C & C globetrotting around the world…

Our butts are square, but we made it! We will try to avoid hard seat overnight (or longer than 8 hours) probably going forward. We finally arrived in Xian, Shanxi province, the birthplace of China. About 6000 years ago nomads settled down in the fertile area around the Yellow River and Shanxi became the heartland of the Qin dynasty, whose warrior emperor set out to unite much of China for the first time. Xian was also the end of the Silk Road, so the city has a very very long history and is considered a melting pot of cultures and religions.

Like most historic cities, Xian also has a Bell Tower, a large and impressive building, which was rung at dawn, while its partner the Drum Tower marked nightfall. Both towers date from the 14^th century and were rebuilt in the 18^th century. Back at the hostel we checked into our beautiful hostel (nice village-like looking rooms with traditional stone bed, luckily covered by a mattress). We then attempted to see the Small Goose Pagoda with its 15 progressively smaller tiers built in the 8^th century, but it was closed so we only had a glimpse from outside the park. In the evening we met up with Lance and his friends. The kebabs in Xian (and food in general) was delicious. We also found out that buildings (like apartment buildings) are demolished after 70 years in order to keep the economy going. This of course explains why people don’t upkeep the buildings and they look in such a pity state. They told us that for them it’s not worth buying since after the 70 years the compensation money the government gives you is not really enough to buy a new place, so many people prefer to rent. This also explains why there are soooooooooooo many new apartment buildings (actually communities of apartment buildings) being built at the same time.

Since Xian was the end of the Silk Road, there is a large Hui (Muslim Chinese) community established here since the 7^th century. We wondered through the street of the Muslim Quarter just behind the Drum Tower past butcher shops, souvenir stands and men with white skull caps. We visited the Great Mosque, one of the largest ones in China, which is a fascinating blend of Chinese and Islamic architecture. The mosque looks more like a Chinese temple (even the Minaret is disguised as a pagoda), but the Prayer Hall and inscriptions are obviously Islamic. Afterwards we went for Cecilia to get her hair cut since it was starting to look like an afro. That wasn’t such a good idea since she couldn’t explain to them how she wanted her hair cut. They also had never cut curly hair, so it was an interesting experience for everybody. Cecilia told them to cut, but that her hair becomes curly when dry. They understood she want her hair curled so they brought the curling iron. She said no, so they brought the straightening iron. Then Christoph pointed that outside later her hair will become curly, so they wanted to colour her hair red. Finally we just let them cut it and were happy to get out of there. The guy was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, while Cecilia was happy that hair grows back at least. Lesson learnt: never cut your hair where you don’t speak the language!

We also visited another one of the major attractions in China: The Terracotta Army. On the way there, the bus broke down – twice – and we had to switch buses, explaining why the 35km took one hour.

The Terracotta Army is one of the most famous archaeological finds in the world and it was discovered by accident when some peasants were digging for a well in 1974. This subterranean life-size army of thousands has stood guard over the soul of China’s first unifier for over 2000 years. There are theories that Emperor Qin Shi Huang was terrified of the spirits awaiting him in the afterlife; or that he expected his rule to continue in death as he had in life. Qin Shi Huang is a controversial figure in Chinese history. On the one hand, he created an efficient and centralized government that became the model for later dynasties, he standardized currency and writing, as well as building many new roads and conquering 6 major kingdoms, and all this between the age of 13 and 40. On the other hand, he enslaved hundreds of thousands of people, outlawed Confucianism, buried its top scholars alive and burnt many written texts. Nevertheless, his Terracotta Army is very impressive. As suggested in the LP, we visited the 3 pits in reverse order. Pit 3 contains 72 warriors and horses and is believed to be the army headquarters due to the number of high-ranking officers unearthed there. Pit 2 contains 1300 warriors and horses and is still a work in progress, but there are 5 soldiers on display: kneeling archer, standing archer, cavalryman with horse, mid-ranking officer and a general. It is extra-ordinary to note the level of detail and how each soldier has unique facial expressions, hairstyles, armour and footwear. Pit 3 is the largest and most impressive with its 6000 warriors and horses, all ready for battle. There were also 35 wooden chariots which have now disintegrated, but the imprints remain. There is also a pair of bronze chariots which are on display. It is very interesting to see the pits, but also how they are restoring the broken warriors. Very very interesting.

The rain ruined our plans for our last day in Xian! We wanted to go biking on the city walls and in the evening go to the fountain and music show by the Big Goose Pagoda, but both had to be cancelled. Xian is one of the few cities in China that still has its city wall intact, which measures 14km in length and is 12m high. Biking on it is supposed to be one of the highlights of Xian, but the rain killed our plans. I guess we shouldn’t have waited until the last day anyway, but we were really lazy in Xian. The Big Goose Pagoda is Xian’s landmark and that too we missed. Built in 652AD, this is where a Buddhist monk spent many years translating scriptures. That too will have to wait until our next visit in China.