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19 April 2013
I look at the air quality index readings in disbelief.
500 - Hazardous!!! For a full description of what this actually means google it. The short definition is: you are inhaling poison with every breath you take. 2.5 nanometer in aerodynamic diameter particles are lodging themselves in your respiratory system ready to be absorbed by your blood. If you continue to do this for any length of time you will get very sick. In fact just one day is enough to give you a rasping cough, stinging and itchy eyes and a disabling headache. And people live here?!!??
The incredibly impressive city walls have withstood centuries of attack, but this new enemy can't be kept out. It is everywhere. Even in your mouth. The taste and the grit are horrible. Not to mention the smell...
But, this city marks the end of the Silk Road and is apparently rich in culture and history. So we have come, by overnight train from Shanghai, to see for ourselves.
The overnight train from Shanghai was relatively pleasant. We didn't have any noisy or snorting Chinese in the bunks above us, but as usual the all pervasive smell
kite
Xi'an, Chinaof cigarette smoke accompanied us all the way and the toilets were out of bounds unless you can pee standing from the corridor.
We arrived in Xi'an on the smoggiest morning I have ever experienced, with strong winds and a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. Fortunately the Soluxe Hotel is near the station so the walk to an air conditioned environment was quick enough. We fell into bed and slept and only emerged late in the afternoon to go and explore the walled city.
Xi'an was once, for a very long time, an Imperial city. The fully restored city walls testify to this. They are quite magnificent, and a great vantage point from which to view the city centre (on days when you can see through the smog). We hired bikes and cycled the 14km circumference along the top, past gate houses and watch towers and Chinese tourists on tandems. It left us breathless in more ways than one. When the air quality index reaches 500 you should be hiding somewhere in a closed system air conditioned room, not exercising! Good thing we hadn't decided to go for a run!
Anyway, I think the wall is the
best thing Xi'an has to offer. The bell tower has been overly renovated and the bright new paint finish feels a little Disney. The drum tower is better, but not a lot. It is best at night when it is lit up and the streets around are buzzing with activity. The city is mostly nondescript, though there are some lovely tiled grey roofs just to the east of the South Gate, but they are only visible from the top of the wall. Everything else is architecturally lacking (I'm being kind here).
We woke up the next morning to more smog, grey skies, but this time a chilly 7 degrees. This day the AQI was only 300 -still hazardous - and my scratchy chest and headache didn't improve. We set out early to see the main attraction in the area, the Terracotta Army. After a long bus queue, and a bus mishap ( we got told to get off the bus somewhere nowhere near where we were going. Fortunately there was a nice young Chinese bloke who helped us find another bus and insisted that we don't pay again) we finally got to the warriors.
These amazing porcelain figures
city wall
Xi'an, China were commissioned by Qin Shi Huang, a bit of an insecure first Emperor of China, who figured he would need an army in the afterlife. Legend has it that the poor sods commissioned to make the incredible pottery humans and horses were buried with them so that their manufacturing techniques could not be passed on to future Emperors who may also wish to have a clay army at their disposal after their deaths. The work is truly remarkable. Each soldier is unique with his own look and facial expression, and there are thousands of them. And the horses are magnificent.
The site was only discovered in 1974 when some villagers were digging a well. They had been picking up bits of pottery in the area for hundreds of years but no one knew what treasures lay below. Three of the sections of the site that have been excavated are open to the public and the exhibition is well worth the arduous journey to Xi'an. If you arrive late though, the crowds are nasty.
Outside the gates to this UNESCO endorsed site there is a veritable shopping mall of trinket shops selling all sorts of tat, including mini soldiers
either in a bright gold finish, or a more understated terracotta finish. Also present are several stalls set up by local ladies who crochet and knit colourful babies booties -quite cute if you're into that sort of thing.
Last, but most disturbing are the stalls selling animal pelts. Hundreds of fluffy skins hanging on hooks for tourists to buy after visiting the Terracotta Soldiers. On closer inspection we concluded that most of these skins were from domestic cats or dogs. There was one very obvious Alsatian coat. But there were also speckled wild skins from wild cats or bears. I cannot believe that this is endorsed by UNESCO. It left me feeling quite ill and will be the thing I always remember about this " world heritage" experience. Appalling that this is allowed!!
The Chinese seem to be quite taken with bits of dead, especially endangered, animals. In Beijing we saw supermarket style stores selling animal skins, mostly tiger and bear, as well as all the products from parts of endangered animals like rhino, elephant, tigers, primates etc. this is not done secretly, it is completely open and happens in proper shops in respectable areas under fluorescent lighting.
Shocking to say the least.
Besides the Terracotta Army there are other ancient sights around Xi'an, but most of them are on hills and are not worth the trouble because they are hidden in the smog. However, on the way to the airport there is an endless procession of smoke belching factories and power stations which are a sight in themselves and should be a lesson in how not to do business, and how not to treat your environment. China has the highest rates of lung cancer and respiratory disease related deaths in the world, and this is the place to come and see why.
We didn't like Xi'an. It is dirty, unfriendly, unbreathable, and the people are generally rude and uncouth; but we have seen it for ourselves and so never need to wonder about it again.
Our last little nasty incident happened at the airport. We booked our taxi from the hotel and paid for it there, as requested. Fortunately I asked for a copy of the receipt. On arrival at the airport the taxi driver demanded payment and I pulled out the receipt, but, this was evidently not acceptable. Much shouting and hand flapping
Mahjong
Xi'an, China by the taxi driver ensued, and he went as far as calling a policeman over. The policeman bored of the situation quite quickly and moved on but the driver kept up his monologue at the top of his voice. I called the hotel to try to get clarification, but could not get through to someone who could speak phone English. What a nightmare. By this time the taxi driver was literally screaming at us. Finally the hotel mustered up someone who could understand me and I passed them over to the taxi driver. " Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah," went the conversation and my phone was passed back. The driver shrugged at us and got back in his cab and flocked off without even an apologetic smile.
What a relief to leave!!
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