On Monday morning we caught a local bus out to see The Terracotta Warriors - a 1 ¼ hour trip in the bus. We hired an English speaking guide for 100CNY (NZ20) between the four of us for a 3 hour trip around and he was well worth the money. The first sighting in the No. 1 pit just about blew us away - they are incredible.
The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 by a local farmer and peasants digging a well. The ranks of life-size pottery figures, modelled from yellow clay, were made to guard the tomb of Qin Shai Huangdi, despotic ruler who unified China over 2200 years ago. Excavations yielded three pits and over 7,000 soldiers, archers and horses. Pit 1 contains the infantry, pit 2 which is still being excavated, is filled with cavalry and soldiers and pit 3 which is partially unexcavated seems to be the command centre, with 70 high ranking officers. Each warrior was originally coloured with pigment but once exposed to the air the colour has disappeared. Each warrior has an individually crafted expression. Work is still being done to excavate and restore the terracotta figures and as each warrior is unique they must be painstakingly reassembled by a team. The earth-walled corridors that house the warriors were originally roofed with wooden rafters with a cloth covering.
A mile west of the pits is a large hill, yet to be fully excavated is believed to be the burial mound of Emperor Qin Shi, a tyrant preoccupied with death and the legacy he would leave behind. He spared no expense, enlisting 700,000 people over 36 years in the tomb's construction. The complex is said to contain 48 tombs for concubines who were buried alive with the emperor, a fate also reserved for workers, to prevent the location and design of the tomb from becoming known. Two marvellous bronze chariots, originally housed in wooden coffins, were unearthed near the burial mound, and laboriously reassembled. Half actual size, one is made up of over 3600 pieces. One of these chariots is at present on display at Expo.
All in all a great day and we got back to the hostel around 5pm.
Yesterday dawned another wet day but we did brave the weather and headed off down into the middle of the city to have a look at some of the sights. Was pretty miserable and cold but we visited the Muslim area and had a general look around.
Xi'an served as the capital to 11 dynasties over a period of 4000 years. Xi'an peaked during the Tang dynasty when its position at the eastern end of the Silk Road transformed it into a bustling metropolis luring foreign merchants and faiths. The centre of the city is surrounded by a 14km rectangular wall which was built in 1370 with 12m high bastions and have bases up to 18m thick.
Today we catch a 4pm train back to Chengdu, arriving at 9am tomorrow. We will then pick up our passports and Visas and Friday we head off to Chongqing to do a four day cruise on the Yangzi River.