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Published: September 12th 2011
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Terracotta Warriors Pit 1
I imagined the whole building was filled with pristine statues, but just the ones near the front are intact “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber
So, continuing along my “brilliant” plan of taking the less traveled route through China, we found ourselves smack dab in the center of this giant country in a town called Chongqing. What was there to see here? Not much. It was more of a connection hub on our way to Xian and Beijing. But, we figured we'd try to wring every ounce of possible fun out of it. First order of business, however, was to buy train tickets to Xian. I should have known that coming to a town in the middle of nowhere will cause tickets to shoot up in cost. So we spent a few days hoping a cheaper option would present itself, but finally relented and paid the high price. While we were stuck we decided to try Huoguo, more commonly known as Sichuan Hot Pot. It's a spicy chili and pepper broth that you cook various food items in and try not to singe your eyebrows off. As I ordered it the cooks whispered amongst each other, probably saying: “Come watch this white guy spontaneously combust.” I took a bite
and shrugged. It was sort of hot, tasted more like concentrated pepper corns. The cooks slowly lost interest when I didn't run screaming from the restaurant. Maybe it's because we're from New Mexico and can drink green chili, but I felt disappointed and cheated.
The second thing we thought might be worth seeing was the Three Gorges Dam. It's a very controversial project. It's the biggest dam in the world that will be able to generate as much power as 18 nuclear power plants. However, the rising water has forced 1.5 million people to relocate as well as forever flooding over 8,000 potential archeological and historical sites. Environmentalists are also concerned, claiming that the water will not be able to oxygenate fast enough, tuning it into a 550 kilometer septic tank. It seemed to us that most people weren't as concerned with losing their history as they were selling tickets. The boat tickets, of course, were ridiculously expensive and we elected instead to visit the free Three Gorges Museum. Of course the museum was just Chinese propaganda, citing only the wonderful things the dam would bring, and omitting the bad. So, Chongqing was a bust and we focused instead
on what lay ahead of us. Xian.
We were told by friends that Xian (pronouned She-Ann) was a dump, only worth visiting for the Terracotta Warriors. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the cultural atmosphere. The center of Xian is located within city walls built in the style of the Great Wall, kids fly ancient kites, red lanterns adorn most buildings. If felt like China was supposed to feel, I thought. However, there are certain things that some people would find tacky. At night the city walls and the Drum Tower (which are hundreds of years old and priceless) are lit with what are basically Christmas lights. I liked the effect but people probably find it sacrilegious or something. Also some clothing shops have Terracotta Warrior mannequins sporting their clothing line. In fact Terracotta Warrior replicas are everywhere, and it's hard to distinguish the replicas from the fakes. Buyer beware. Xian is a fun city to wander around and get lost in. It also has a cool fountain show near the Big Goose Pagoda. It has many small alleys with shops and weird foods to try.
The main reason to come to Xian, of course, is to see
the Army of the Terracotta Warriors. Over 2000 years old, these statues were build to accompany Emporor Qin Shi Huang into the afterlife, either because he was afraid of the vengeful spirits awaiting him or he expected his rule to continue. The Terracotta Warriors are impressive and disappointing at the same time. They are impressive because many of them are in such pristine condition that you can still see some of the colors the warriors were painted with, each soldier was created differently with different facial features, and the museum gives excellent insight into daily life back then. It's also impressive to learn a little bit about the history surrounding the Terracotta Warriors and Emporor Qin Shi Huang. Huang was a classic overachiever who united all of China under one dynasty. As impressive as this was he wasn't a very nice guy, though, burning many Confucian scholars alive. He was the kind of guy that gave tyrants a bad name (see the movie “Hero” with Jet Li). It's fun to see live archeologists reconstructing the statues in front of your eyes. The Terracotta Warriors are also disappointing because most of the statues are not in pristine condition. Before I came
I saw pictures of the vast army of statues, but what I didn't realize is that the statues in the background are the most screwed up, they have huge chunks missing. This shouldn't have been surprising considering a large number of the statues were smashed following Huang's death, but I still felt cheated slightly. But all in all, the Terracotta are worth seeing.
***TIPS FOR TRAVELERS***
If visiting the Terracotta Warriors, start by seeing the 3D Film, then going in reverse, seeing Pit 3, Pit, 2, and then Pit 1. Most people leave before seeing Pit 2 and 3 because Pit 1 is so overwhelming. Save the best for last.
In Xian, try some Huashenggao, or Chinese peanut candy. Yummy.
A good and cheap hostel in Xian is the Shuyuan Youth Hostel . It has its own bar and is near the south gate.
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