What a week it’s been!  We have experienced so many new things this past week, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Earlier last week we went to a number of temples in the area here in Kunming. They are mostly Buddhist or Taoist, very colourful, and set in beautiful parks. The cherry blossoms are at their peak right now, and it’s really quite spectacular.

Early  Friday  morning we took a 2 hour flight  to Xian (pronounced Shee an), in Shanxi  province,population 37 million!  Our purpose was to see the terra cotta warriors which were discovered in 1974. Before I go into that though, I must tell you a little bit about Xian (the ancient capital of China), a cosmopolitan city of 8 million!  It’s really quite a beautiful city with an incredible history. We were very busy touring tombs, the spectacular, massive  city wall dating back to 194 BCE, and the impressive Big Wild Goose Pagoda dating from 652 Tang Dynasty.  The city boasts  wide streets and boulevards, the traffic lanes being 5 lanes in both directions. Drivers don’t necessarily stay in one lane, uturns in the middle of the street are common, and  I’m convinced the pedestrian crosswalks are there for target practice only! The only downside of the city, and it is considerable, is the pollution. There is a thick fog over the city at all times, and even though the city is full of trees and flowers, all of which are quite stunning, there is this haze that you just wish you could wipe away and see clearly again. What’s most impressive though is that everything not only in Xian, but in all  of China (or what we’ve seen of it) is built on such a grand scale – there is nothing miniscule about anything, but of course it makes sense when you think of the number of people that need to be accomodated on so many fronts, and it all seems to work – there are very few lineups. Mind you, I don’t think they would understand proper lineups – it’s push, push, push your way through to wherever you’re going!

Now to the Terra Cotta Warriors – it’s difficult to describe the overwhelming feelings one gets when you first walk in and see most of the 8000 soldiers  ready for battle.
I’m not going to give you too much history here, except to say that these warriors were first unearthed in 1974 when a local farmer was drilling for a well, and came upon some pottery fragments and ancient bronze weapons. It was reported to the government at once, and archeological teams began their explorations and excavations. This discovery came as quite a shock to China and the whole world.. It is the largest on site museum in China, covering 20 hectares.

 

These warriors were fashioned during the reign of the first Emperor of China, Emperor Qinshishuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty. Qin was most known for ending the feudal system in China, and unifying the 6 states into one political entity. There’s a charming story told about the farmer who first discovered the artifacts – Bill Clinton came to visit the site, and wanted to meet the farmer. The farmer, understandably nervous, was given 3 phrases to learn for when he’d meet the president. The first was Hello. Secondly, How are you? to which the president would presumably reply, I’m fine, and the farmer was told to respondme too. But the farmer got a bit flustered, and instead of saying how are you, he said Who are you, to which Clinton responded by saying I am the President of the United States, and the farmer said Me too!

We spent 3 nights in Xian in a lovely 5* hotel, and it felt good to be pampered after long days of  being over stimulated! Local food was good, in fact we had some of the best chicken I’,ve ever had – a Xian specialty called Bottle Gourd Chicken. It was pressed flat, with crispy skin and some amazing spices. Also really enjoyed the persimmon deep fried cakes on Muslin Street. There is so much interesting food to try – some of it better than others. Thank goodness we have had no digestive problems at all!

 

It’s a regular work week for us, and then Friday we’re off  on another excursion to Dali and Lijiang, two UNESCO world heritage sites, both in Yunnan province.
Will keep you posted!

Love to all,

Maggie