Sunday, February 20, 2011

China, Part 6: Xi'An and The Terracotta Warriors

Xi'An was definitely a highlight of our trip to China because of the Terracotta Warriors!  
That's not all we saw, though...
From China Part 6 Xi'an

Here are some of the other highlights of our trip to Xi'An.
I'll save the best for last!





    • First Noodle Under the Sun restaurant:  The speciality was a giant, 3.8 meter strip of noodle that came folded up in a big bowl with two soup side dishes. 
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an


  • Terracotta Warrior Tour that also included...
    • Big Wild Goose Pagoda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Wild_Goose_Pagoda 
From China Part 6 Xi'an

From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an
looking out at the city from the top of the pagoda
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an

    • Banpo Museum, a 6,000 year old village
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banpo
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an
From China Part 6 Xi'an


      • Terracotta figures factory, also included lacquerware, and rugs...We purchased a Terracotta Warrior chess set.  After we returned to Fukuoka, we opened it to play and realized that the set had 3 queens and 1 king.  :(  We tried to email the company but never received a response.  Tim decorated one of the queens to make it a king.  I have really enjoyed learning to play chess and have managed to beat Tim one time!


    *This slide show is supposed to auto-play but it doesn't most of the time.  If you click on the "play" button, it takes you to the Picasa photo album.  Exit out of the album and there should be a smaller "play" button at the bottom of the slide show.

    From China Part 6 Xi'an
    From China Part 6 Xi'an

    From China Part 6 Xi'an


      Now to the BEST part...Terracotta Army!


      We visited Xi'An for the sole purpose of seeing the warriors and they didn't disappoint!  We had seen photos of them and heard of them but didn't know much more.  Hearing the story behind them added to how cool they really were.  We knew that there were over 8,000 warriors.  Well, this may be the case but only 2,000+ have been unearthed so you don't seen as many as you think you're going to see.  They are definitely life size but tourists have to walk above them, not at eye level so you can't truly feel how large they are.  We're glad we had a chance to go to the terracotta factory to see them up close.  It's still an awesome sight to see! 
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      Here's a little background (with help from Tim).  The Emperor wanted to take his army into the afterlife.  His generals were able to convince him that burial of his actual troops was a bad idea.  Instead they commissioned the terracotta warriors to be made.  Each one is unique!  Interestingly, the warriors were buried with REAL weapons.  Shortly after the Emperor's death, the tomb was robbed of the weapons and set on fire.  It was hundreds of years later, in 1974, that rural farmers were digging a well and came across the remains of the warriors.  One of these farmers wrote a book and was actually there when we were.  We bought his book and got it autographed! 
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
        
      There are three pits of warriors.  The first pit is the largest and houses the most restored warriors.  There are about 2,000 warriors in Pit 1.  There is an "army hospital" at one end of the pit where archeologists have the painstaking job of piecing the warriors back together.  After they are put back together, they are put back into their original formation at the other end of the building.  Pit 3 is much smaller and is where the important members of the army were.  Pit 2 is the last pit that we visited.  It's the second largest and excavation has stopped because they are trying to find a way to preserve the paint. 
      Pit One
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      Pit Two
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      Pit Three
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      being pieced back together in the "Army Hospital"
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      One reason that many of the warriors remain buried is that the monotone warriors that you see in these pictures were actually painted.  The colors quickly disappear once the warriors are exposed to the air.  Another reason is that this is still a work in progress.  Archeologists work on the site daily.  It would have been fascinating to see them at work. 
      evidence of paint
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      excavation is ongoing
      From China Part 6 Xi'an
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      The Emperor's Tomb is also nearby and reportedly was built with rivers of mercury and booby-traps to prevent grave robbers.  The Chinese Government is waiting until the technology is available to excavate these historic treasures safely and in a way that will preserve them for the future. 
      Emperor's Tomb in the distance (the hill)
      From China Part 6 Xi'an

      Many of the tomb builders were buried alive when the Emperor died to keep this a secret.  It is sickening to me that one person had this amount of power!

      It would be incredible to return to Xi'An in 50 years to see the progress that has been made!  I would guess that one day in the future people will be able to see thousands more of the warriors with paint on them.

      Read more about the Terracotta Army...
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      Location: Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
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