Day 14: Xian - Terracotta Warriors - Oct 3, 2009

And finally the day arrived to visit the Terracotta Warriors. First off we went to the factory where they make the modern terracotta warriors. This is the only official place where replicas are allowed to be made. The craftsmen + women there follow the same process as how the original ones were made thousands of years ago - from sourcing the clay, to making parts in moulds, finishing details by hand and then firing them in a kiln to be hardened and set. It was great to see this, and a few of us decided it was well worth to spend the extra money on real terracotta warriors made by hand, then buy the cheap imitation in the markets that are not even made from terracotta clay. But don't worry Mum, I didn't buy a life-size one - just a small box of four about 8cm tall! Also, the craftsmen at this factory are also the ones who patch up the pieces of the real Terracotta Warriors that the archeologists are digging up and reconstructing.

Then it was the actual Terracotta Warriors. I was so excited to finally be seeing such an amazing thing. I don't know why, but I was quite knocked over with emotion when I first entered that huge pit and laid eyes on the incredible spectacle infront of me. Even pushing and shoving couldn't ruin the emotion and experience. To see it in real life really made me feel so small. That major pit is just so amazing, and to learn about the history behind the Terracotta Warriors, and that they've only dug up 2000 of the 7000 is just incredible. The whole thing was absolutely awesome.

Also amazing was meeting the farmer who first dug up the warriors in 1974. It's incredible to think that they had remained buried for such a long time. The farmer initially had a hard time when he discovered the Terracotta Warriors, even having to hide in the mountains for two years for fear of persecution, before a visiting VIP, the French President of the time, visited the Terracotta Warriors and demanded that he meet the farmer and helped get the farmer recognition for such an important discovery. The farmer is now nearly 80 years old, but has been taught to sign his name, so I bought the museum book and had him sign it - quite special, as he won't always be there to do that in the future.

We visited the other two pits, both smaller than the first one, but still very interesting to see the work being done. There was also a small, incredibly crowded museum with two half sized replica carriages, but I was slightly concerned about being crushed to death (and combined with the most unbearable stench of the small room) I tried to get out of there as quick as I could.

We were also told about countless other treasures buried underground including hundreds of hectares of palace and mausoleums. I really wondered why in this day and age, so little is known about these supposedly buried treasures, but all I got was that they can't be uncovered as they want to protect them. But I couldn't get any answers about how they knew they were there - I mentioned sonar etc, but I couldn't get any information. That's another topic to research on the internet when I get back (I slightly got the feeling that this was another of those "don't ask" topics, that had been fed to them, as no-one in our group had previously heard anything about these things).

I was pleased that we got to spend a good couple of hours there, and easily could have spent more absorbing the atmosphere of the warriors. I would definitely go back there in the future.

Back in Xian we walked from our hotel firstly to the Bell Tower, a 36m high tower dating from 1384 and restored in 1739. We then walked on to the Drum Tower, similar to the Bell tower, this one erected in 1380. There was time to explore the Muslim Quarter, a series of narrow streets, jam-packed with little markets and food stalls, but there were only about four places with Muslim people were selling things, as far as I could see.

Then it was off on another overnight sleeper train to the capital, Beijing. This time I was given a bottom berth, which though was great in the night to get up, was a bit of a pain before lights out, as everyone sat on your bed talking. I guess there are pros and cons to all of them. This train left fairly early, around 6.20pm, and was probably one of the better trips, with very little jolting about, and not so much cigarette smoke on the lower bunk!