When China Called: Xi'an Day Yi Part 1

 

The first few lines of the Terracotta Warriors. There used to be wooden roofs covering their heads
but those weathered away. Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      Turns out the Chinese are very particular about their appointments. Generally, my tour guides arrived somewhere between 5 to 15 minutes ahead of schedule, often leaving me question my misplaced pride in timeliness (2017 Kuperard Culture Smart China, Flower, p. 80).

      Xi’an had a rather homey atmosphere. It felt like mid to upper 60s Fahrenheit in the early morning, and doesn’t feel any higher than mid-70s Fahrenheit towards the end of the day. My first stop was to visit the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. As you too will find out, the travel time between tourist spots here is somewhat significant. The museum is in the city ‘burbs, or what surprisingly the Chinese call suburbs. Surprising because the area is covered with reasonably spaced skyscrapers, with a nuclear generator smack down the middle of the city outskirts! The ride to the museum from the hotel is roughly 50 minutes long.

The glass building to the left is the tickets office.
Around the corner is the entrance to the museum
Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      I had the fortune of meeting the farmer who discovered the warriors as he was trying to excavate for water, or so I’m told. He has a souvenir shop on the way to the tickets' office. When I asked for a photo, and even offered to pay for it, I was informed I can have a book about the warriors, the farmer’s signature, which is very valuable I’m told, and the photo I so eagerly desired, for no more than 200 RMB. While the offer is fairly reasonable, at the time, I did not want to carry any clutter. Stuck in my ways, I reiterated my desire for no more than a Photo. Unable to receive any offers, I declined theirs.

Note in passing: where I reference pieces of information that were imparted to me by my guides with no other sources, I will use the expression "I’m told" to direct your attention to lack of reference.

At the very end of the first pit a number of warriors in
restoration. Some day they will join their brethren in
combat formation. From here it feels like you are the
commanding officer standing behind your army.
Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      Following the ticket purchase, which my guide kindly did, we proceeded to the first entrance i.e., an inspection spot!

      The museum is swarming with guides waiting for somebody to accept their offers of a tour. Luckily, I had a guide preplanned for me. As soon as my guide put their badge on, the tourist hunters stopped and looked for another to cast their nets at.

       QR codes are all the rage in China. They are everywhere, from admission tickets, train tickets, hotel keys, to pay by camera at shops. The society’s potential for embracing new technology is quite impressive.

Officers in the second pit appear like they
are gathered around a table.
Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      At the entrance your ticket will be checked and bag inspected. I’ve had my first nervous moment here and is the reason I invested a bit of time enabling the pin yin keyboard on my phone sometime after. I was asked to open my bag or so I thought. The inspector kept saying Dao (刀). Seeing my facial expression, the inspector tried to say knife instead. Still, I was unable to distinguish what they were trying to say. Thankfully, my guide had gone through the checkpoint by then, and came around to help.

      You see, I was carrying a Swiss Knife and that, obviously, needed to be checked. The lesson here is leave your Swiss Knife either at the hired car or the hotel to avoid any inconvenience. The short of it, I was allowed in.

      Past this checkpoint you'd now have access to the garden leading to the pits. This is a nice treading trail with a few persimmon trees. I’ve never seen a persimmon tree before, so running into one was quite a pleasant experience.

The army general in glass display at the
fourth pit. Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      At the end of the trail you will have access to the second tickets check area. Do keep your ticket handy! The ticket will be scanned and you will be granted access to the museum main square, where you can see the various buildings housing each of the pits.

            To be continued...

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You can find the previous post in the series at: When China Called: First Impressions