Xi'an - fascinating history, hot springs and more

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Xi’an - Monday

We left the apartment and hotel and arrived at the Pudong Airport early. It was nice not to be running to the gate for a change. The flight was good. We had a meal and again marveled at the difference from our domestic flights back home. The flight was about 2 and a half hours and they gave us a full meal.

We didn’t have a plan for getting to the hotel other than we planned to find a taxi or van. I had read there were some shady taxis not affiliated with the airport that would offer one price on the front-end and then insist on more money when mid-way to the destination. I can’t be sure these stories were true, but I decided we wouldn’t test this theory. We went to the transportation desk at the airport and arranged for a car to take us into town. The airport is a little less than an hour from downtown Xi’an. We liked our driver, Joe so much that we hired him to take us to the terracotta soldiers the next day.

Our hotel was fantastic. I picked this one using Tripadvisor and other review sites. Sofitel Xi’an. A little over $100 USD a night and one of the nicest, well-run, comfortable and beautiful hotels I’ve ever stayed in. I know there’s a lot to be said for the local experience of hostels and local-run hotels. We dabbled with that in Huangshan and it was an experience. But when you are traveling with kids, and more importantly with grandparents who flew across the world to visit, you don’t rough it. Or at least we don’t.
Emily was not feeling well, so she and I hung out at the hotel while Mark did some exploring with Nathan. They came back with stories and pictures of the city outside the hotel. I was eager to see it too. I was starting to really worry about Emily. Her fever was up and down again, bad cough that seemed unstoppable. We did the steam thing in the bathroom. We stacked the pillows high. She slept poorly, and so of course did I. But the next day, we decided we’d just have to drag her along to see the soldiers. Described as the 8th wonder of the world, we couldn’t imagine having her miss this opportunity. I packed the ' Motrin Jr. strength, the cough syrup, and we went for it.

Tuesday

We met our driver, Joe the next morning and headed off to see the Terracotta Soldiers. This was why we came to Xi’an in the first place. We met a guide at the entrance gate—she found us—and we hired her to show us around the exhibits. It was great having an English speaking guide and yet not being part of one of the larger tours. We are not large tour people. Following a flag carrier and wearing orange baseball hats just isn’t our scene. Although one group we saw had really cute hats…but anyway, not our thing.

When Mark and I debated whether to move our family to China, one of our big pluses was having bigger kids. We have kids that don’t require diaper changes or set nap times or strollers. Well at least not all the time. However, Emily gave Mark and me quite a workout. We took turns carrying her much of the time. It was hard but worth it. At one point I had this brilliant idea and gave Emily my camera. She spent a good chunk of time taking pictures of things and was suddenly able to walk on her own for a good while.

I can’t adequately describe the site of the Terracotta Soldiers excavation. The history and reconstruction of the soldiers is pretty unbelievable. We took a zillion pictures among the 4 cameras in our group. A tiny taste of what we learned: The soldiers were discovered by local farmers in 1974 while drilling a well. More soldiers were discovered in 1976. The history is detailed and interesting but to give you a quick recap: The soldiers are from 2,200 years ago. Emperor Qin was the first self-proclaimed Emperor of China. He was very fearful of death and the soldiers were buried to guard him after he died. Two sets of bronze chariots and horses were also discovered in the area in 1980. These chariots and horses were shattered and reconstructed from thousands of pieces. All of these artifacts were discovered 1.5 km from the Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum.

We bought a book about the history of the museum and all of the findings to date. One of the farmers who discovered the soldiers in 1974 was sitting in the museum shop signing books. That was fun—no pictures allowed of the farmer though.

After the soldiers, Joe drove us to a spot for lunch. It was a typical tour group spot filled with huge tables and lots of staff. Good news was the food was excellent. Once again, Mark and I ordered a feast and we sampled a variety of local dishes. My favorites were the spicy tofu and also these handmade noodles that were imperfect in shape but perfect in taste. They had a guy walking around demonstrating how they make the noodles by pulling and twisting the dough.

We rolled out of lunch and did a quick tour of a silk factory. Xi’an is at the start of the Silk Road. The Silk Road, as Nathan learned in school and explained to the group, is the start of a huge trade route that connected China to Europe and Africa. We saw how silk is made and even got to stretch a bunch of silk out—not so easy.

We did one last stop at the Huaqing Hot Springs which were used by the Emperor and his concubines starting with the Tang Dynasty. Spas go way back, apparently. This place was full of giant pools, and depending on who you were, you bathed in a particular pool. Don’t get me started on the concubines. Thousands of them for one EThe guide we hired for about $7 gave us a tour filled with historical tales and what sounded like legends.

Wednesday

The final half day in Xi’an, Mark stayed back with Emily who needed a rest day before we flew to Beijing that afternoon. My dad, Eileen, Nathan and I went out for a walking tour of some sites in Xi’an. We went to the Bell Tower and saw a lot of bells. Nathan rang (using a large wooden post) a giant bell atop the tower for the charge of about a $1 USD. He had fun. We saw a nice little bell and Chinese musical instrument concert inside the Bell Tower, and I bargained for a souvenir bell for my dad. I should mention that after a t-shirt buying incident the previous day in which my dad paid what the lady told him, I have since claimed all bargaining responsibilities for my dad and Eileen. It’s not like I’m that good—but I’m good enough. No full price t-shirts for my visitors. We’ll laugh about the t-shirts for years to come, I’m sure.

Final stop was the Muslim Street and a very famous and old Mosque. The grounds and buildings were beautiful and it was fascinating to explore the Mosque and get a glimpse of the Muslim Chinese community in Xi’an. We shopped a bit on the Muslim Street and Nathan got into a heated bargaining session and bought himself a cool Japanese coin. Papa funded the transaction and it was really quite entertaining to see Nathan fight for his price and reach a successful middle point. “Yes!” was his victory cry. Eileen and Dad bought a few special local treasures in the markets and then we headed back to grab a quick lunch with Mark and Emily at the hotel and then it was off to the airport.

Beijing, here we come!

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Photos

this is an officer
different hair meant different rank

signing a banner
we think it was for preserving the environment in the area

Comments

[Linda]

Xi'an
Xi'an looks beautiful and sounds fascinating. Love the pictures. Here's a silly question I've wanted to ask before...were the walls between the rows of soldiers in the first pit also constructed at the same time or left when the site was excavated? Go Nathan on your bargaining. Feel better, Emily.

[soooze]

rows
Per Nathan's fabulous memory "Yes, those walls were built by the workers who buried the solders. They were built to support the wooden roof that was on top of the walls to protect the soldiers before they were buried. The wood rotted away, everything above fell down and broke many of the soldiers.