It turns out our concerns for flying our first Chinese domestic airline were unfounded. China Southern was no problem at all. Frank was concerned that this would be a puddle-jumper outfit, and that they may put us on some old turbo prop klunker; turns out China Southern flies some of the same stuff we fly back here in the USA - ie., Boeing 737s and MD90s. Our flight to Xian took about 55 minutes, and hot dogs and bottled water were served. We were the only esterners in the airport and on the plane; some people stared as if we were the most exotic animals in the zoo. But as we exited the plane at Xi’an, one young Chinese man came up to us and welcomed us to his home town.
We thought it would be a good idea to book a bus tour with our hotel to see the Terracotta Warriors. Unfortunately, the tour included many other “side-stops” before ever getting to see the warriors. For example, our van of about 15 multinational English speaking people visited overpriced shops, selling such things as jade, furniture, jewelry, rugs, and others; even a globe shop. Of course, every vendor wanted you to buy, buy, buy their stuff, as they each whispered in your ear “I can get you good discount”. I guess you have to take the good with the bad when you do mass excursions like this. But, we also got to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Banpo Neolithic Archeological digs as part of the excursion. Plus Anne was happy to try her hand at calligraphy in an art shop.
While on the bus tour, we got to talk with many interesting people; a Colombian couple sat near us, and really encouraged us to visit their country. They gave us confidence that Colombia is not the outlaw drug center of the world, and that coming to Colombia would be an interesting addition to our unusual world repertoire of countries visited.
Finally, after lunch, we all got to see the famous “Terracotta Warriors.” It was one of the most awesome highlights we’ve experienced so far in all of China - maybe even ever. But first, a little background: in about 200 BC, Emperor Qin Shi Huang began preparing for his afterlife. He had his minions prepare thousands of warlike, life-sized soldiers with weapons in hand, in full battle armor, in military formation, so that he could take this army with him when he died. Over 6000 soldiers, chariots, weapons, etc., etc. You see, this funeral system was common in other cultures in times gone by - even the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the Norse Kings did similar things for their afterlife. It was an imitation of life after death. The emperor wanted to have a continuation of the same sweet life as commander-in-chief after death that he had during life.
The Terracotta Warriors are housed in 3 separate buildings (Pits #1, # 2, and #3). Each pit is an unfinished archeological work in progress, with many of the soldiers and other artifacts in varying degrees of being unearthed. Pit #1 is a favorite, for sure. It is by far the largest and provides the best display of these soldiers. And, as you may have guessed, it is also the most crowded room. Obviously, you cannot touch these soldiers, but you can walk around the periphery of the large room and see the details of each soldier in formation and photograph them as much as you want. One interesting thing is that there are no two soldiers the same - different faces, different heights and statures, different hair styles, some with mustaches, others with helmets, etc., etc. All of their weapons have been either removed or rotted away over the years. The heads of these soldiers are all separately molded pieces from their bodies, and fit together with the body like inserting a peg in a hole; the idea was that the soldiers could turn their heads while in battle. Anne was thrilled when we got one last glimpse of Pit #1 right before closing time when the crowds had subsided. What a memory to have! That last almost solitary look.
Yesterday, we hired a driver for more touring and were pleasantly surprised when the travel agent offered us an English-speaking guide for free. Kitty was a college student tour-guide-in training. She was a total joy and took excellent care of us. She said Anne was “so gentle and friendly” and giggled constantly at Frank’s antics saying to him “You are so cool!” She thought he was even cooler when he started referring to her as his “Chinese girlfriend!” Our day with Kitty was a highlight of the trip. We started with a visit to the Little Goose Pagoda where women were practicing Tai Chi in the beautiful gardens there. Anne was fascinated to see them using both swords and fans. And Kitty even arranged for Anne to have her picture taken with the “Tai Chi fan ladies.”
Our primary destination was the Hanyangling Museum, a largely (and unjustly) ignored site. This tomb of Emperor Jingdi is the domestic equivalent of the Terracotta Warriors. Jingdi was buried in an underground world of 50,000 miniature people-like figurines -- not to mention wagons, farm animals, pottery and everything else he might need in the next life. We donned plastic booties to cover our shoes and descended into the museum where we walked on glass floors overlooking the archeological pits. It was amazing to see all the artifacts literally at our feet.
The people-like figurines are about 18 inches high -- they were once clothed in robes befitting their occupation: farmer, cook etc. They had moveable arms which were made of wood and have, of course disintegrated, so what you see are thousands of armless “dolls.” BTW, these figurines are anatomically correct allowing researchers to identify men, women, and even eunuchs (the only men permitted to watch over the concubines). One of the most interesting sections held a world of domestic animals: rows and rows of pigs, piglets, cows, dogs, goats etc. All meticulously replicated. Frank asked why everything was made in miniature. Kitty told us that Jingdi lived during a time of peace and didn’t believe he needed full-sized soldiers to defend him in the afterlife.
We topped off our tour with a dumpling feast at the famous Da Fa Chang restaurant. We invited Kitty to join us to thank her for being out guide, and she was thrilled. Our meal consisted of five trays of assorted dumplings -- thin dough wrapped around all kinds of fillings including pork, chicken, ham, vegetables, fish and even walnuts. Everyone needs try this local specialty in Xi’an.
Last night we attended the Tang Dynasty performance, an extravaganza of Chinese music and dance. We were blown away by the elaborate, colorful stage sets and costumes. The music was a fascinating mix of unusual Chinese instruments including a dulcimer. The dancing was very graceful with women waving their long sleeves like ribbons in the wind, making shapes like figure eights, loops, and circles.
Before we go, lets talk about things that gross us out in China (if you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip over this paragraph). Our number one complaint is the spitting --this is by far the most revolting habit we have ever encountered. Men, but also women, spit constantly on the pavement and in the streets. And these are not gentle little spits -- they really hock it back making all kinds of disgusting guttural grunts and horrific noises. Then, they launch a major missile. In Paris, we watch for dog merde on the sidewalk. In China, we have to look out for lugies!! The second issue involves our fellow tourists. When we are with a tour group on one of our day trips, the restaurants serve family-style with dishes placed on a big lazy susan in the middle of the table. The problem is that they seldom provide serving spoons (although we always ask for them). In any case, we at least try to carefully place some food from each common dish from the lazy susan onto our plates while our dining companions inevitably eat directly out of the common bowl, sticking their chopsticks into everything as they eat mouthf ul by mouthful licking their chopsticks with each bite. Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode with George Constanza double-dipping his potato chip into the dip? Well, this situation makes George’s faux pas that look tame -- yccch!
Also, for you wine lovers. We have tried various wines here in China and have found none that can compare with the rest of the world. The first one we tried, called The Great Wall wine, was pure rot-gut. We also tried a few types of Yi Yuan Grace Vineyard which was better, but no great shakes. However, we are enjoying the Tsingtao beer!
Today, we are headed to the south to Guilin along Li River on another domestic airline. We are looking forward to some clean country air! Hope you are all doing well.
Your friends,
Anne and Frank
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