Though not on the top of my list, Xi'an, the ancient capital of China, is a sort of must-see destination in the country, so I decided to make a quick two day stop on the way back from Lhasa before heading South. The star attraction are the Terracotta Warriors, a massive collection of clay, life-sized warriors, horses and chariots numbering around 7 or 8 thousand (thus far), unearthed by a farmer in 1974 while digging a hole for a well. These warriors were constructed over 2,000 years ago by the emperor of China to protect himself in the after world. It is also said that all of the workers on this massive project were killed to protect the location and preserve the secrecy of the whole idea, explaining why it had not been discovered until fairly recently. Even now, excavation and new finds continue, as the Chinese also restore some of the fallen soldiers to their past glory. Part of the incredible sight is the fact that each soldier has a different face, allegedly designed after the real soldiers, though they did take a few liberties with the size of these guys, each of them a little over two meters, which is not very likely two thousand years ago. Going on a tour with my hostel, we piled into a minibus and temporarily escaped the heavy rains of the day. We first visited a small factory specializing in making replicas (life-sized and otherwise) of the warriors, partly to show us the process that would have been used to make these statues two thousand years ago but moreso to get us to buy some souvenirs, resulting in commission for our guide.
Soon, we did make it to the actual site, requiring a 10-15 minute walk through the pouring rain from the parking lot to the massive buildings housing the soldiers. Housed in three separate buildings/warehouses, we walked among the soldiers for a few hours, getting overhead views of the lines of ancient guardians below. In the most impressive of the buildings, lines of thousands of soldiers, horses and generals stand at attention, much like they would have been originally placed around the tomb. It was a fascinating sight, though the masses of tourist groups pushing past were a stark contrast to the wild feeling of coming from Tibet. After splitting up with our group for a while, I eventually met back up with our guide, who began to confide in me about the troubles of her job, as she was getting the short end of the deal on the commissions, as the driver who had more experience than her, decided that he deserved 70% of everything, knowing that the company would trust him more than her. It was all a little odd, but soon the trip was over, having experienced one of the greatest archaeological finds of the last century.
(You can tell the rank of the soldiers and officers by their outfit and their hairstyle. You are not actually allowed to get this close to the real warriors...this is from the replica factory nearby.)
(Smiling replicas, ready to rake in the tourist money. These are life-sized statues, so I decided that I didn't want to carry one around with me for the next month.)
(All different sizes, for any bag or any budget.)
(The entrance to the warriors. In one part of the building, we saw a short 360 degree film about the creation of the warriors and the history of the time. Just outside, we were lucky enough to see the actual farmer who discovered the warriors, sitting at a small table, autographing books and holding up a large fan to prevent people from taking pictures of him. Other than the people surrounding him, he, of course, just looked like a typical, little old Chinese man with round glasses and a bit of extremely short grey hair.)
(The first warehouse and something like 2,000 or 3,000 warriors. This was by far the most impressive, as the other two open buildings are in much earlier states of restoration, mostly just showing off some ruble with pieces of soldier mixed in.)
(Don't mess with these guys.)
(The guy in the front lost his head, but it doesn't really matter. They're not real, anyway.)
(Another line of soldiers, ready to protect the emperor in this life or the next.)
(As with other parts of China, there are many, many people almost everywhere you go. Oh wait, these are just the warriors again.)
(I must say, they do a much better job of lining up than real Chinese people who are fond of pushing and cutting to the front, no matter what the situation.)
(An elevated platform encircles this entire building, so you can never get next to the warriors. Unless, of course, you are Bill Clinton or another foreign leader, whose pictures are displayed along the side, showing them mingling amongst their new inanimate friends.)
(More of the thousands of warriors. Apparently I tried to take a picture of every single one of them.)
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