Xi-An

China is definitely a ‘Ying/Yang’ experience; and here in Xi-An the examples are all around us. The city is very old having been the capital through at least two dynasties. It’s location in a bowl ensures an overwhelming haze much of the time—in fact, we never saw the sun while we were there and by the end of the day our eyes were gritty and tired.

Our first impressions as we entered the city were of gray sad industrial bleakness. Cars bicycles and motor bikes are everywhere and this is in sharp contrast with the new luxurious Shangri-La Hotel where we stayed. There is evidence of much renewal, and at night the neon lights make everything look brighter. The nine mile circular city wall is impressive and still surrounds the city centre with gates at the North South East and West sides. The wall is beautifully maintained and provides a recreational area and a great view of the city in all directions. It’s built in the old style and you can still see traditionally dressed guards policing the perimeter.

The best reason for coming to Xi-An is to see the famous “terracotta warriors”. These are the life-size defenders placed in the tomb of a Chinese emperor in the 2^nd Century BC (2,200 years ago). It’s similar to what the Egyptian’s did with the pyramids but with less of a focus on art and more on practical defense. We were really excited to be seeing them and were not disappointed. The entire burial ground covers 25 sq. miles. It includes a complete standing army of 8,000 warriors and a complete town to provide the needs of the emperor after death. A stadium-sized building covers the site of the major find. Only a small part of the site has been restored to protect it from the elements and thieves. It duplicates a real army with soldiers and chariots and archers and a command post. Each face is based on a real person and is unique. It took 800,000 people 34 years to build it (this is the same person who sent 1,000,000 people to build the Great Wall!). The tomb where the Emperor is believed to still be buried is being left alone until they work out better preservation techniques in the future. They’re very proud of this area and continue to develop the site as a major tourist attraction. They estimate that in high season over 5 million visitors come to view the ‘Warriors’ many of them from within China.

As with every major tourist site we’ve been to, we’re surrounded by the “Hello People”. “Hello, want to buy??? only one dollar! How about three for one dollar—we give you good take home price!