two days in Xi'an

---

Xi'an has a special place in Chinese history. Our tour guide 'Jerry' said that Xi'an is a place of Emperors-as it was the seat of six dynasties, also having more emperial tombs than any other city in China. According to Jerry, this area once had bigger royal palaces than Beijing's Forbidden City (later burned by the Han Chinese). The blazing fire is said to have lasted 3 months.

Again, I mention the Emperor from the film "Heroe," Qin Shi Huang. He first ascended the thrown at age 13 and immediately began working on his mausoleum. It was only complete two years after his death, by his son--taking 39 years to completed. This is the man that conquered and united China to become its First Emperor. He also built the Great Wall.

The Emperor was so concerned with the afterlife, that he had an over 7,000 terracotta warriors built to protect. They were group into three main groups, carriages, infantry and cavalry--all facing the East in military formation.

70,000 workers and their families, 3000 wives and concuibines followed him to the grave.

Reading about it and hearing other people add to the folklore did not prepare me for the sense of awe upon seeing some figures up close. We stopped at a designated govenment factory, where we were given a tour about how each soldier was made. Once at the site itself, I took pictures, however most were in designated pits or in glass cases.

There is also a short film about the history of Xi'an, the Terracotta Army, and how they were accidentally discovered by a group of peasants digging for a well. It was overwhelming to say the least. The only other site that I remember having this effect on me was the Parthenon in Athens, and that was over 10 years ago.

Afterwards we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant that caters to tour groups. Most people in our group were Dutch and had little experience using chopsticks. Xiang Yi and I chowed down the sliced-thin potatos, savory chicken (I told her it reminded me of orange chicken form back home) pork stew with vegitables, bamboo shoots, fruit and tea. Pretty standard for a chinese restaurant.

Our last stop of the day was at a Confusian Temple--not too much to look at, some bells, scrolls and Terracotta replicas. We headed back to the hostel to rest a bit before going out to explore the Muslim Quarter.

Back in the room, we recounted our excursion with a female Isreali and female German. Both had been traveling through China for over 6 months, though not together. Another Brit, Jo from Guilford, joined us for a dinner. We agreed to look for a decent place in the Muslim Quarter. My only requirements of course-- that it not look like slop and that it not be next to a trash heap.

We found such a place and it was heaven. Cheap Lamb kabobs a-plenty, and good local beer, something called 'Hans' with a red howling wolf on it! Of course, people stared in our directions. Three women on their own, out eating and drinking? On the way back we stopped to buy kites, other trinkets sold were the typical junky stuff.

Did I forgot to mention that Xi'an was also the first stop on the Silk Road? Yes...only two days here and then off to Jiayuguan-- the last stop of the Great Wall....as the train pulled out of Xi'an, an announcement was heard throughout"

"Comrades, if this train is overtaken by terrorist, band together......." Uh...ok.

---