Sunday June 13, 2010
So we checked in at 7am to our hotel in Xian (thanks again Deb), and asked about a package tour since our brains are mush and couldn't muster enough neurons to plan something, so they set up the standard tour #1 for us.
We took showers and cleaned up and got a call on Jake's cell that they would pick us up at 8:30 to see Terra Cotta, a factory tour, Qin Shihuang's (first emperor) tomb, Banpo village (6000 year old archaeological dig site) and lunch. We expected a bus tour so we could catch some z's but the tour guide guy and his crazy driver (“call me Mr. Lee”) picked us up in a well worn Chinese version of a Honda Accord and whisked us off to Banpo village. I must say, the car ride was worth the price of admission and I will now use different logic when crossing a street thanks to Mr Lee. Ok, so say you are at a 4 way intersection with 4 lanes meeting. You want to make a left turn. I always thought it was simple to put my blinker on, wait for the light to turn green, make a gentle turn left in the logical lane and proceed on my way. Never occurred to me how much more efficient it is to ignore the red light, turn left into the oncoming traffic and then slowly move over into the right hand lanes that go the correct direction. Traffic here actually is very efficient. The lights are sort of recommendations, the police do not care (we definitely cut off several police cars today), and the more steel you have under you, the more right of way you have. Mr. Lee is an artist. Not only does he do this, he can dial a cell phone, talk at high speed to passengers, and twist his neck to look at pretty girls. Oh and all the cars here have engine trouble lights, and they are all on. Another valuable lesson is never get into a car with a weak horn. In China, the horn is not covered under the warranty, much like brakes and tires in the US. They are considered a consumable since they get so much use. I would argue that based on Mr. Lee, the horn should go on when the ignition is turned on and only not blaring if the driver pushes the horn button.
Banpo is a site a farmer found and, on digging it up, discovered all kinds of signs of life. It is a typical but important site and has been carefully preserved by the government. They dug holes in the ground for storage, their houses were half underground/ half above, they used wood for vertical walls and thatch for roofs, and cooked in outside fire pits. They also made pottery.
Next stop was the factory where they make Terra Cotta Warriors for tourists and a lot of other very high end furniture, jade, carpets, etc. They ship 40% overseas to really rich people, as the stuff is large heavy and very high quality. Jake and I do so love to shop...
Finally the terra cotta warriors pits, where we spend a few hours. This is amazing. So Qin Shihuang was a brutal guy who by the age of 39 had unified China and is considered the first emperor (died 210 BC). He was a bit of a whack job in that he wanted protection in the after life so had thousands of clay warriors made, each different (jobs program), life sized of course and with original weapons. Then he buried them underground and down the street from where he was buried in case he needed them in a hurry. Bad call on the wooden beams with dirt over them so after the wood beams fell in, they were buried alive so to speak. A farmer in the 1970's dug a well and found some clay fragments so they dug it up and found all these warriors. This is like a lot of other stuff in China that confuses me. Didn't anybody know they were there? I guess 1800 years is a long time.
We then climbed to the hill that was his tomb which is filled with mercury and has never been dug up. It is driving Jake nuts that they wouldn't excavate it, but they are pretty tied up right now repairing all those warriors, and it was pointed out that the longer they wait, the better the technology will be. Once the oxygen gets to it, the clock is running in these matters. So complementary lunch and then back in Mr. Lee's battle station to fight our way home. I napped a bit and then we went looking for some giant noodle that Xian is famous for, which we never found. We got really lost and got into a pretty dark side of town, but the amazing thing is, you feel pretty safe anywhere you are. Finally found the Bell Tower, which is the big icon in the center of town, then back to the hotel. In Xian, if you can remember how to get to your hotel from the Bell Tower, anyone anywhere can tell you how to get to the Bell Tower. Tomorrow we stay in town, check out the museum and walk the wall.
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