Sunday, June 14th - Train to Xi'An

It's now 5 a.m. and we are still rocking and rolling across the countryside in our sleeper train.  Ooh, everything just went black so I guess we are tunneliling over or under something.  Okay, in the time it took me to type that sentence we've been through three more and judging by the countryside that is now hilly, we probably were going through hills or mountains.  I can certainly see high rugged peaks in the background.

We just passed a town.  The buildings looked very small and shabby by our standards. Not a lot of movement on the streets but it is early yet.  It has been light out for an hour or more now and I couldn't sleep so I figured I might as well get up.  Millie is now standing in the aisle in front of me doing her yoga and it's pretty impressive that she can hold some of the poses on this moving train.  I think some of the others are awake too but everyone is very quiet.

The whole train is quiet and that is another wonder of the world - perhaps not in the same calibre as the Great Wall but a wonder none the less.  We have over 1,000 people on this train and no one has any privacy.  When you walk down the hall to the bathroom you pass  all of the open sleeping compartments within inches of the many different heads or stinky feet depending on which way they are laying in their bunk.  There are 32 rows with 3 levels of bunks per car and about 3 feet at the end for the aisle.  During the day there are people sitting in the aisle on the fold-up chairs but at night it is a clear walk way.  The lights are turned off but the pathway is lit so you can find your way around.  But I digress.  The "wonder" of it is the silence.  There are people of all ages and yet you don't hear a sound.  There were of course people walking around last night before lights out but it was still quiet.  Everyone just sat on their bunk reading and/or using their electronic devises or talked quietly.  Once the attendant came through and just the blinds and turned off the lights there was not a sound.  I'm sure it will get busier shortly but I imagine it will still be a very quiet journey.

We are now into higher peaks but still very green with vegetation so not too high.  We just passed a huge drainage ditch that didn't have a drop of water in it so I assume they get some heavy rains at times with a lot of water flowing down the mountains all at once.  It is mainly trees now (from what I can see) but earlier we went through some very fertile farm land which seemed to hold a wide variety of crops such as corn, lettuce, wheat, fruit trees, etc.  The fields are small and often on terraced areas so they may also be growing rice which is very popular here.

Our train arrived promptly at 6:50 a.m. and we were off to our hotel.  Luckily our rooms were available so we had a chance for a shower and a change of clothes before heading out for the day.  We are travelling by air-conditioned private van with lots of room so very comfortable.  Our first stop was of course to see the Terracotta Warriors.  The exhibits are very much the same as when I was here in 2010 but the entrance tot he facility has changed drastically.  It is a much longer walk to get in and the number of shops has grown considerably and they are all permanent now.  A lot of other developments in the area as well.  They even have a McDonalds of all things.

The story of the warriors is fascinating.  Qin Shihuang, the emperor who actually unified the six different countries or tribes to form one China lived thousands of ears ago, I think around 200 BC.  After the fighting to unify the country, he named himself Emperor and started a very important era in Chinese history.  He is the Emperor who planned and started work on the Great Wall.  I don't think it was finished before he died.  At the same time that he started the Wall he started work on his own tomb, which was to be an elaborate underground structure with thousands of warriors to guard him in the after life.  Over 700,000 people worked on the project - everything from labourers to skilled craftsmen.  There are all kinds of warriors: archers, soldiers, charioteers, etc. - everything that n Emperor might need to protect him in the afterlife.  He even had horses and chariots and birds made and every one of them is unique.  It's hard to comprehend such a task but obviously some of his people had some very skilled and dedicated workers in his kingdom.

There are now 4 pavilions in the complex.  Four is the newest and doesn't have much inn it except for the mapped out area yet to be excavated.  Three is a partially excavated pit and has about 70 warriors in it.  Two has the half-size bronze chariots and horses in it and they are quite amazing.  There is also an exhibit about the colours of the warriors and how they are trying to preserve them.  I always think of them as just grey warrriors but in reality they were originally painted vibrant colours like red, blue, yellow, green. etc.  They certainly look different in the mock ups in the museum.  Pavilion one is the really impressive exhibit.  Here you find row upon row of warriors, each one of them unique in stance and facial expression.  In total there are apparently 8,000 of them.  It really is an impressive sight and an amazing find.

A farmer accidentally made the discovery of a couple of warrior heads in the 1970's.  Others had apparently made similar discoveries but quickly destroyed or buried them again because they thought they were evil beings.  The one farmer though knew enough to take the head to a museum or somewhere to see if it had any significance, and the rest is history.  Apparently the farmer did for a time sign books at the museum but he doesn't do that any more.  He may actually be dead by now.  I'm just not sure.

After our visit we walked farther out of the museum area but still in the town.  We were going to a farmer's house for lunch and apparently the farmer now lives in town.  The place looked like a B&B and there were a couple of other people around  The living room has space enough for several tables of about 8.  We were the only group there at the time.  Rice is a staple and it is served in a big bowl.  We then put it in smaller individual bowls and add the rest of the food to it as the meal progresses.  Generally there are 8 dishes provided as there are 8 of us.  This meal consisted of meat (beef and pork) with peppers or onions, bok choi, green beans, garlic shoots, etc.  We have trouble identifying a lot of what we eat but it's all good!!!  

While there our guide gave us a lesson on the Chinese alphabet characters.  It was interesting but I've already forgotten most of what I learned.  And after that we had a very long drive across town to our next sight.  We used the time to relax and get ready for our next tour.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a very plain yet impressive high seven tiered Buddhist temple made of brick.  Through the trade and travel on the Silk Road, Buddhism was introduced in Xi An, the end of the Silk Road, in 25 AD.  One of the monks went to India to study and returned to Xi An and had the temple built in 645 AD..  We arrived just an hour before they closed and had a private tour that described the bell and drum tower, the temple, the residences, etc.  If I remember correctly the bell is rung in the morning to wake the monks up and the drum is beat in the evenings to tell them it is time for bed.  The temple itself was damaged in an earthquake and is now empty although, for an extra fee, they do let you climb to the top to see the view.  We didn't have time for that.

The most impressive part of the complex was actually free and that was the Music Fountain Square.  When we arrived the music was blaring and the fountains were all going - and there are a lot of water spouts in the complex.  It is probably bigger than both the Belagio in Las Vegas and the Burj in Dubai, and the music was much better.  It was impressive and there were people everywhere.  We wished we could have stayed longer but we had to move on to the temple itself.  For the rest of the people, they enjoyed a wonderful water display and some fantastic music on their hot Sunday afternoon. 

We then took a bus to Muslim Quarter, which was a small alley with lots of stalls selling food, fabric, souvenirs, spices, etc. - just about everything.  The food looked and smelled delicious and we would have been happy to eat just that but we had a dumpling dinner waiting for us at the other end, and what a feast it was.  We must have tasted about 20 different dumplings and they were all fantastic, including the soup with baby dumplings.  There was not much else with the meal but you didn't need it.  We had a few appetizers like cucumbers and munchies but the main course was absolutely delicious.  Their dumplings are very light (not a heavy dough) and the combinations inside were wonderful.  By the time we were done we were very glad we hadn't decided to eat in the street.  And, while I'm thinking of it, there were very few Muslims in the Muslim Quarter.  It looked like mainly Chinese, but perhaps Chinese Muslims do not dress the traditional Muslim way.

After dinner we had to walk to our bus and that involved a lovely walk between the main drum and bell towers, which were well lit and very impressive.  This part of the city is very busy at night with lots of music and entertainment and the whole area was very touristy.  It was a great day but long and it left no time for cycling around the city wall or joining the tai chi group in the park across from our hotel.  I guess that means I'll have to come back again.