We arrived into Xian at the painfully early hour of 5am. And what better place to go at a time when you’re confused and exhausted from the loudest snorer ever? McDonalds, of course. No Bacon and Egg McMuffins here though, to my grouchy disappointment- only noodles and meat plates! Serves me right really for craving greasy Western food in China, but my hot milk was nowhere near as satisfying as a strawberry milkshake would’ve been!
Anyway, we walked around in a daze for a while until we found our hostel- the first place we’ve been to in a long time that resembles the Australian type of hostel. Free welcome coffee, free beer, English menu, with Chinese dishes in the International section (what country were we in again?). The funny thing is, it was nice that everything was easier than it has been…but where was the challenge? Like the sick individuals we are, we prefer it when everything isn’t in English, and everything isn’t so catered to making us feel at home.
Sorry about that, that’s my very minor moans out of the way…now onto the main Xian event….the Army of Terracotta Warriors! A little bit of context about this amazing archeological discovery. In 1974, some local peasants were drilling for a well, when they came across some curious pottery remains. These turned out to be one of the most important finds of modern times: the remnants of terracotta soldiers that Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, ordered to be built to protect his tomb.
Our transportation there was a LOT more straightforward than it was to the Great Wall- just one public bus. Although we did have a similar situation where a Chinese guy picked us out of the crowd and seemed to know exactly where we wanted to go, and we did react with equal skepticism….
So, we started with the smallest Pit and the last to be discovered, Pit 3. Due to the large number of high ranking officials, it is thought that here this site was the ‘headquarters’ of the Terracotta Army. Here, you could appreciate for the first time one of the most astounding aspects of these warriors: every single one is unique, from the expression on their face to their uniform’s detail. Pit 2, the next biggest and the ‘protection army’ for the Terracotta cavalry in Pit 1, was interesting for a different reason. Much of it has yet to be excavated, and is still covered over. They’ve x-rayed under the roofs though, and they estimate that around 1,000 cavalrymen and chariots are waiting to be found under there. They have managed to excavate 5 terracotta figures though, and these are available to be examined up close in glass boxes. To see them that closely was really extraordinary; the level of detail was mind-blowing. After over-hearing a tour guide, I learned that you could tell both what part of China, and what rank the soldiers were, just from the shape of their chin and their height. One soldier had a sloping chin and was medium-height, so was a middle-ranking officer from South China. Another was very tall, and had a square chin, so was a high-ranking general from North China. And to think there are 1,000 of these individual figures, horses too, just waiting to be found!
However, it was Pit 1 that truly blew you away. As you walk in the doors, 2,000 solders stare back at you, almost sinister in their vast numbers. Their faces are so lifelike, it’s like they were real people turned into stone (morbid, supernatural thought: maybe they were?... ) Behind them lay the remnants of soldiers and chariots newly discovered, yet to be mended. A cavalryman’s head here, a horse’s torso there..it was a war zone out there.... And then, walking a little further, the most fascinating part of all: you got to glimpse archeologists excavating and mending right in front of you! We saw one solider almost completely pieced together as we wandered past- all that was missing was the head. A stark reminder that this is a fairly recent archeological find, and that there’s still a lot of work to be done...also of the intricate and seemingly impossible work they've done in the last 36 years! Well worth the visit, and I even managed to resist the temptation of the obligatory photo opportunity of 'becoming' a Terracotta Warrior with your head poking out above the armour like those sea-side cardboard cut-outs) on the way out. I would have made such a good soldier as well, if Patrick hadn't dragged me past it...It was OK though, the cookies from the nearby Subway made me feel much better...
Before I conclude and move on to our next destination, Chengdu, I have to mention our visit to Xian's oldest restaurant, where we went especially to try the city's culinary specialty, the 'yangrou paomo'. Our waitress was on the verge of tyrannical, telling us exactly what we were ordering. When she said 'tea?', we said, 'no, beer please...', then she pretty much forced us to order teas anyway! It's quite the process...first, you're given two round bread-cakes that you break into tiny pieces into a bowl (I was told off by the waitress because my broken-off pieces were too big). Then, your hard work is taken away, and a thick beef and mutton noodle broth is added to it, with pickled garlic cloves and coriander (cilantro) on a side plate. The result was delicious...even if there was more bread than broth! We constantly amazed at how quickly Chinese people can eat...we were still struggling half way with ours when the tables that had received their broth at the same time had finished, paid-up and left!
Now we're in Chengdu, after another overnight train (only a medium-volume snorer this time, I'm happy to report!). Patrick's excited about the province's specialty, the exceedingly spicy hotpot; poor boy has been suffering from China’s lack of spice. Only here for one night, then on to Chonquing for more hotpot fun!
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