(Alex)
Hello once again America. This is our second day out and about in Xian, and today we all had a blast! After having a good western styled breakfast (similar to that of our Hong Kong one) we left the hotel at 9:30 and headed off to the Terracotta excavation site. Along the way we stopped at a pottery and ceramics factory and toured the area. We saw them make Terracotta warrior replicas ranging from life sized to finger sized; it was really fascinating. The tri-color ceramic work there was also truly beautiful and highly intricate. There was a piece that caught all of our eyes in particular due to the fact that it was very dragon-esque, but not a dragon. It was called Pi Xiu which is one of the nine sons of the dragon. It brings good fortune to those who hold it, so of course we were all interested, but after spending an hour perusing the shop, we drove to the Terracotta museum.
Now to start, it was our coldest day in China yet so we were all sniffling like it was nobody’s business, but we are all okay and not very sick despite some malaria medication side effects. We all got student discounts with our school IDs so we took that opportunity to catch a go cart up with the money we saved! In this cold, we couldn’t have used it in a better time. Once at the top of the hill, Sandy and Richard talked about how just ten years ago the museum looked totally different and not nearly as clean as it is today. I find it intriguing to hear Sandy talk about her experiences of China ten years ago because I look around try to see it how she has. This just shows how much China has modernized in the last 30-40 years and how quickly and efficiently too! From the courtyard, we walked into a 360-degree movie theatre that was a thirty minute action-documentary about the history and discovery of the Terracotta warrior pits. There are three main pits at the Museum that were all excavated very close to one another, but the main area of the excavation site is 56 square km! This area is actually the tomb and mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang Di, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. He was the first emperor to fight war to unite China from the 7 states into one kingdom, and he did so successfully. He came to power around 350 BCE and the Terracotta warriors were made shortly there after. He also was the first emperor to construct the Great Wall. The Great Wall had four construction periods and this was the very beginning. But after his powerful reign, Xiang Ji, a mercenary leader overthrew him and ended the Qin Dynasty. When he found his tomb, he set it ablaze and destroyed much of the Terracotta army (which took 40 years to build). It wasn’t until 1974 that peasants discovered the remains while farming and the government began excavating. Since then excavations are still going on, but upwards of 8000 Terracotta soldiers and horses have been found and preserved. The museum was awesome and I recommend it to anyone who visits China.
Before heading to our next destination, we stopped in a local restaurant for lunch. Richard loves to take us to places with lots of western people, and this was no exception. The food was great, but you could tell that mainly westerners eat here. From here we made our way to the Huaqing Hot springs. On a cold day like today this was perfect! We learned about the recent history at the springs along with the palace that is constructed around it. The Palace was first made in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and since then has been a relaxation place for emperors and high power figures. Jiang Kaishek, the leader of the Chinese Nationalist party, was actually kidnapped here in 1936 in what has now become known as the Xian incident. The Communists were pressing him to join forces to defeat the Japanese, but he was being extremely stubborn. He eventually gave in after months of pressure, helping the Chinese take a stand against the Japanese. We saw where he was found hiding between rocks on a mountain side. We also saw his private field HQ that looked more like a retreat than a military complex. The springs and bathhouses were really cool looking and amazing to see how they worked. The emperor used to come here with his concubine and spend a lot of time with her (the wife wasn’t too happy). Each bathhouse looked like something out of ancient Rome, but of course was Chinese. The palace has been partially destroyed from wars and deterioration, but the rest of it has been preserved perfectly and made a great stop today.
We then headed back to town for a dumpling dinner! We all looked forward to this so much since getting here, and it paid off! We ate so may different types of dumplings ranging from pumpkin pork to sweet walnut dumplings. Alaina loves to take pictures of our meals, so look forward to seeing them all.
Tomorrow we head to Pangliu village to see the children, so I leave you here. Goodnight and you will hear from us again soon.
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