One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China having held the position of capital city under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. Xi'an is also the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and as you know, home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. As such, Xi'an has a very rich and culturally significant history.
The city has many important historical sites, and some are ongoing archaeological projects, such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. There are several burial mounds - tombs of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) kings located in the city. Xi'an also contains about 800 royal mausoleums and tombs from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) with some of them yielding hundreds of sculpted clay soldiers, and remains of sacrificial temples from the Han era. The city also has numerous Tang Dynasty (618-907) pagodas and is noted for its history museum and its stele forest, which is housed in an 11th-century Confucian temple containing large stone tablets from various dynasties.
As I said though, we only have time to see a very little bit of all this great history ... with a flight to catch later this afternoon ... so my first stop this morning was The Small Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area. Covering an area of 16.3 hectares, it mainly consists of a museum, the ancient Jianfu Temple built in the year 684 A.D during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the famous Small Wild Goose Pagoda.
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built in the year 707 A.D during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and unlike the grand Big Wild Goose Pagoda (also located in Xi'an but I don't have time to visit it), it is dainty and exquisite in its appearance. It is an important cultural relic and one of the remaining symbols of ancient Chang'an (the name of Xi'an in the Tang Dynasty).
This multi-eave brick pagoda is thirteen stories tall, reaching 43.38 metres. It is square on plane and rises skyward in an elegant spindle shape. Above the ground floor, the height of each storey diminishes, rendering a graceful curve to the contour. Multi-eaves are made by overlapping bricks which curve inward, a characteristic of the Tang Dynasty construction. The ground floor has arched doors facing north and south; the other floors have arched windows instead. The fine drawings on the doors reflect the artistic style prevailing in the Tang Dynasty. Inside, a narrow wooden stairway winds its way to the top of the pagoda.
The construction of the pagoda is a wonder. Because Xi'an is located in an area where earthquakes sometimes occur, the pagoda base is made from packed earth in the shape of a hemisphere. In case of an earthquake, the pressure can be evenly divided, thus the pagoda has remained standing after over seventy earthquakes. After so many earthquakes, only the pinnacle and the two upper floors (the original pagoda had fifteen stories) have been damaged. Remarkably, cracks which occurred during earthquakes have been closed by quakes that came later.
A giant iron bell 3.5 metres in height and about 10 tons in weight resides in the Jianfu Temple grounds. It makes a magnificent clear sound that can be heard more than five kilometres away. The elegant pagoda along with the bell is known as 'The Morning Bell Chimes of the Pagoda' and is considered one of the eight major cultural sites in the province.
The whole area surrounding the pagoda is now parkland, and it is also the grounds of Jianfu Temple. Jianfu Temple was originally the residence of Zhongzong Li Xian before he succeeded as the emperor of Tang Dynasty, and it was converted to a temple in 684 AD. It was originally named "Xianfu Temple" and then renamed Jianfu Temple in 690 AD. The famous Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built on the temple grounds in 707 AD. Many of the original buildings, statues and relics still remain - and there is also a massive reconstruction project being undertaken right now, so I can only imagine what this area will look like when it's finished!
It is clear this is a very popular area for locals to spend time too.
This man was the teacher/master of whatever aerobic activity was being taught:
but he'd better be careful 'cause these three little people are all ready to take his place!
Next stop today was at the Shaanxi History Museum, one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China. The museum houses over 300,000 items, including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects. The modern museum was built between 1983 and 2001 and the grand buildings imitate the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty with a two-storied central hall and four worship halls around it. The predominant colours of the halls are black, white and grey, which give the halls an atmosphere of solemnity and rustic charm. The exhibition halls are generally divided into four main groups; the Preface Hall, the permanent exhibition halls, the temporary exhibition halls, and an exhibition hall for Tang Mural Paintings. Once you enter the central hall, you will be in the Preface Hall, where there is a replica of a stone lion from the Shunling Tomb of the Tang Dynasty and a huge picture of a loess plateau and the Yellow River.
After leaving the museum it was back on the bus for the drive to the airport...
and a few hours later I was in Beijing. I know it's early evening and therefore not the best lighting conditions, but even now the cloud of smog/fog/pollution that hangs over Beijing was certainly noticeable. I know we hear all about it in the media, but even so, being there and seeing it personally was quite unbelievable.
Off to the hotel to get settled - and then after a good night's sleep I'll be ready to "attack" Beijing tomorrow.
Off to the hotel to get settled - and then after a good night's sleep I'll be ready to "attack" Beijing tomorrow.
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