Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
November 12, 2013
I finally made it out of Beijing and on to Xi’an after my mess up at the station the other day.
The over night train was pretty decent. A lot more comfy than the Trans Mongolian line had been and the locals in my cabin were really nice and friendly. That’s one thing I’ve noticed here in China is how genuinely nice most of the people are. When I missed my train the other day a girl called Apple (they always give themselves English names after fruit or plants for some reason!) who worked in the first Hostel I stayed at in Beijing came and found me the next day in my new Hostel just to say she was sorry to hear that I had missed it and was there anything she could help with, which was really nice.
My last day in Beijing I was sat having some food with a local lad of about 17 who was sharing my table. His English was as bad as my Chinese but he shared his steamer of dumplings with me as he couldn’t eat them all which was very generous and friendly. The girl in Sharozi Sharozi Cafe kept bringing me free home-made cookies and lemon tea for hours after I had bought my last coffee in there. The lads in my cabin on the overnight train sat and chatted with me for hours, talking about other places in the South of China I should visit. Overall there is a genuine sense of warmth from the Chinese which is great to experience.
So I finally arrived in Xi’an nice and early and the Hostel had arranged a free van to collect me from the station which was cool. I had literally dropped my bag in my room and popped downstairs for a coffee when I started chatting with Ryan and Natalie an English couple over here doing some work for their University back home. They were off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors today so I was invited along and ….well it would have been rude to say no. So less than an hour after arriving I was off on a bus to the station to hop on the next bus out of town to see the big collection of clay playmobile people.
It was cheap enough again to get there on local transport. Only 10p on the bus anywhere around Xi’an centre, then 70p for the bus out of town to where the Warriors are located. Transport is so so cheap in China and it’s really efficient. Again I didn’t have to wait any more than a couple of minutes for any part of the trip which is brilliant….at least compared to how temperamental the Metro is back home these days.
Once there we decided to do the 3 different excavation pits from 2 to 3, then leaving pit 1, the largest pit until last. Pit 2 is nothing more than mounds of earth rising out of the excavated pit. It looks as though they have tried starting to excavate as there a few broken and smashed Warriors lying around in there with the odd broken horse thrown in for good measure. I guess it must be hard to excavate such detailed delicate sculptures from what now appears to be very solid rock/earth that was packed around the Warriors to hide them. The sculptures are over 2,000 years old built during the reign of Emperor Quin to protect him in the afterlife. There are estimated to be over 8,000 of these warriors. All are supposed to have different heads and features although they think the bodies were made from just a handful of casts to help speed up the process. As well as Warriors, there are also horses, carriages, acrobats and Musicians and the Warriors vary in height depending on their rank with Generals being the tallest. The heads and faces are thought to have been sculpted based on true likenesses to members of Quin’s army.
Pit 3 was a bit more interesting and has several warriors and a few horses. The sculptures in this pit seemed to be very well-preserved and they are fascinating to see especially given the differences between them all. Originally the warriors were armed with various weapons. Spears, Bow and arrow etc made from Wood bronze and leather although most have perished now over time.
Pit 1 is the most spectacular. This pit is vast, the size of a football pitch. Although it really is just a massive stadium full of life-sized Terra Cotta people it’s impressive to think how much work and man hours must have gone into creating all of this. These pits are located a couple of kilometers away from Quin’s burial chamber which is currently being excavated and also houses yet more figures and sculptures. It makes you wonder just how many other things like this lie undiscovered across China, as the country is vast and has a very long and textured history. I’m sure they will be finding relics for many years to come in these parts.
Once back we headed straight out instead of going to the hostel. I hadn’t visited the drum and bell tower here yet so they took me along to see those which look really nice when lit up on a night. Similar to sights in Beijing the Chinese really do know what they are doing with lighting and how to create various effects.
Right next to the drum tower is the Muslim Quarter of Xi’an, and what a vibrant place that is. Smells, noises, hustle and bustle. It’s your typical impression of a busy nightlife of food, drink and senses all round in an Asian town. It’s really good and I love the amount and variety of street food available. Very cheap and very tasty. Anything from Squid skewers, Tofu swirls to Pigs feet and Chicken hearts. If its part of an animal you will find it on these streets somewhere to eat. I really enjoyed it and think I might head back there tomorrow for more food…..expect to see some very fat photos of me after China!
