Day 6 - Pedestrians & Terra-cotta

It seems the car has right of way in every situation in China, the bigger the vehicle the 'more right' of way you have. This places pedestrians in a very precarious situation. There are pedestrian crossings in the streets, but the only reason I can see for them being there, is for drivers to line up their vehicles for a direct hit. Maybe they have a clean up pedestrian reward system or it's another form of chinese population control. I am amazed we have not seen anyone lying in the street, but there is definitely an order to the chaos that i can't understand yet.

On our way out to the terra-cotta soldiers museum we stopped in on a lecture on making terra-cotta figures. Many of the kilns have been moved out of the city to curb the air pollution, but this government run factory remains for tourists. Essentially it was another 'fly in the honey pot' stop, yet seeing the manufacturing process gave us some insight into the detail and effort that goes into the craft.

Upon arriving at the warriors museum it was apparent this is a was going to be a highly organized and busy tour. The buildings were grand, the people organising elements were well conceived and the landscaping was groomed colorful. There are three pits that the solders are buried in, so as to accompany the Emperor into the after life. English story boards around the site describe 8000 soldiers being contained in the pits, but they may never recover them all. The exhibit is an ongoing archeological dig, which means there are sections with complete figures and sections with piles of pieces left where they lay. It is a jigsaw puzzle lovers dream come true. There is one live fossil, in the form of the famed farmer who discovered this funerary site. For a few Yuan he would sign your tour book and blow some cigar smoke in your face. I get the sense he loves the notoriety.

The most sensory experience on the site was the last exhibit we toured. It is an ornate brick and marble building that houses two bronze chariots complete with 8 terra-cotta horses. They are really magnificent pieces of art, but the sound of a thousand voices bouncing off the marble walls detracted from the experience. It was not until I came across the museums reason for existing that it dawned on me that this building is designed in such a way as to project the strength and might of the Chinese ideal.

Let me quote you a piece from a translated board titled 'Looking forward to the future'. "The hard time during the past thirty years went by, a few generation's great efforts are tremendously rewarded. The Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Army Museum is well known in the world now. The past has gone, we are going to shoulder heavy responsibilities in the future. In the new century, the museum men are going to meet the new challenge'. I get a sense, in reading between the lines, that there is a lot of national pride wrapped up in this part of Chinese history. The powers that be have a desire to project the success of this discovery into other parts of Chinese endeavor. Then again maybe I'm over thinking it.

It has been a short stop to this ancient silk road city highlighting the ancient aspects of Chinese culture. No luck with my 70% off bartering challenge yet. Tomorrow we fly 1000miles south to Guilin, a city the size of Brisbane.

Ben & Mum.


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Location:Xi'an