Wednesday

Day 5.

Bus east out of town for the third biggest attraction on this tour. Terracotta soldiers.

First stop was to the terracotta factory where the 'rip offs' are made to be sold. Soldiers came in archer, warrior, general & emperor as well as concubines, chariots & horses. They also offered free delivery to anywhere in the world for anything too large for a suitcase. Learning that when they say 'watch out for rip offs' you know they are over priced. (Although jadeite may be different).  Gorgeous lacquer ware also for sale. So many beautiful pieces to choose from.

When you get closer to the Terracotta Warriors you're disappointed by how commercial it looks. But a bit of a walk & a golf cart ride further out into the fields & there it is. It's overwhelming the size of the buildings that are before you. Ornate & to a scale comparable to The Forbidden City.

Pit 1 is where we started & as you approach what is literally a hole in the ground you get a sense of awe at the size & the magnificence of what you're looking at. It is also a realisation of how little I know about this part of the world even though it's place in history is just as significant (if not more so) than the Romans & Greeks. But a long 'closed door policy' did have its advantages after all those Emperors.

Pit 1 (as its affectionately known) is the largest so far & where the project began originally. Covering just over 14000 square km, it is a long way from being completed & that's after 40yrs of excavation work. They only work during the warmer weather as the dirt is more easily removed & less brittle to work with. You can see; when winter began, they called 'tools down', where objects wait, still partially buried & archeological equipment abandoned. Keep making your way down the pit & you'll see where the original well was dug (farmers digging a well in drought thought they'd broken off head of a Buddha, archeologists happens by runs a few carbon dating tests & 3mo later the govt had moved an entire village to that commercial hub I mentioned earlier) Yep, it was that significant Mao moved a village. I digress, further along the pit & you come to the 'medical centre' where statues in various stages of 'plastic surgery' - repairs being held together with cling wrap while the 'glue' sets. And the horses carefully girthed in a hoist. We spent nearly an hour in this building alone.

Lunch was the 'tourist' presented selection of fresh made noodles & a variety of dishes again next to the gift shop.

Pit 2&3 after lunch were 'working' exhibits of horses, chariots & soldiers in smaller pits. The chariots have long gone (many mausoleums were pilfered, smashed & set fire to during one of the many revolutions by people wanting weapons). Not to mention, timbers ability to 'survive' the 2000+ years buried would be quite extraordinary in itself.
A quick wander through the last building which houses the recently opened bronze exhibit. This particular Emperor spared no expense on his dead house that he had bronze & gold chariots to assist in his trip on the afterlife.

When you see what the Chinese were capable of making over 2000yrs ago - you realise just how far some forms of 'art' really are not all that sophisticated even today.

The rain has stopped & the mountains in the distance had begun to show us a peek of just how beautiful this region probably is. We walked back to the bus & headed back toward Xi'an to climb atop the city wall.

Awaiting UNESCO certificates as a world heritage site of significance this is one of the last intact walls to surround a city on such a scale. At just over 8m high & over 5m wide on top it would be a fabulous place to hire a bike & see the city from above (we didn't have time to cover the 14km circuit). Nestled between the wall & moat are communal garden spaces & paths; which during summer, can get very busy into the late evenings.
From up top you can really see how much of the old city is gone & unfortunately will continue to be redeveloped in the near future (even though many of the already constructed buildings sit mostly empty). Xi'an is however doing its best to keep much of the older style in its new buildings because they at least realise that's what the tourists want to see.

Back to the same place as last night for dinner - rather than the show, we had the banquet. Still not a local in sight nor anything on a stick that China is known for.

Then the bad news. Our flight & wake up times for the morning. We got back to the hotel to pack.

Pit 1 looking back toward the entrance