Blogs from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, Asia - page 92

Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Weather: Sunny. Temperature: Quite warm - high 80's to low 90's. We had an early start today as our stay in Xi'an was only for one night so bags had to be out for collection before going to breakfast. The Shangri-la serves a delightful buffet breakfast with an omelet station, lots of fruit and a nice selection of breads and pastries. Our only stop in Xi'an was to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum. The Museum is located at the site where the farmer digging a well back in 1975 came upon this discovery that has since marveled the world. It is located about 1 hour from Xi'an by bus ride. As we approached the area our local guide pointed out a hill in the otherwise level landscape and told us that ... read more

Silk Factory So this is where my budget went in the trashcan. I resisted buying a replica Terracotta Warrior (mostly because I had no place to put it)…but I couldn’t resist a nice Silk Carpet. The quality of the carpet is based on the number of knots per foot (top quality carpets have 500 knots/foot, which works out to 600 knots/square inch). I ended up buying a 7.5 foot by 2.5 foot, 500 knot carpet, which took two people two years each to make (works out to 1.62 million individual knots)…as each knot is tied individually. The carpet is a classic landscape picture of life during the Tang (I think) dynasty. There goes the raise this year… Great Mosque/ Muslim Bazaar Wikipedia Information As Xi’an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, it has a ... read more

When one of my colleagues approached and asked me if I wanted to go on a trip to Xi'an with my chinese students, I thought it would be fun and agreed. The school was going to pay for all the expenses - and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know my students a little better. Little did I realise - that it was going to be one of the most exhausting trips of my life. We travelled thirteen hours hard seat to Xi'an. Which wasn't too bad - just not too good either. I managed to get a little sleep - maybe about two hours or so. I was looking forward to getting into the hotel and resting. When we got into Xi'an - we were rushed into a tour bus ... read more

Xi'an The term underground warfare takes on a new meaning in Xi'an, China's former and ancient capital. You may remember from my , the story of Emperor Qin Shihuang or First Emperor who lent his name to the Qin Dynasty and to China itself. Qin was incredibly successful as an iron-fisted ruler in the 3rd Century BC but failed miserably in his quest for immortality. Xi'an is the place where farmers drilling a well in 1974 discovered one of the immense underground chambers containing battalions of Terracotta Warriors guarding Qin's tomb. There are thousands of life-size, individually hand-crafted ceramic soldiers, including infantrymen, archers, officers, generals and even horses. Most have yet to be excavated. The scale of this archeological site is mind boggling. Some of the swords found with the warriors were coated in chromium to ... read more

11:00am, Youth Hostel. Yesterday, i was the local performer. I went down to the bar and performed for thirty minutes. I was an instant celebrity amongst the mat sallehs. As i walk down the hall with my towel over my shoulders, everyone i passed said "hello" to me. I think it is time for me to leave though. I am getting too comfortable here in Xi'an. I tried to book for a ticket from the hostel reception to Lanzhou but the trains are all booked due to the summer holidays. My feet was still sore from the hike and i decided not to push myself too hard today and take it easy. 1:00pm, Youth Hostel After having breakfast i went to marts room and together me, mart and this other australian lady thats in her 50's ... read more