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Published: August 15th 2006
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Teracotta Warriors
Teracotta Warriors We arrived into Xi'An at 08:00 with runny noses and dry throats from the air-con in the train compartment. On exiting the station we were suprised at the sheer number of people who had turned out to welcome us - we wanted this to be a quiet affair! We managed to spot the guy who had a board with our names on it and he escorted us to a waiting car while saying "Show me the money" continuously and laughing about it. Strange! We got to the Shuyuan Hostel and checked in before relaxing in our deliciously cold air-conditioned room for a few hours. Some time after noon, we headed out into the hairdryer and purchased our onward train tickets for sunday before having a stroll around Xi'An's modern city centre. Xi'An is the oldest and most historic city in China. We were told it was a nice small place - the population is still around 4 million!
On friday, we had another reasonably early start at 08:00 and enjoyed our free breakfast in the hostel before jumping on a bus for our day tour to the famous Teracotta Army. Our first stop on the tour was at the Teracotta
Teracotta Warriors
Teracotta Warriors 'Factory' which turned out to be a glorified giftshop with one small room showing how they make replica models of the Teracotta Warriors and then another 5 rooms with all things tacky and Chinese for sale. Its always amazing how you pay for tours and they almost always seem to end up visiting some 'factory' or another. We continued on to the Lintong District Historical Museum which was small and crap with a few old artifacts and thats it. After 10 minutes we'd seen the lot and were ready to leave. We drove on through numerous pommegranate groves to the entrance of the Teracotta Army Museum, where our guide told us that lunch inside the museum is very expensive and we should eat at the restaurant directly over the road from the entrance. I'm sure it makes not a blind bit of difference price-wise.
The Terracotta Army is a small part of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China's necropolis which covers around 60 square kilometres. He built it himself - modest chap (Ok, he organised the building himself but am certain he never lifted a finger). We spent 2 hours walking through the 3 excavation pits which
Teracotta Warriors
Teracotta Warriors are still being dug up by archaeologists and again, I found I really wasn't that impressed with the sights. There are supposedly 6,000 Terracotta Warriors buried here although only 1,000 have been excavated so far. Admitedly, the sheer number of the things is impressive, as is the fact that each warrior has individual facial features and no two are alike. But even then, its really not that great. I really am a cynical old bastard aren't I! The other major archaelogical discovery situated in the museum is the largestbronze artefact in the world, the Horse and Chariot replica of Qin Shihuang's horses and chariot. The largest bronze artifact in the world eh? I was expecting something dramatic. Huge. It was bloody tiny. Probably only about a metre in height and 2 metres long. Bloody disappointing!
We drove back to Xi'An and I died from exhaustion. Just as I was about to fall asleep our 2 Austrian room mates arrived. What is it with young European men under the age of 25 always wearing
'eau d'armpit? They got ready for bed and then......turned off the air-con. WHAT????? Are you mad???? I waited until I thought they were asleep, went to
Teracotta Warriors
Teracotta Warriors the toilet and then switched it back on before falling into a coma.
The following day I had booked to go to the Shaanxi Province Panda Sanctuary, supported by the WWF (Not the American Wrestling organisation - although that would have been bizarre). Adam sat this one out as his air-con-induced cold was getting the better of him but I was joined by a group of numpties to make up for it. We were picked up at 08:00 and drove for around 90 minutes to the 'sanctuary'. Actually, Zoo is probably a more apt term. Actually, Animal Concentration Camp is probably a more apt term than that! All the animals are kept in small, concrete-floored cages with nothing to keep them amused. All that was missing from the Panda cages were the big circus ball and the hot coals! Most of teh Pandas were asleep except for one cute little fellow who I managed to stroke through the bars of his cell. Poor little blighter. In addition to Pandas, the KZ also housed Golden Monkeys, Red Pandas, Takin (Half Cow, half Moose), and Golden Eagles. All the animals looked tired, fed up and ready to die. What a disappointment.
Panda Sanctuary
Panda Sanctuary Its really not what you imagine when you hear the word 'sanctuary' is it. I was expecting cucumber facials and aloe vera massage oils. Ok, not quite but still this was pretty brutal. I think it would have been more appropriate if the place was supported by the American Wrestling Organisation!
We left the inmates, saddened and headed to a restaurant on-route back to Xi'An for some lunch. Our guide ordered our food and after a while the proprietress brought out a few dishes and we began to eat. Then she brought out a few more. By now we were pretty full, but the dishes just kept on coming. In the end, we had to leave a load of food because nobody could manage it. I guess we should have ran it back up the road and tried to throw it over the walls to the animals without the Kommandantes noticing.
Back in Xi'An, I met Adam in the hostel bar and we chilled out for a while before our Austrian room mates arrived. They had noticed a jar of what can only be described as 'stuff' on the bar. Actually, according to the label, it consosted of
Panda Sanctuary
Panda Sanctuary Tiger Bones, Sea Snakes and Ginseng. "Hov course ve haf to try zis" exclaimed Hans. Ok, his name wasn't Hans, although it might have been, I never asked. But it probably was Hans. Anyway, Hans trundled up to the bar, bought four shots of this stuff and brought them back to the table, beaming.
"Von, Two, Sree......."
F**k me! Jeezus, Mary and Joseph! After knocking it back, I felt the back of my throat burn and then it took me about 30 seconds to find my breath. I was literally suffocating, unable to breathe. I felt the warm liquor sliding down my neck into my intestines, burning up everything in its path. And the lesson is.....Don't be a dafty and drink strange Chinese booze made with Tiger Bones and Sea Snakes. I'm sure the Ginseng was just for flavouring! Anyway, that was me out for the night.
Our last day in Xi'An, we checked out of the hostel and tok a walk up to the Historic Bell Tower which marks the centre of the city. 2 Pounds entry. 2 Pounds wasted. Very unimpressive inside with some crappy museum stuff and the view from the top was secluded
Panda Sanctuary
Panda Sanctuary by polluted mist although the architecture from the outside was pleasing on the eye. We decided to skip the matching Drum Tower and instead headed straight for the markets in the Muslim Quarter of the city. We walked through the markets for a good hour, enjoying the slightly different and more original items of tat (not one Terracotta Warrior in sight) and I bought a few bits and pieces after enjoying a bit of a haggle with the stall owners.
We walked back to the hostel and showered, after which we began to sweat again. I guess its better to sweat onto clean skin than onto previous layers of sweat. At 15:00 we took a taxi to Xi'An station, again a bit like an airport but one thats absolutely crammed with people. I swear, you could barely walk through the place for people sitting, lying, running on the floor. We had to rush a bit for our train, but we made it and our air-conditioned compartment cooled us down in no time.
In the 32 hours it took to complete the final leg of our journey, I read an entire book cover to cover, listened to about 10
Drum Tower
Drum Tower CDs, ate a few pot noodles, slept a bit and got very very bored. At 22:30 the day after we left Xi'An and 135 days after leaving Newcastle, we arrived into Shanghai.
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