I guess the emperor didn't sleep well.
JULY 10th & 11th, 2018
Muslim Quarter, yum!
After a quick bullet train ride, we were in our second city of the trip, Xi’an! We arrived and made it to our hotel and encountered our first language barrier that actually made things difficult. We used various apps to translate to each other and she agreed that we were at the right hotel but couldn’t find our reservation. After a couple calls to the bank and confusion we realized we were at the wrong hotel and had to walk another block to find ours.
It turned out to be a bigger city than we expected and we were glad to have the day to explore. We walked through the Muslim Quarter, eating street food and figuring out how to order food by pointing and using translation apps. We tried mutton soup with noodles, which was much better than it sounded, sticky rice with dates, and stir-fried potatoes.
We visited their drum and bell towers and walked along part of the city wall. For dinner, we found a dumpling spot that was incredible and then walked the city a bit more as it lit up for the evening.
We woke up early and walked to find breakfast before everyone was out. It was such a contrast to see the city empty compared to the night before. We found a small food stand to grab baos and wontons before heading to the Terracotta Warriors.
We were lucky to have a really great guide who told us all about the history of the Terracotta Warriors and help us navigate through the insane amount of tour groups. The warriors were only discovered in the 1970’s and it is believed that what we see is only about 1% of all the warriors. Assuming it's only 1%, it would be the 6th largest army today, yeesh! The figures include warriors, chariots, generals, and horses. It is insane to comprehend that these were created over 2,000 years ago. The amount of detail that went into each one was amazing and our guide was able to point out how small details like how they stood and their facial expressions give hints about their personal lives. She described how the different hairstyles and hats represented their rank, as well as what their physical position meant in the army. She showed how some of them were probably slaves but could gain their freedom if they killed twenty men for the emperor. She said she had started giving tours in Xi’an ten years ago, and that a huge amount has been discovered in that time. She told us to come back in five years and see how much will have changed.
Pit 1
We were able to see the archeologists working onsite as they tried to match pieces and carefully clean them. As we drove away from the warriors we could see the hill of the emperor’s mausoleum, which is too unsafe to excavate. Actually being able to travel the distance and know that they believe that the entire area is full of the rest of the army was eye-opening to see the work that went into making sure he would be protected in the after-life. The reason the emperor did all of this was that he saw a tomb get desecrated and he couldn’t have that happen to him. Everyone that designed the tomb was killed so as to not give any secrets. The mausoleum that holds the emperor looks like any other hill in the landscape, which is how he wanted it. There is also a river of mercury running in it to provide beauty as well as possible death.
Winter Palace
Next, we headed to the winter palace (Huaqing). Here our guide told us about the love story of the Emporer Xuanzong and his concubine, so he built many of the pools and other parts of the palace for her specifically. This is also where they get their version of Valentine’s Day from, which is celebrating on July 7th. We were able to see the system built for the hot springs to fill various pools.
Our guides then took us to the airport to make our way to Guilin!
