was waving a CITS flag for us to follow. I'll admit I felt like bleating once or twice.

We got back at 5:30, and I talked a bit with Veronica about the local dining options. This day is a "dinner on your own" day. There is a local hot-pot place, but even Veronica is hesitant about eating at non-approved places in Xi'an, too much risk of diarrhea. Not what I want the night before a flight, so I opted for the hotel restaurant. I decided to treat myself like an Emperor: I ordered another Beijing duck, and I followed it with Superior Birds' Nest Soup. The duck was again delicious.

I had never had birds' nest before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was a very sweet chicken broth with a translucent material, the nest. The nest is similar to shark's fin, which absorbs flavor. It was a very tasty soup.

I went to bed shortly thereafter.

The steamer for dumplings at the breakfast buffet wasn't working properly, so the steamed pork bun I picked up was cold. Not nice. Other than that, it was the regular buffet cuisine.

I packed and watched the BBC. We left the hotel at 9:15 for the Han Tomb Museum, where we saw some of the relics removed from the Han Tombs. Strictly speaking, the tombs themselves have not yet been opened, only the burial pits surrounding the tomb. There were 81 pits, each filled with models of animals, soldiers, etc.

After visiting the museum, we saw the pits themselves. Unfortunately, they are no longer being excavated due to a lack of funds and safety.

We went from there to the airport for Beijing.