Xian - The home of the Terracotta Warriors

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Day 475: Saturday 17th October - Walking Xian’s city walls

Xian creates a good impression as soon as I step out of the train station. A section of the imposing city walls built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty are straight in front of me and for the first time since I left Huang Shan 10 days ago the sun is shining. What a difference the sun makes. I catch a bus from opposite the train station to the hostel I have booked, which is close to the city centre. My good first impression of the city is reinforced as I look out of the bus and see the gilded roofs on both old and modern buildings alike, and it gives the city a unique character from other Chinese cities I have visited.

Once I get off the bus my directions to the hostel come to an end. Before I get the chance to orientate myself and start walking in a direction a girl doing a survey for college on tourism in Xian approaches me and asks me to fill in the questionnaire. I oblige in return for her help to show me the way to the hostel. It ends up being just down the street and she takes me there so a fair exchange all around. As I’m checking into the hostel I meet a German girl Patricia who is organising a tour to the Terracotta Warriors. We start talking generally at first but the conversation leads on to Tibet. Patricia also wants to go to Tibet and travel overland from there to Nepal and also in early November. I could have found a travel partner which will reduce the cost, and we agree to talk later to see if we can reach an agreement. What a chance meeting!

Xian is the site of one of the Ancient capitals of China. Beijing may have been the site of China’s capital almost uninterrupted for 600 years but long before Beijing came to prominence Xian was the capital city. It was capital for 200 years from 200BC and again for 300 years from 600AD. For over 1,000 years the city has been capital for 13 dynasties, and a total of 73 emperors ruled here. It is famous foremost today as being the city nearest the site of the Terracotta Army which stand guard over the tomb of Qin Shi Huang outside Xian. The visit to the Terracotta Warriors can wait until tomorrow as the city of Xian demands my initial attention.

My hostel is very close to the Drum and Bell Towers which are in the centre of the walled city. I walk along to the two towers and satisfy myself with viewing them from outside as I don’t fancy paying 55 Yuan (£5) to go inside both of them. From the Bell Tower I walk down to the South Gate of Xian’s city walls. I liked the look of the walls when I first arrived and so I decide to pay 40 Yuan to walk on the walls. It is one of only two cities in China with intact surrounding city walls (Kaifeng in Henan is the other). The city walls that exist today were built in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty but at its zenith during the Tang Dynasty between 600-900AD the city walls originally enclosed 83 square kilometres, 7 times larger than today’s city centre.

The walls are about 20 metres high and offer a different perspective of the city. In many respects Xian is another modern Chinese city, home to several million people and capital of Shaanxi province, but you just cannot get too far away from its history no matter where you go in the city. The walls are 13 kilometres long and it takes 4 hours at a gentle stroll pace to get around them. But with the sun shining and my legs still recovering from Emei Shan I’m in no rush to get around. The scenery of the wall does get a bit repetitive after a while and maybe a better way to get around would have been to have cycled around but I don’t regret going around the walls.

It is late afternoon by the time I finish walking and I’m too tired to go to the two pagodas outside the city walls to the south. Instead, I walk back to the hostel and after dinner I meet up with Patricia and we talk about Tibet. It looks like we will get a fit. She will also travel to Beijing and the dates and the trip I have in mind are fine for her. We don’t agree on anything tonight though and agree instead for both of us to check dates and to read about Tibet so we can have a better idea of an itinerary. Towards the end of our chat in the bar at the hostel we get talking to Paul who is also trying to arrange a trip to Tibet which finishes in Nepal. His itinerary is perfect as is the price he has at the moment (there are 4 in his party at present) but the dates don’t suit either myself or Patricia as he is looking to depart in a week. I still want to see Beijing and that is just a little too early for me. He does give me a useful contact at the Tibet Tourism Bureau though.

Day 476: Sunday 18th October - Face to face with Emperor Qin’s terracotta army

Checking my email over breakfast I have a response from a girl who has obviously seen the notice I left at the hostel in Chengdu about going to Tibet. She also wants to go overland to Nepal but needs to be in Kathmandu for the 10th November. From arriving in Xian with only me in a group, could we now have three people? I don’t reply to her email as I need to talk to Patricia again this evening to finalise our agreement.

I opt to travel to the Terracotta Warriors on my own rather than join the hostel tour. The tour from the hostel costs 160 Yuan (£15) which is expensive and it also includes a few ‘fillers’ that I have no interest in. I know the entrance ticket is only 90 Yuan and the bus will cost 7 Yuan in each direction. Last night Paul told me which bus to get and where from so that made my mind up. It is straightforward to get Lintong, about 30 kilometres from Xian which is where the Terracotta Army is situated. I catch a bus to the train station first and in the car park there I get on another bus which takes an hour to reach the Terracotta Army museum.

The Terracotta Army was only discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well. They date back to 210 BC and it is hard to imagine that for 2000 years a subterranean life-sized army of thousands stood guard over the China’s first unifier, Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Construction of the mausoleum of which the pits containing the Terracotta Army are only a part is said to have taken 35 years and involved 700,000 workers. Only a portion of the site is presently excavated, and the tomb itself remains unopened next to an earthen pyramid 76 metres tall. It was also said as a legend that the Terracotta Warriors were real soldiers, buried with Emperor Qin so that they could defend him from any dangers in the next life. No two soldiers are alike, which is incredible.

The Terracotta Army Museum consists of three pits which contain 8000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. There is also a cinema which shows a short film on the history of the Terracotta Army and a museum which contains a few of the soldiers and other items from the mausoleum. I start at the museum and then make my way to the cinema to understand the history and how they were discovered. I then start my visit of the Terracotta Army at Pit 3 which is the smallest of the three pits. The pit contains 68 warriors and horses, one chariot and some bronze weapons. It is believed to have been the army headquarters due to the number of high-ranking officers found here. It is a good place to start and I’m awe at the craftmanship.

Pit 2 is the second largest, but much bigger than pit 3, and must be the size of a football pitch. Excavation work in pit 2 is continuing and although there is believed to be 1300 warriors and horses much of it is uncovered. This pit makes you realise the scale of Emperor Qin’s project and ambitions. I’m excited before I even get to pit 1 but although it is the coolest of the three pits my expectation level is not met. There are simply too many tourists in the building to properly enjoy it. It would be nice to just stand in silence and take it all in but you have tour groups buzzing around and people barging you trying to get that optimum photo. Pit 1 is the largest at about the size of 2 football pitches and contains 6000 warriors and horses in battle form facing east. It is imposing, it is impressive but I think after the first two pits my expectations were just too high.

I take the bus back to Xian where I find the bus station to buy my ticket to Luoyang tomorrow. It is right next to the train station so it makes sense but whilst I’m too busy trying to find the bus station I manage to stub my toe and cut it. I was in two minds to visit the goose pagodas but with a bloody toe and a bit tired after the day’s excursion to the Terracotta Army I return to the hostel.

In the evening I finalise arrangements with Patricia. We agree on a date of 1st November to leave Beijing on the train and to start an 8 day tour in Lhasa when we arrive on the 3rd. I fire a reply to Angie, the girl who emailed me as our plans will probably fit hers. I also email Leo’s hostel in Beijing and the Tibet Tourism Bureau which are the two likely providers of our tour. Tibet is coming together and it will happen but there is sure to be plenty of things to arrange in the next week. I’m excited already!

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