June 2014 (by Pat) Itinerary Link
XI’AN
China was first unified under the Qin dynasty in the third century BC and Xi’an became the first capital of a unified China. Its name means “western peace.” Xi’an is best known today as the home of the Terra-Cotta Warriors built by the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
Our 10:30 flight from Zhangjiajie on Capital Airlines arrived in Xi’an after midnight.
Our original plan had been to spend our time in Xi’an with our friends JM and EK and their friend Mr. Namhae (so called because he lives on the island of Namhae,) who has many contacts in Xi’an. Since March, however, their group had expanded to fifteen and become a formal tour. As a result, we saw them only for two dinners and a massage.
JM called the morning we arrived and offered us their seats on the tour to the Terra-Cotta Warriors, but that would have meant getting up and out early, so we passed. Unfortunately, we missed her later call inviting us to lunch with the local Communist Party leaders to discuss a showing of EK’s art in Xi’an. This will occur next year.
We spent the first day trying to get cash and exploring the city on foot and by bus.
After finally obtaining some cash we booked a tour of the Terra-Cotta Warriors at a nearby youth hostel, which offered a much cheaper tour than our hotel(Citadines Central Xi’an, $65/night).
On Saturday, the 21st, we spent the morning riding bikes on the city wall, about 8 miles around. As we rented the bikes, the clerk asked for my passport. She then calculated my age and started to tell me something that I didn’t understand. At one point I had the impression that I was too old to rent a bike, but I did eventually get a bike. We finally concluded that what she was saying was that I was too old to be covered by the insurance included in the fee. This did not lead to a lower fee, however.
This incident became even more interesting an hour or so later while we were stopped on the wall looking over one of the gate courtyards. A gentleman approached me and asked very politely, in English, if he could ask me a question. I said yes and he asked how old I was. I told him and he said, “How come they let you ride a bike, but they won’t let me?” I had no answer.
On our last night in Xi’an we had dinner with the tour group at a mushroom restaurant. Dinner consisted of 15 different kinds of mushrooms. One of the Korean travelers had brought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold which paired with the mushrooms quite well.
China, despite having no team in the tournament, was World Cup crazy:
TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS
In the third century BC, the first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huang, began the construction of his tomb and of a fully equipped army to defend it. The location of the tomb was documented and known for centuries, but the existence of the warriors was lost to history.
In 1972, a farmer, Yang Zhifu uncovered pottery in the shape of human body parts while digging a well. The archeologists quickly moved in and an army was discovered – infantry, archers, middle level officers, generals, horses, wagons, etc. The tourist site today consists of three pavilions where excavation and reconstruction are still going on. It is expected that other sites, nearer the tomb, are yet to be found.
Our tour included breakfast at the hostel, which turned out to be a made to order full American breakfast, a nice surprise. The group numbered about 15 and consisted mostly of young folk, some traveling and some working in China. One young lady who was teaching English in a town outside of Chengdu told us she could make three times the money in China than she could in her native South Africa.
During the bus ride, our tour guide went up to people one at time and asked them about their ids. She never came to me, however. I found out later that she was giving people fake ids, the South African lady told me she was given an expired student id. We were then all steered to one particular ticket taker. Clearly, the tour company was saving on admission prices.
Small Wide World 