Visiting the Qing Dynasty's Terracotta Warriors

Trip Start Jul 20, 2004
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Trip End Jul 20, 2012


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Friday, May 19, 2006

I arrived in Xi'an after a 30hour journey from Guilin. I checked into the very nice and friendly Lu Dao hotel, paying 45Y for a dorm bed. The first day, I met with my HC friend Simon who helped me to secure my train ticket to Urumqi. I went to visit his office; he runs his own travel agency (www.simontour.com) and always looks for people with whom he can exchange travel stories. The city was very hot but I strolled around to take some pics of the Bell and Drum tower. I also went to the Muslim quarter but sine I was still full from the breakfast, I didn't buy any of the delicacies they offered. The next day, I left for Mt. HuaShan, about 2 hours East of Xi'an. Huashan is located in Huayin County, Shaanxi province. It is the Western Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains. It is second highest to the Northern Mountain ?Huashan is praised as "the First Odd Mountain in the World". Its craggedness is superior to the other four sacred mountains. On the way to the main gate, I met an Irish fellow, Emmon, who was also planning on going up HuanShan - Good luck ribbons
HuanShan - Good luck ribbons
 . So, after he left his big backpack at the entrance, off we hiked up the mountain. The entrance fee is a steep 100Y. China's sacred mountains usually have paved paths with steps all the way to the summit, lined with souvenir and refreshment stands. There are numerous places to stay on the mountains. The trail to summit is steep and there are steps pretty much all the way up. The Chinese tourists were there en masse; it kind of disturbed the peaceful picture I had when climbing a mountain. There was loud yelling, talking, spitting and starring at the few foreigners who adventured up the sacred mountain. There are a couple of peaks; we visited North Peak, skipped East Peak, relaxed on South Peak and took on the sunset on West Peak. We decided to stay on the mountain and went to a temple compound that also had dorms. The dorms on top of the mountain were all 60Y but we had the dorm for our self. The people who worked there were fun to hang out with and we were happy to get away from the hordes of tourists, many who came up with the cable car. The next day, we started off around 5:30am to get a glimpse at the sunrise. It didn't look like there will be a sunrise but around 5:45 a dark golden ball appeared on the East. It wasn't the most spectacular sunrise but it was beautiful in any case. We staggered back the mountain, happy to escape the hordes of tourist and take in a quite hike. We got back down by 8am and then had to hunt down a bus back to Xi'an. We made it back around 11 and I decided to head straight (dirty and smelly) to the Terracotta Warriors so I could take it easy on saturday HuanShan - On top of South Peak
HuanShan - On top of South Peak
 .

Bus number 306 took a little over one hour to get to the Terracotta Warriors. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi province. This site is considered the 8th wonder of the world. Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had work begun on his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211 --206 BC). I spent 3 hours wandering among hordes of tourists from Pit 1 to Pit 3 and then Pit 2. Before exploring the pits, I went to the circle movie theater which showed a brief documentary about the excavation of the warriors. I skipped all other museums and tombs as one has to pay entrance fee for everything. The Terracotta Warriors and HuanShan were the only reason for me to visit Xi'an. Tonight, I will leave for Urumqi, in North West China. There, I will volunteer for the Gobi March 2006desert race. This means that I will not have access to email from May 28th until June 4th.
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ymasimon
ymasimon on May 20, 2006 at 05:15AM

Qing Dynasty and Qin Dynasty
Hi, Caudia,

It was so nice to meet you in Xian. And thank you very much for sharing your travel experience with me.

It is good to read your travel blog. One thing I need let you know (sorry for I forgot telling you last night!) ---- Qing Dynasty and Qin Dynasty are two different dynasties in Chinese history.
Qin Dynasty (221BC-205 BC ), that was the time when the Wrriors were made.
Qing Dynasty (1644AD-1911AD), the last dynasty in China.

Simon in Xian.

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