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Published: April 3rd 2009
Good news! I feel a bit better today. I am still a bit weak and I don't feel that hungry but apart form that I am fine. I seem to be consuming vast amount of coca cola to keep my strength up. Luckily it is very cheap here. I am trying not to think about what effect all this sugar is having on my poor teeth!
The main thing about feeling better was that we could go to see the Terracotta army. We decided to take a taxi. We no doubt got ripped off but it was much easier than trying to understand what bus we needed to take and I still wasn't 100%.
Once we arrived and ran the gauntlet of people who wanted to be our tour guide we made it to the complex. I don't know what I was expected but the whole complex is massive. Nearly all the photos you see are of an airport hanger like building and I think I was just expecting to see this hanger in a field but it was much more sophisticated than that. I was also surprised and pleased about how quiet it was. There were a few
tour groups about but not many. There is a definite plus to visiting China during the 'off' season.
Anyway, back to the Terracotta Army. All I can say, is that it truly is amazing. The warriors are in 3 pits of which the largest and most impressive is pit 1. There are nearly 2000 of them all standing in rows. When you consider that they are life sized, they stood hidden for over 2000 years and that there an estimated 6000 of them (thousands of which have not been excavated) it is truly mind boggling. The restoration that has gone on is also very impressive. When you look at the sections of the pits that have not been fully excavated and all the soldiers are in a jumble you wonder how they ever get the soldiers pieced back together.
The detail of the soldiers and horses is amazing. The warriors vary in rank (officers, generals and archers etc.) and each individual warrior has a different facial feature, expression and hairstyle. As well as that the warriors had a vast number of bronze weapons. Apparently approximately 40,000 weapons have been removed from the pits! As they had been coated
with a chrome-saline oxide when they were made, when they were unearthed over 2000 years later they were still sharp and looked like new!
As you can no doubt tell I found the whole thing really impressive. I am so glad that I was well enough to go.
In case you are wondering I had to buy the obligatory mini terracotta warrior! Well, I wouldn't want to go all that way and not get a souvenir would I?
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TravelWankers
#TravelWankers
We are in Xi'an at the moment, headed to see the Terracotta Army in the morning, I am glad to hear its quiet at the moment, although I am not looking forward to all the hassle from wanna be guides!