Xi'an City of Ancientry – Terra Cotta Warriors
Traveling in China often means 3 things to me: hoards of people pushing and showing, mediocre food, and cigarette smoke wafting everywhere.
As home to the Terra Cotta Warriors, Xi’an has more than it’s fair share of the first, and has been on my must-see list for over a decade. The old walled city exceeded all expectation. Evident by the sheer number of tourist dollars, everything about the old walled city and excavation site has been transformed in a Disney like fashion to picture perfection. Despite the massive number of Chinese tour groups being shuttled in and out of the excavation site by flag waving, megaphone shouting guides, the Terra Cotta Worriors (as the signage clearly indicated), were showcased like no other site I’ve visited in China. The excavation site shimmered like the crown jewel of China (save perhaps the Forbidden City). The site is a mausoleum to China’s first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty demonstrating his wealth and military might shown in the life size statues protecting him eternally. In this region of Shaanxi province, it was common practice for Emperors from several dynasties to be buried in the same fashion as he (not dissimilar to Egypt’s Valley of the Kings).
The site is located not far, but outside the City of Ancientry (a sign I saw and translates with more charm that ‘historic city center’, no?). As the eastern most terminus of the Silk Road, dinner was destined to be in the Muslim Quarter’s night market. It is here where ambling cobblestone streets lead to the Great Mosque (disguised as a Buddhist Temple), and as the sun begins to set, the scents and sights of the night market come to life. Having spent the better part of 6 years in China, the scents were overwhelmingly foreign to me. Everything more Middle Eastern flavored than Chinese, even the noodles a different texture and consistency (gelatinous). And breads. Real breads and biscuits, not at all like typical Chinese bao (bun). Dinner it must be said, was a lamb soup with chunks of dry broken bread absorbing the broth infused with aromatic spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, or cloves.
Xi’an offered so much more than anticipated.
Typically, Chinese like to see their antiquities en masse and the bigger the better. This makes taking in the smaller and still spectacular museums within the city, such as the Stele Museum, a wonderfully quiet and serene escape from the noise of the groups and sounds of a bustling city. Chinese also don’t care for spending time in the sun, making the city wall, restored to perfection, not just a pretty face. Bikes can be rented for a spin atop the ramparts, affording views into the old city and at the new city beyond the moat. A wonderful place to take a midday spin with no fear of street biking in China.
The final stop was Han Emperor Jingdi’s Tomb. Arguably, the best museum I’ve enjoyed in China. At Jingdi’s tomb, the army is on a smaller scale than the Warriors, as these are not life size. His protectors are small, still terra cotta, but miniature, more the size of a typical doll, and buried along with daily artifacts and animals as Jingdi was not a Feudal Emperor. Despite their diminutive size, they out number Qin’s army with 50,000+ beautifully preserved artifacts, primarily left in their original burial location and dutifully covered by a glass floor so that you walk entirely above the burial site, gazing down upon it and preserving it for the ages.
04/2011