Day-38: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Beginning Location: Xi’an, China
Interim Location: Lintong, China (Terra Cotta
Army)
Final Location: Beijing, China
Our group was up and about by 0800 and after
breakfast we boarded our bus for a tour of the “Xi’an City Wall”. We were met by our Xi'an guide, Ping, a 50-something mom and guide. Ping is married to an English professor as such she is well versed in English and the local history of Xi'an.
The Xi'an wall is significant in that it has been maintained for over 700 years unlike similar walls in places like Beijing that were systematically demolished in the name of progress. Xi'an was an Imperial Capital of China centuries ago but today serves primarily as a tourist destination and gateway to the Terra Cotta Warriors.
The wall provides a city center where we witnessed morning retiree fitness classes and viewed a bustling street market. It was a location for biking on top of the wall and general walking as the distance around the wall was approximately 8 miles.
After a "last happy room stop for at least an hour" opportunity, we boarded our bus and headed for our primary objective of the day, the Terra Cotta Army. We arrived at Lintong around 1030 and drove to the national park and museum encompassing the site of the warriors. The general site also includes the necropolis of Emperor Qin Shi Huang but that site is not open to visitors.
The story goes that local farmers discovered the warriors while digging wells during a severe drought period in 1974. The government didn't invest heavily into the site until many years later. Now the four dig sites or "pits" are sheltered and open to the public.
I won't go through many details other than to say that with over 6,000 figures the site is all we expected it to be and more. As some know, selected figures have traveled the world in various exhibitions but to see the figures lined up in a battle formation is awesome. In reality most of the figures were found in pieces, so this has and continues to be something like a great jigsaw puzzle as a restoration project that will likely go on for a hundred years or more.
After two plus hours viewing the Terra Cotta exhibits and of course the museum store we headed for lunch at a location where we would see a noodle demonstration.
After lunch we boarded our bus and headed for the Xi'an airport and our flight to Beijing. Today's flight was on an AirBus321. for the two hour flight we were served a meal, meat balls and rice to be specific. I thought it was pretty good.
As we arrived in the vicinity of Beijing we could easily see the famous smog as we looked down into the haze.
Our arrival was uneventful and we proceeded into the city and the Peninsula Hotel. We were efficiently checked in and found our bags that had been forwarded ready and waiting for our arrival.
There were no formal dinner plans for the night but there was one more shopping venue available for those in search of pearls and other fine goods. Sheila went to the shop while I enjoyed G&Ts in the lobby bar, that is I enjoyed them until I realized that they were abut $20/each.
After the shoppers returned many of us hung out in the bar but along with one of our new friends I walked out to see what was supposed to be one of the greatest night street markets in town, the Donghuamen Night Market, the place where we could dine on scorpions, snakes and many other exotic foods.
Unfortunately the forecasted closing time of midnight was off by about two hours as the market was dark by 10 PM. So we returned to the bar, had another G&T (I hadn't found out about the price just yet) and by eleven were turned in for the night.
The Xi'an wall is significant in that it has been maintained for over 700 years unlike similar walls in places like Beijing that were systematically demolished in the name of progress. Xi'an was an Imperial Capital of China centuries ago but today serves primarily as a tourist destination and gateway to the Terra Cotta Warriors.
The wall provides a city center where we witnessed morning retiree fitness classes and viewed a bustling street market. It was a location for biking on top of the wall and general walking as the distance around the wall was approximately 8 miles.
 |
| Our Guide Ping |
After a "last happy room stop for at least an hour" opportunity, we boarded our bus and headed for our primary objective of the day, the Terra Cotta Army. We arrived at Lintong around 1030 and drove to the national park and museum encompassing the site of the warriors. The general site also includes the necropolis of Emperor Qin Shi Huang but that site is not open to visitors.
The story goes that local farmers discovered the warriors while digging wells during a severe drought period in 1974. The government didn't invest heavily into the site until many years later. Now the four dig sites or "pits" are sheltered and open to the public.
I won't go through many details other than to say that with over 6,000 figures the site is all we expected it to be and more. As some know, selected figures have traveled the world in various exhibitions but to see the figures lined up in a battle formation is awesome. In reality most of the figures were found in pieces, so this has and continues to be something like a great jigsaw puzzle as a restoration project that will likely go on for a hundred years or more.
After two plus hours viewing the Terra Cotta exhibits and of course the museum store we headed for lunch at a location where we would see a noodle demonstration.
After lunch we boarded our bus and headed for the Xi'an airport and our flight to Beijing. Today's flight was on an AirBus321. for the two hour flight we were served a meal, meat balls and rice to be specific. I thought it was pretty good.
As we arrived in the vicinity of Beijing we could easily see the famous smog as we looked down into the haze.
Our arrival was uneventful and we proceeded into the city and the Peninsula Hotel. We were efficiently checked in and found our bags that had been forwarded ready and waiting for our arrival.
There were no formal dinner plans for the night but there was one more shopping venue available for those in search of pearls and other fine goods. Sheila went to the shop while I enjoyed G&Ts in the lobby bar, that is I enjoyed them until I realized that they were abut $20/each. |
| Scorpion Eating Demo. |
After the shoppers returned many of us hung out in the bar but along with one of our new friends I walked out to see what was supposed to be one of the greatest night street markets in town, the Donghuamen Night Market, the place where we could dine on scorpions, snakes and many other exotic foods.Unfortunately the forecasted closing time of midnight was off by about two hours as the market was dark by 10 PM. So we returned to the bar, had another G&T (I hadn't found out about the price just yet) and by eleven were turned in for the night.
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