The Warriors Come Out To Play

Welcome back to another 24 bars of smoking hot repartee, innuendo, balderdash and funky chatter.   The summer heat is upon us and Shanghai is preparing to start the weekend by shooting off fireworks, beeping horns and talking loudly on cell phones.  The energy is cracking like a jing of xiao long xia hitting a red hot wok!

Shanghai crayfish

However, no xiao long xia for you!  This week we are going to leave the Big Hai behind and head northwest to a land of ancient history:  the city of Xian, in the province of Shaanxi.   The area contains Mount Hua, one of the five spiritual peaks of China, plus, the location of Lantian man, estimated to be between 500,000 and one millon years old, and the site of many tombs, including the first full emperor of China.   According to Wikipedia, "After the Warring States Period, China was unified under the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) for the first time, with the capital located at Xianyang, just northwest of modern Xi'an. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army and his mausoleum just to the east of Xi'an almost immediately after his ascension to the throne."

Evil Princess and visitors (yes, visitors1  <shrieeeek!>)  Sly and Sharpie headed north on the night train from Shanghai to Xian.  It is a $79, 14-hour trip in a 4-bunk sleeper and you arrive in downtown Xian refreshed and in your pajamas like a Shanghai local. 

The attached is from one of my favorite websites in the world, The Man in Seat 61, probably one of the best travel sites on the web, if you like train travel, that is. (A note on train travel.  It is, in my opinion, the very best way to travel.   It is not always the cheapest way, it is rarely the fastest way, it is not the most convenient way, but I love riding on a train.)

Xian train station waiting area

Xian includes the only intact city wall in China.  Most of the city walls in China were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution or during the wild-paced development here.  You can actually walk all the way around the inner city or even bike it if you are in the mood.  The city itself includes much history and a atmospheric Muslim quarter with great food and fun markets.

Muslim quarter

Xian City Wall

On to the Warriors.   Oh warriiooooorrrs.  Come out and playaaaaa.  Warriors, come out and playyyyyeeeeee.  (Name the movie reference and win a FREE foot massage on Anhu Lu!)


Yes, we saw the awe-inspiring Terra Cotta warriors.  I gave it my best shot to be attentive and learn something.   We hired a driver and went without a guide.  What do you need a guide for?  I'll tell you why...protection from other guides.   If you do not have a guide, then unattached and vigilant guides will swarm you and get in your iced tea.  Then they will point you in the wrong direction and you will wander listlessly past hundreds of stalls selling figurines of the Terrible Cotta Warriors.  You will only find the entrance by following people WITH guides.  You will then visit the three pits in the right sequence.  Pit One, the big show, was like visiting a giant warehouse filled with row after row of well, sort of like those roadside places that have dozens of concrete bunnies, and hundreds of concrete bird baths, and thousands of concrete gophers.  Only here, there were thousand of ancient Q'n dynasty garden gnomes.  On the way out, we ate at Subway.

Archer Gnomes, Aisle 3

This is not to smash a cultural pie into the face of Chinese history. Nooooooo. Xian is a fascinating place. It was the end point of the famous Silk Road and is surrounded by hundreds of burial tombs and sites of major importance. Shortly after the Gnomes, we visited The Mausoleum of Liu Qi, a emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD), and his empress, Empress Wang (quit smirking). It was built in the year 153 AD and covers an area of 20 square kilometers. It is also the first underground museum in China. Burial objects include pottery figurines, chariots and horses, weapons, articles of everyday use and a large number of pottery animals. Mysterious place, it was....




The figures originally had wooden arms and clothing




The underground museum




2,000 year old pottery on display


Pet?


I left the museum feeling like I had moved 250 feet down in the earth but thousands of years in the past. Traveling in China can do that to you. Thanks for tuning in this week, and thanks to Sly and Sharpie for coming to <shrreeeiiiiiikkkkk> visit.




Sly and Sharpie head out in the Muslim quarter