China May-June 2019: May 2019

After a buffet breakfast, we took a 1 hr bus ride to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Lots of history involved here. The first dynasty emperor (Chin Dynasty (for whom "China" was named, about 2000 years ago) believed that he would rule in the afterlife as well as in his physical life, so starting at his age 13 to his death almost 40 years later, he devoted very significant resources to building a 4x5 mile tomb, highlighted by burying life-sized clay warriors as his army in the afterlife. (Chin wasn't totally bad...he united the many kingdoms of China, directed the connection of segments of the Great Wall, established a common currency, language, and alphabet, etc). These warriors were just discovered in the 1970s by farmers digging a well. There have been 4 pits dug so far (the fourth was empty and never completed before the emperor's death). Pit 1 is the largest, about the size of 2 soccer fields and enclosed like an aircraft hangar. Discovery, digging, and recovery of the clay warriors is ongoing. The farmers under the emperor were so mad at him for using all the resources on this gigantic tomb that they rebelled after his death and smashed all the buried statues and removed all the weapons that they were holding (crossbows, spears, swords, etc) so the ongoing task is to find and piece together (with glue) each of the statues, each one being unique, and replace them back into their original spot in the pit. Pit 1 contains about 6000 warriors so far (each about 6 feet tall!), with more to be found. They are standing in battle formation faced the east, the direction from which the nomadic enemies would come.

Pit 1 contains mainly infantry and chariot horses (the wood in the chariots having rotted away). They are not the orange color we associate with terra cotta because outer layer containing the pigment has flaked away. Some of the warriors are headless if the head could not be found or reconstructed. Plaster is used to fill in the holes in the statues as required. Here are some warriors still being processed

Pit 3 was smaller and was set back from the theoretical battlefield, being the command center. The soldiers were buried deeper

Pit 2 is still a very active dig, and contained more cavalry, archers, and chariots instead of infantry. Here is how the statues lie after having been destroyed by the farmers, awaiting reconstruction by archeologists and students (only Chinese are allowed in the digs)

The wavy ground is dirt that has not yet been excavated

The hair style denoted the soldier's rank, here is a general

We got there early, and that was a good things since throngs of Chinese folks started arriving about 10am.

We passed by this hill (originally about 300 meters tall, now about 100 meters) which is all that's left of the actual burial mound.

We then went to lunch at yet another buffet, but first went to a terra cotta warrior statue factory and got a tour. You could have warrior statue made with the face hand sculpted from a picture taken of your face for about $3000 shipped back home, which actually seemed like a pretty good deal.

The place was also a Chinese furniture store with lots of lacquered screens and furniture.

Just as at the jade factory, the commissioned salespeople hovered and attacked if you showed any interest in anything. Lacquered furniture is becoming a lost art, as fewer young people want to be involved. Here is an old-timer hand painting a chest

Some real warriors outside the factory:

Making ramen noodles from scratch for fresh ramen soup:

Chinese jello:

Another enjoyable meal:

We went back to the hotel, finding it overrun by superheroes

and rested a bit, then went to a dinner show (Tang Dynasty: the celebratory music and dance of dynasties past) about the only female emperor in the history of China (over 400 total emperors) in the 8th century. Good food, great show (all in Chinese, but with English summaries on side screens)

Some pre-show music:

Our table

After our final breakfast at the Fairmont Beijing and checking out, we took a bus to a local Beijing neighborhood to visit a "typical Chinese family". A whole line of bicycle-driven rickshaws were waiting for us

We visited a "typical" Chinese family in an older part of Beijing by walking thru some narrow alleys (the guy in the red shirt is our tour guide Ray, he is great!)

Some of the doorways have the status of previous owners...the doorways with drums means a soldier used to live there

This "typical" family is world renowned for painting the inside of bottles, and had been visited by Leonardo di Caprio and Michael Phelps, so not sure how typical they really are. The owner lives with 4 other relatives. She spoke about their house in Chinese and Ray translated, and the artist showed her handiwork

Their kitchen

We took the rickshaws back to the bus (here are a few sights along the way)

We headed to the airport for a 1.5 hr flight to Xi'an ("she-on"). We checked in to the Hyatt Regency Xi"an...wow, what a beautiful and fancy hotel,

lovely room

The cafe with fun things at the entrance:

That evening after a nice buffet dinner (the Chinese know Americans love to eat!), Diane, Laura, and I took a very nice walk around a large lake across the street from the hotel. Lots of Chinese taking an evening stroll.