Xian ad those famous warriors

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My first train journey for a while as I headed from Chengdu into Shaanxi province and the historical city of Xian. Xian was formerly known as Chang'an and originally marked the beginning and end of the silk road. A former great metropolis it came to an end in the 10th century by the rebellions of the Tang Dynasty. Today it's home to more than three million people and retains its metropolitan feel yet at the same time this is nicely blended with the vast array of history surrounding the city.

Before I start to talk about Xian itself I have to say I've missed the hustle and bustle of the trains having been taking busses through Yunnan. There is a certain element of chaos about them which in a sort of perverse way I enjoy. You have to fight your way through the crowds, stand your ground when you need to and most of all retain a sense of humour when quite often the last thing you feel like doing is laughing. Then once upon the train you have your own little living space usually for the next ten plus hours which you have to share with five complete strangers, who in all likelihood don't speak your language. Is it crazy? Perhaps. Frustrating? Sometimes. Fun? Most certainly yes. Personally speaking you just don't get the same overall experience by taking the bus.

The fifteen hour 'fast' train rolled into Xian's North station at around midday. I'd already decided that Xian was going to be something of a flying visit for me and with this in mind I'd already planned a selection of sights I most wanted to see that very afternoon. I stayed in a hostel which is slap bang in the centre of the city. The Bell Tower hostel as the name suggests is only a stone's throw from it's namesake and this famous landmark of the city could be seen from my bedroom window, which was nice!

One of the first things I've noticed about the city which has been quite pleasing from a personal point of view has been the architecture. The city has retained a large part of it's ancient architecture but one thing that has always puzzled me slightly about Chinese cities is modern design of buildings that is so often employed in major cities. Architects have more often than not insisted on designing ultra modern buildings in predominately western styles. In Xian however there seems to have been a distinct effort to blend the old with the new. Hence new buildings along the main streets running up to the Bell Tower are tastefully designed with history in mind and it makes, once again purely from a personal viewpoint a refreshing change.

My proximity to the Bell Tower naturally meant it was my first port of call followed by the Drum Tower. I can tell I've been travelling for a while now as I have no desire to actually go into these attractions and a simple click click click of the camera is more than enough. Xian has a large Muslim population or 'Hui' community who have been prominent in the city since the 7th century. I therefore headed for the Muslim quarter of the town for a whistle stop tour.

Xian is one of the only cities in China in which the old city walls still stand. They make highly impressive viewing and I walked along them from the West gate to the South gate. Probably the most famous sight, leaving the Terracotta Army aside for one moment is that of the 'Big Goose Pagoda' (Dayan Ta) I mistakenly thought it wouldn't take that long to walk from the south gate to there but totally misread the scale of the map and ended up walking for about 45 minutes before finally arriving. The Pagoda was completed in AD 652 apparently to house Buddhist sutras which were brought back from India. It's set within a large park of which a central feature is a huge water and light display which takes place in the afternoon and evening. I wasn't there for the light display in the evening but was able to witness the water display which was accompanied by ear-splitting classical music. Nevertheless it made for a great spectacle. Like most things I saw in Xian it was done at lighting quick speed. The combination of intense sightseeing plus my early arrival in Xian meant that I was in for a good nights sleep before the next day and the visit to the long awaited Terracotta Army.

Like many before me one of the main reasons I had come to Xian was to visit the Terracotta Army or 'Bingmayong' in Chinese. You hear so much from other people about this site and that site so much so that even before going you often have so many opinions of others swirling around your mind. It's therefore a little hard for you to make your mind up objectively once you finally get to see them. I tried to make sure I went along with an open mind. I also made sure that I did some background reading prior to going so at least I would know a little bit of the history behind them. I won't go into the history myself as I certainly don't profess to being an expert and it's something that anyone can find out more for themselves with a simple internet search

I'll just say this on the warriors, it was good, but I did feel that they didn't live up to my expectations. I'm sure there are many people out there who will strongly disagree with me but that's my honest assessment. Perhaps it's because I've already seen so much on this trip already I might be comparing it to the other things.

It could also be the fact that the whole concept of the warriors is so difficult to get your head around, it's that immense. For example, what drove Qin Shi Huang to order the building of the Army? And how was it possible that they remained unknown for so long? I think it's also worth remembering that they were only discovered in 1974 and the excavation of the site and surrounding areas is still ongoing. In this respect we've yet to see the full scale of this discovery. One of the many interesting, yet mind boggling facts concerning them is that no two soldiers faces are alike. When you consider that Pit 1 of the warriors contains nearly 6000 soldiers and horses this fact becomes even more remarkable. The museum only houses 3 Pits at the present time but it is thought that there may be as many as 600 seperate burial pits. Only time will tell how much more will be uncovered.

I feel that during the course of this blog I might have complained a little too much about the number of tour groups I've encountered along the way. Everyone, myself included, obviously wants to and furthermore has the right to view these magnificent sights and I should point out at this point I'm talking in general here and not just about China.

On leaving the warriors I couldn't help feeling I'd been part of a passing procession that had merely gone through, taken pictures and then had simply been ferried out the other side. I didn't know for example what to make of the sight of one of the peasant farmers who discovered them (his name has slipped my mind) signing glossy books for queuing tourists wearing his slightly ragged looking clothes and in a weary resigned manner as the man beside him gleefully stacked up the 120 rmb's in his hand. It's interesting that an internet search still hasn't revealed to me the name of this man, surely he at least deserves that credit. Incidentally the same book could be purchased outside for just 40 rmb!

I understand that this is a business as well as an important archaeological discovery but I just wonder where the line is drawn between making money and flat out exploitation. The ongoing restoration of the warriors must be an expensive project and therefore requires significant amounts of cash. But what of the peasant farmer signing the books? Or for that matter the land surrounding the 'Terracotta Park?' Both look as they too could do with an injection of funds. Again I'm not aware of all the facts and it's probably also a case of me being a little too over moralistic.

In the end I left feeling satisfied and pleased with what I'd seen, after all it's not everyday you can say I've seen the Terracotta Army, however I didn't feel as though I'd been witness to the 8th wonder of the world.

So my visit to Xian was done in less than 48 hours. I'd gone thinking that all there was to Xian was the Terracotta Army but the reality is that it's a place I could imagine exploring more. Certainly anyone with a passing interest in history and in particular that of China would find this a fascinating place.

Having praised Chinese trains and the whole train taking experience at the beginning of this blog I now fear I may have spoken a little too soon. Tonight I'm heading north for the ancient town of Pingyao, roughly halfway between Xian and Beijing. Unfortunately this also seems to be a popular root and thus tickets are often limited. I will be travelling in what essentially is the lowest class possible (not counting standing) the dreaded 'hard seat' 15 hours overnight on a hard seat, it can't be that hard can it? Famous last words I wonder?

At long last I seem to have found a fast internet connection for uploading pictures on Facebook, so feel free to check out the new pictures.

Chengdu - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45389&l=80138&id=665850931
Lijiang 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45390&l=6bb52&id=665850931
Xian - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45392&l=bcc30&id=665850931

Also apologies for any grammatical errors or the like in this blog. It takes so long to write and then proof there are bound to be one or two, even for an experienced teacher such as myself! Nevertheless I still feel the need to apologise in advance.

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