Xi'an was the terminus hub in China for
the old Silk Road. Its overriding fame is for the legions of
Terracotta Warriors excavated at the burial site of Emperor Qin Shi
Huang. It is believed about 8,000 soldiers exist, most still unexcavated. Previously I had seen a travelling
exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.
Our hotel, Xi'an Grand Soluxe
International for two nights, is within the large old walled part of
the city; the location pleases us very much. First we visit the city
wall, seventy-seven steps up (who's counting?). Beautiful view of the
well-kept ancient wall, tree leaves are starting to bud. A small
temple is situated near us. We stroll around as evening approaches,
noting the careful restoration in some areas.
Our dinner venue is "Xi'an Ancient
Capital Theatre" with vast seating for meal serving. Because we
are having a Special Dumpling Dinner! What a highlight ―
very ornately created, each kind has a poetic description such
as "sailing boat-shaped steamed Jiaozi." The names and
pictures are being flashed on a video screen as we eat but we are
more absorbed in the scrumptious dumplings and their accompaniments.
The plates keep arriving at our table, at least thirteen varieties.
The restaurant is packed. We are
entertained with a "Tang Dynasty" performance of
traditional music and dancing. Much easier to relax here than at the
Peking Opera. Lovely dancers and notably a woman playing the zither,
also an amazing guy making weird noises on the strangest horn.
Next morning we linger in a special
park commemorating historical figures –
poets, philosophers – and a
Buddhist temple, while waiting for the Shaanxi Museum to open.
I love to see the groups of middle-aged/elderly people daily
exercising; some do tai chi or martial arts practice or dance. Mao
started this compulsory routine during the Cultural Revolution. A few
practice writing Chinese characters with a long-handled mop and a
bucket of water. On the edge of the park, army cadets are drilling.
2014 is the Year of the Horse.
The Museum is very rewarding, not
crowded, plenty of time to see most exhibits. Always high security at
museum entrances. Exquisite inlaid furniture. We see how they make
clay replicas of the warriors to sell.
Onward to the obligatory jade
"factory." Beautiful jewellery and intricate
carvings of all sizes, almost like a priceless museum in itself. Our
budgets are more suited to the pearl "factory" on a
different day. Getting stuck for a while in a cargo elevator between
floors makes for some uncomfortable moments! Outside, a warrior
replica begs for attention.
At last, in the afternoon! To the
Terracotta Warriors! It's a long walk back and forth to the site.
Three pits are open to the public with appropriate exhibits,
including a three-floor museum. One of the farmers who discovered the
site, while digging a well back in 1974, is still living; he sits in
the foyer autographing coffee-table books. The government built new
housing for the displaced villagers and farmers (however, that didn't
happen for some time).
Emperor Qin Shi Huang died in 201 BC.
The burial site was built as an enormous sprawling monument with
buildings and special landscaping, full of rare treasures so he could
rule even after death. Many, many years to create. The uncovering of
some 2,000 terracotta warriors is apparently the tip of the iceberg ―
it's estimated there could be as many as 8,000 altogether. Each
is an individually designed figure, originally painted in bright
colours that rapidly flaked away upon exposure to the atmosphere. The
emperor's actual inner tomb and many geographical features have not
been excavated for health, safety, and technological reasons. Not
only were mysterious booby traps planted against potential looters,
but a great deal of deadly liquid mercury is present. Long-range
planning for excavation and conservation is essential until more of
the complex and its stunning artifacts can be revealed.
Lots of sightseers here, again few
non-Asians. We have to keep moving around the pits. Each warrior is
individually designed.
A woman grabs me on our return trek and
gobsmacks me by demanding in imperfect English, "How old are
you?!" "Not a polite question," I smile, but she's
persistent. I show her by extending my fingers. She happily trails
us with her friends, excitedly speaking in their own language. Later
I learn that age is greatly respected in general and it's a common
question, asked admiringly. I still don't know if I was looking
really ancient that day or if it was simple curiosity about a
foreigner.
An awesome, exhausting day. The return
trip into Xi'an is bad; traffic is almost at a standstill, long stops
and stalls. Trucks line the shoulders of city expressways because
regulations don't allow them on highways until a certain evening
hour. We watch one woman get out of a car (as a passenger) and start
walking. She had disappeared long before we reach an off-ramp a
kilometre away. Unbelievably, we see a driver make a U-TURN in
three-four lanes of one-way traffic and start inching back the wrong
way. Road warrior!
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| A large tile wall at Xi'an Ancient Capital Thestre |
©
2016 Brenda Dougall
Merriman
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