Xi’an is located at the beginning of The Silk Road directly in the geographic center of China. It was one of the largest and most cultured cities in the world during the Tang Dynasty. The city became an important center for the arts. Many cultures came as the result of the trade from The Silk Road. Now, most visitors come to see the massive terra-cotta army that guards over the tomb of China’s first emperor. The city still is surrounded (city center now) by its original wall. The city walls are 39 feet tall and were constructed at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Xi’an’s wall is now China’s only remaining example of a complete wall dating to this dynasty. We were able to drive around it all lit up later on our way back to our hotel.
Our first stop was The Big Wild Goose Pagoda which is a very tall pagoda (leaning) on the grounds of an active Temple of Thanksgiving. The pagoda was constructed to house scriptures brought back from India by monk Xuan Zang and was build adjacent to the once Tang palace in the 7
th century. It has been rebuilt many times. Locals gather here after work to fly kites, stroll and practice calligraphy. I ordered hand-carved chops which were delivered to the hotel later in the day.
We stopped for yet another delicious, family style lunch along the way to The Terracotta Warriors Museum. The warriors were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. More than 8,000 soldiers have been discovered standing guard over the tomb. 1,000 of them have been painstakingly pieced together and there is so much more work to be done. The scientists work at night. There are archers, infantry, charioteers, and cavalry. Each life-size soldier is unique with different mustaches, beards, and hairstyles. No two are alike. The warriors are located in 3 pits. One building houses two miniature bronze chariots. A large tomb (burial mound) has been located about a mile from this site, so there will be even more to discover.
We were told that the three farmers who discovered the warriors weren’t all in agreement about disclosing the discovery. Two wanted to cover it up and not tell anyone. They knew it meant their life and city would change forever. The third farmer wanted to tell because it was the right thing to do. He eventually fled to live in the mountains, but did tell the truth. Over time, he was welcomed back as a hero. He is the last remaining farmer alive. AND he was at the museum the day we were there and signed my book that I bought about the warriors!!! We were told he is very old and doesn’t come out often.
We did lots of walking through the grounds and pits. This site is beyond belief. Apparently it took over 700,000 workers to construct the army and guards. Each life-size warrior is accompanied by a life-size horse. I’ve read that the workers were buried alive in the tomb. I could have stayed here forever staring at the massive undertaking and wondering when the reconstruction would be completed.
Our day wasn’t over, yet. We were being treated to a famous dumpling banquet followed by a performance of The Tang-Dynasty Palace Music and Dances at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House Xi’an, China. The dinner started with hord’oeuvres followed by a 15 course dumpling feast. The dumplings were filled with various mixtures of meats and vegetables. Some dumplings were shaped to look like fish with fan tails and others like little ducks. The dinner was very tasty, and the performance was excellent. Gorgeous theatre, set, costumes and wonderful music and dancing. Definitely an exceptional experience.
One last adventure: After the performance we drove along the lighted city wall on our way back to the hotel. We stopped at a light and a drunk guy tried to board our bus thinking it was a small city bus. All he wanted to do was to go to his home, but he didn’t understand we were the wrong bus. We ended up calling the police and waited for them to come and take care of the man. It was an exciting 10 minute mini-adventure added to our long day of discoveries. Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai
No comments:
Post a Comment