Hostels, Warriors, a Goose, and Dumplings
Trip Start
May 06, 2007
1
132
166
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
Xi'an,
China
Sunday, March 23, 2008
We arrived in Xi'an in time to be taken to the wrong hostel. We made a reservation at the Xi'an Shuyuan International Hostel which is right near the south gate to the Xi'an old city. They took us to their sister hostel (Han Tang Inn Youth Hostel) closer to the middle of the old city. It was very old and dark, with questionable cleanliness and many stairs to climb. After them telling us that the Shuyuan hostel didn't have a room available for us because of repairs that were being done and some "discussion" (more like negotiations and argument about being the victims of a bait and switch) with the staff at the Han Tang hostel, a triple room like the one we reserved, magically became available and they drove us over there. Now if you've ever stayed in hostels, Mom and Dad haven't, you would come to expect accommodations like these. The beds were almost like sleeping on the floor [This is not typical of all hostels, but is typical of all beds in China, especially those in any form of budget accomodation.] and it took at least 45 minutes for the warm water to reach our room from the hot water heater. There was lots of noise from the other guests [mainly because the walls of the room were paper thin and two of those were on the corridor] and of course the obligatory cigarette smoke. The Shuyuan hostel was recommended to us by a number of people and it did have a great location, nice common areas, and a decent restaurant.
After getting settled in at the hostel we went for a walk to see the Bell and Drum Towers along with the Muslim Quarter and the Mosque. We arrived there too late to get into the towers so we just walked around the central area of town and then went into the Muslim Quarter. We passed many interesting food vendors and tourist trap shops. With Xi'an being the location of the Terra Cotta Warriors, the most prominent trinkets/souvenirs were different size statues of the warriors.
Not being able to figure out what Laura could eat for dinner in the Muslim Quarter, we went on an adventure to find a vegetarian restaurant listed on the hostel map that was south of the old city, way south [the map was not so much to scale]. We walked and walked and walked until we finally had to take a taxi because Dad's knees were hurting him pretty badly. The restaurant was located on the property of a Buddhist temple and when we finally found it, it was already closed. We then found a taxi right away and high tailed it back to the hostel hoping that the restaurant was still open. Fortunately it was and we were able to have a decent dinner before calling it a day.
In the morning, our guide and driver met us at the hostel and off we went to see the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. First, a little about our guide for the day. Friends of Mom and Dad who have recently been to China told them that when they are in Xi'an, they have to contact her. They said that she is very good and informative, the best guide they had in China. Well, she was more than very good, she was excellent. Her name is Sissia and she is 26 years old. She is quite knowledgeable about the history of the Warriors and Xian, has a great sense of humor and was very inquisitive about our life in the US. We also recommend that if you're going to visit Xi'an, you contact her to be your guide.
The Terra Cotta Warrior Museum is the result of an accidental find, in 1974, by a farmer digging a well to irrigate his farm. While digging, he brought up some remnants of pottery. He notified the government and what started out as a search for more pottery, ended up being a significant historical find that is considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world. We were so impressed by what we were observing that we spent almost half the day there mesmerized by the shear immensity of it all. Originally, the government did not recognize the farmer as someone important to the history of the Warriors. After a while, since many foreign dignitaries wanted to meet him, they came around and gave him the recognition he deserved. There is a table in the Museum gift shop where he often sits signing autographs for the purchasers of their book about the Museum. At the beginning of our tour of the Museum, Sissia told us a funny story about the farmer. During one of his terms of office, President Clinton, accompanied by Hillary and Chelsea, visited Xi'an and the museum. In anticipation of the visit, the government prepared the farmer for a meeting with the President. He couldn't read or write in any language and didn't speak any English, so they taught him how to respond in English when the President greeted him. He learned how to say hello and how to respond to the President when he would say that it was nice to meet him by saying "me too." Everything was going as planned. The President said hello and the farmer responded with his "hello." Things went a different direction when the President then said that he was the President of the United States. As he was taught, the farmer responded "Me, too."
After leaving the gift shop area, we saw was a 15 minute video that was a reenactment of how Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi's terra cotta army was constructed and what happened to it after the he died. It was informative; however, it seemed a little cheesy [I expected the Monty Python crew to jump out from behind one of the warriors and break into song]. It is not surprising that this is considered another wonder of the world because of the enormity of the tasks that were undertaken to actually produce the work done by the artisans of the time. Terra cotta is not an easy material to work with. It has to be formed and fired in a kiln with just the right heat. We walked around the three pits that have been excavated and are accessible to the public.
Our understanding is that the purpose of the terra cotta army was to protect the Emperor during his afterlife. After ruling Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC and the unified China from 221 BC to the end of his life in 210 BC, the Emperor was buried with his army. It is estimated that there are more than 7,000 figures including soldiers, horses and chariots, along with numerous bronze weapons. Pit 1 is where the majority of the Warriors were found. Pit 2, located just to the north of Pit 1, also has a significant number of Warriors. The Warriors in Pits 1 and 2 were arranged in battle formation facing the east. This is where the Emperor thought his enemies would come from. Pit 3 appears to command center because of the guard formations found within the pit.
When first excavated by the archeologists, the Warriors were found to be brightly painted. As they were exposed to the air, the paint oxidized and faded away. There are a few Warriors that still have traces of the paint. Because of the fading, the archeologists have not excavated all of the figures. They are concerned about loosing all of the paint finishes. In one of the pictures you can make out some yellow coloring on one of the soldiers collars along with a hint of red on the uniform.
After the Museum, we went to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the surrounding grounds. Here we came across monks participating in one of their daily chanting rituals. The chanting was interesting to hear and they had it broadcast throughout the Temple grounds. There was a happy Buddha in one of the courtyards and we were told that if you rub his tummy and nipples it would give you good luck. I'm only uploading the picture of Mom touching his belly. Use your imagination to picture what it looked like when she touched the nipples. Just outside the temple we came across a group of string players with a singer. We found it interesting that the locals would look at us wondering why we thought this type of thing was interesting. After the Pagoda, we went up on the Xi'an old city wall at the South Gate and walked for a little while before going back to the hostel to get ready for the evening.
To end the day, we asked Sissia to book us tickets for the Tang Dynasty Show and Dumpling Banquet and boy was it a banquet. They served us many different types of dumplings to taste and we all agreed that most of them were delicious. With Laura and Mom eating vegetarian, they were very accommodating. The show is designed as a history of the Tang Dynasty. It takes roots from the historical records and folk legends about the Tang Dynasty and shows the audience the court life and social costumes of more than 1,300 years ago.
After a very hectic and long day in Xi'an we called it a night so we'd be ready for a 0900 flight to Beijing.
