Day 4

Xi'an

Date - 6 May

Weather - Very hazy, Warm

Accommodation - Grand Barony Hotel

This was our only day in Xi'an and we came to this "small-sized city" of 9.8million people to specifically visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses and it was breathtakingly spectacular. We spent the entire afternoon at the archeological site. 

Xi'an is also the home-town of Mike, our guide, and he was very enthusiastic in wanting to show his city's highlights. It was another busy, varied and enjoyable day. We made it a longer day as we took an optional night tour. Everywhere we turn there is a photo opportunity and we loved the way the phone lines weaved across the city. 

We were on the bus at 8.30am and headed through the steady traffic alongside beautiful road-side gardens and many high rise buildings to the near-by Dayan (Big Wild Goose) Pagoda. The roses in Xi'an are pink in contrast to Beijing's orange/yellow. The Buddhist Dayan pagoda is an impressive seven storey tall brick structure which now noticeably leans due to an earthquake in 2008. 

On the way to our next stop, a local jade workshop, Mike had us in stitches describing his wedding. "It was a nightmare!" he said. The weddings which are very expensive are paid by the groom and are usually held in the morning culminating in a large lunch. 

Jade is from heaven, it is not stone and hence the reason why the Chinese love Jade. At the jade workshop we learned that good quality jade is hard to source and it is expensive. There are also differences between the degrees of hardness and the large range of colours including the well-known green. Very little jade was bought as it doesn't seem to be popular with Westerners.  

At eleven o'clock we made our way to spend the remainder of the day at the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. A dedicated toll highway known as the Terracotta Express has been built to cater for the 30,000 daily visitors. (Soon an underground train will link the airport and the site.) We passed hundreds and hundreds of high rise buildings as we made our way to the edge of the steep mountains of Xi'an and the valley where the artefacts are located.

Before a large buffet lunch we were given a briefing on the making of the official Terracotta Warriors souvenirs by the local potters. These are clay-fired replicas, popular with tourists and most of us on the bus bought our own small warrior to take home. No one  bought one of the life-size clay warriors which for $1000 could be shipped to Australia all inclusive! 

After lunch we proceeded to the World Heritage Site of the Terracotta Warrior and Horses. It took twenty minutes to walk from the bus through two entrances before we reached the three archeological pits and the museum. The site is enormous and the crowds kept pouring through the gates. Enterprising Chinese men walk alongside tour groups with a wheelchair and one of our group took the opportunity to be pushed around the site for 300Y (approx. $60). There is quite a deal of walking on this trip and today Henk, Carol and I walked about 12 kms. 

When we walked into Pit No. 1, the biggest site housing 2000 warriors and horses, it was difficult to get a siting due to the crowds. They were up to four deep from the railings trying to overlook the site. Once we did get a siting and a position it was spectacular and would have to be one of the tour highlights. 

It was difficult to believe that they were constructed 2,200 years ago given the numbers and their complexity. It is believed that a further 6000 warriors are still yet to be excavated in Pit No. 1. We spent three hours walking around the site going between the three covered pits and the museum taking countless photos.

We returned to Xi'an in peak hour traffic to go to the optional tour of a dumpling dinner and Chinese dance, the Tang Dynasty Dancing Show, at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House. Dinner started at 6.30pm and we were treated to about ten different dumplings including pork, duck, cabbage and chicken. One was called Goldfish and we were hoping it was called that because the dumpling was shaped like a goldfish not because it was minced goldfish! The dance costumes were beautiful and we all enjoyed the dancing and the Chinese musical instruments. The performance finished 9.10pm. 

We arrived back at the hotel at 9.45pm and proceeded to pack our bags. It is an early start tomorrow with a 6.00am wake up call and we need to be on the bus at 7.00am to return to the airport. We had to put our bags outside our room at 11.00pm tonight for the truck to take our bags to the airport. The trucks are only allowed in the city between 11.00pm and 6.00am hence the baggage arrangement and why all building construction occurs at night. 

It was a long day but a memorable one.