The pollution of Xi'an was apparent everywhere we went
The noodle-tosser prepares our lunch for us
Pit No. 1 is larger than a football field
We saw legions of Terra Cotta Warriors
The evening's performance was breathtaking
...and the colors were magnificent
Jan pauses in front of Big Wild Goose PagodaOur visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors began on a hot, smoggy day. It was a two-night, three-day cross country shore excursion that began in Shanghai and ended in Hong Kong. Before we were done, we would visit both the Terra Cotta Warriors, discovered in 1974 by a local farmer digging a well for water, and the Li River, a picturesque waterway promised to be filled with water buffalo, fishermen using cormorants to seize fish from the water and deliver them into the hands of their masters, and bordered by tall monolithic mountains that appear in so many Chinese works of art.
This blog will deal exclusively with the city of Xi’an and its terra cotta statues. Two busses, containing 79 ship’s passengers and hosts, began our three day trek into the middle of China at 6 a.m. on the first day. We were bussed from the Mariner directly to Shanghai’s Pudong Airport for the 2-1/2 hour flight to Xi’an. By the time we reached Xi’an, it was already lunch time…so we were driven directly to the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors and enjoyed the first of many Lazy-Susan round table buffets with our 9 travel companions from Cruise Specialists. One of the highlights of lunch was the noodle-tossers who then made our soup from the noodles they had created. Long pieces of pasta were tossed and manipulated into very fine strings of vermicelli. Northern China grows and eats wheat…lots of wheat, while southern China is the traditional place of rice. So no rice today, only noodles!
Xi’an, incidentally, means “peace in the west”, and is home to over 8 million Chinese…farmers growing cotton, some computer manufacturing, and coal strip mining. We were all unprepared for the shock of the pollution! One of the other things done in Xi’an is the making of chemical fertilizers to increase farming production. It was difficult to breathe and hard to see even a short block away. We also found out that the Chinese there have no unleaded fuel. We were assured they are trying to plant trees to take care of the pollution; however, that will never be enough. They need regulations, but in this fast erupting industrial/commercial country we would be surprised if that happens.
After lunch, we were lead by Ti, our Chinese guide for the entire three days, into Pit No. 1, the oldest and most familiar site housing Terra Cotta Warriors. Pit No. 1 is a huge building, larger than an American football field, and is home to the legions of Terra Cotta Warriors and horses always associated with these spectacular clay artifacts which were built prior to the time that Christ walked on this earth. There are 8,000 total pieces which have been discovered thus far (many of which remained covered at this time). It took about 700 slaves an estimated 37 years to construct the warriors and horses. These amazing figures are displayed in battle order, rank-by-rank, with some mounted on horse-drawn chariots, and others in infantry groups armed with spears, swords and crossbows. For centuries, the famous terra cotta warriors guarded the tomb of Qin Shihuang Di, first emperor of a united Chinese people.
We also made brief visits of Pits No. 2 and 3, watched a 20-minute video about the making and burying of the Terra Cotta Warriors, and still had a few minutes to browse the gift shop. And there in the gift shop was the man who discovered the site in 1974. We can testify to the fact that it was the same man we saw in 2002 at the same gift store because Jerry has the previous photo still on his laptop...we cannot truly verify it is the real person, but it was the same frail man from 2002.
Our evening’s dinner and show at the Tang Dynasty Theater Restaurant was in a fantastic Las Vegas-style theater with a Chinese theme of the era (600-1200 A.D.). Ancient instruments were played by beautiful women representing the emperor’s many concubines. The entire dinner show was unbelievable…costumes, acrobatics, and music were all amazing with a cast of more than 100.
Anyone needing a hotel reference would be very well taken care of in the Sofitel Xi’an. It was new, beautiful, great staff, and wonderful food.
The next morning, we walked on the ancient Xi’an city wall and the visibility was a bit better. We could see about 3 blocks away. Our final stop in Xi’an was at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Built in 589 A.D., the Big Wild Goose is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in all of China. It stands over 6 stories high, but is now leaning, since the earthquakes earlier this year. We were advised not to enter!
Another Lazy Susan lunch at the airport followed and we were soon off to Guilin in southern China for our Li River visit.
This blog will deal exclusively with the city of Xi’an and its terra cotta statues. Two busses, containing 79 ship’s passengers and hosts, began our three day trek into the middle of China at 6 a.m. on the first day. We were bussed from the Mariner directly to Shanghai’s Pudong Airport for the 2-1/2 hour flight to Xi’an. By the time we reached Xi’an, it was already lunch time…so we were driven directly to the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors and enjoyed the first of many Lazy-Susan round table buffets with our 9 travel companions from Cruise Specialists. One of the highlights of lunch was the noodle-tossers who then made our soup from the noodles they had created. Long pieces of pasta were tossed and manipulated into very fine strings of vermicelli. Northern China grows and eats wheat…lots of wheat, while southern China is the traditional place of rice. So no rice today, only noodles!
Xi’an, incidentally, means “peace in the west”, and is home to over 8 million Chinese…farmers growing cotton, some computer manufacturing, and coal strip mining. We were all unprepared for the shock of the pollution! One of the other things done in Xi’an is the making of chemical fertilizers to increase farming production. It was difficult to breathe and hard to see even a short block away. We also found out that the Chinese there have no unleaded fuel. We were assured they are trying to plant trees to take care of the pollution; however, that will never be enough. They need regulations, but in this fast erupting industrial/commercial country we would be surprised if that happens.
After lunch, we were lead by Ti, our Chinese guide for the entire three days, into Pit No. 1, the oldest and most familiar site housing Terra Cotta Warriors. Pit No. 1 is a huge building, larger than an American football field, and is home to the legions of Terra Cotta Warriors and horses always associated with these spectacular clay artifacts which were built prior to the time that Christ walked on this earth. There are 8,000 total pieces which have been discovered thus far (many of which remained covered at this time). It took about 700 slaves an estimated 37 years to construct the warriors and horses. These amazing figures are displayed in battle order, rank-by-rank, with some mounted on horse-drawn chariots, and others in infantry groups armed with spears, swords and crossbows. For centuries, the famous terra cotta warriors guarded the tomb of Qin Shihuang Di, first emperor of a united Chinese people.
We also made brief visits of Pits No. 2 and 3, watched a 20-minute video about the making and burying of the Terra Cotta Warriors, and still had a few minutes to browse the gift shop. And there in the gift shop was the man who discovered the site in 1974. We can testify to the fact that it was the same man we saw in 2002 at the same gift store because Jerry has the previous photo still on his laptop...we cannot truly verify it is the real person, but it was the same frail man from 2002.
Our evening’s dinner and show at the Tang Dynasty Theater Restaurant was in a fantastic Las Vegas-style theater with a Chinese theme of the era (600-1200 A.D.). Ancient instruments were played by beautiful women representing the emperor’s many concubines. The entire dinner show was unbelievable…costumes, acrobatics, and music were all amazing with a cast of more than 100.
Anyone needing a hotel reference would be very well taken care of in the Sofitel Xi’an. It was new, beautiful, great staff, and wonderful food.
The next morning, we walked on the ancient Xi’an city wall and the visibility was a bit better. We could see about 3 blocks away. Our final stop in Xi’an was at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Built in 589 A.D., the Big Wild Goose is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in all of China. It stands over 6 stories high, but is now leaning, since the earthquakes earlier this year. We were advised not to enter!
Another Lazy Susan lunch at the airport followed and we were soon off to Guilin in southern China for our Li River visit.
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