Cheryl's Travels: Terracotta Warriors, the Walled City, and the Muslim Quarter

The Terracotta Warriors - that's what Xi'an is probably the most well known for! (And please see the end of the previous post if you don't have any idea what I'm talking about.)

Our flight last night took us from Chengdu to Xi'an, and after a quick dinner I was quite ready for bed. There's something about travel, particularly being in an airplane, that makes me tired, even when there isn't a time change involved.

I was very much looking forward to today though - seeing the Terracotta Warriors!

Before I bore you with all my information about the actual Terracotta Warriors, I went first to a factory that is today making replicas of the terracotta warriors as well as lacquer furniture. This is one of the pits where they fire the terracotta in:

and we got to have an up close look at some of the artisans and what they were making.

And yes, I really was there! Here I am at my finest!!

Xi'an became a cultural and political centre of China in the 11th century BCE with the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in the twin settlements of Fengjing and Haojing, together known as Fenghao, located southwest of contemporary Xi'an. Following the Warring States Period, China was unified under the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) for the first time, with the capital located at Xianyang, just northwest of modern Xi'an. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army and his mausoleum, just to the east of Xi'an, almost immediately after his ascension to the throne.

The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from around the late third century BC, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits near by Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.  Other terracotta non-military figures were also found in other pits and they include officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.

In addition to the warriors, an entire man-made necropolis for the Emperor has also been found around the first Emperor's tomb mound. The tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li as an earthen pyramid, and Qin Shi Huangdi’s necropolis complex was constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace or compound. It consists of several offices, halls, stables and other structures placed around the tomb mound which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. Up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction. According to historians, work on this mausoleum began in 246 BC soon after Emperor Qin ascended the throne (then aged 13), and the full construction later involved 700,000 workers.
The tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi appears to be a hermetically sealed space that is as big as a football pitch and located underneath the pyramidal tomb mound.  The tomb remains unopened, due to concerns about the preservation of valuable artifacts once the tomb is opened.  For example, after their excavation, the painted surface present on some figures of the terracotta army began to flake and fade.  In fact, the lacquer covering the paint can curl in 15 seconds once exposed to the dry air of Xi'an and can flake off in just four minutes.
The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government labourers and by local craftsmen, and the material used to make the terracotta warriors originated on Mount Li, northwest of Xi'an. The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled.  Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features.  Once assembled, intricate features such as facial expressions were added.
The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Most originally held real weapons such as spears, swords, or crossbows. The figures were also originally painted with bright pigments, primarily coloured in pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac.  The coloured lacquer finish, individual facial features, and actual weapons used in producing these figures created a realistic appearance. Most of the original weapons were thought to have been looted shortly after the creation of the army, or have rotted away, and the colour coating has flaked off or greatly faded.

There are four main pits associated with the terracotta army.  These pits are located about 1.5 km east of the burial mound and are about 7 metres deep. The army is placed as if to protect the tomb from the east, where all the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay. Pit #1 is the biggest pit - it is 230 metres long and 62 metres wide, and it contains the main army of more than 6,000 figures.  Pit # 1 has 11 corridors, most of which are over 3 metres wide. The largest amount of excavation work has been done in Pit # 1 so far. These photos were all taken in Pit # 1.

Pit # 2 has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. These photos are from Pit # 2.

Pit # 3 is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. I didn't take very many photos in Pit # 3 because it was quite dark and flash photography is not permitted. Here are a couple photos though. Pit # 4 is empty, seemingly left unfinished by its builders.

After leaving this amazing place we went back into the city of Xi'an to see another special aspect of this city, the old city wall. This well-preserved city wall was constructed in the 14th century during the early Ming Dynasty and was based on the inner imperial palace of Tang Dynasty.
The fortifications of Xi'an represent one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese city walls. Construction of the first city wall began in 194 BCE and lasted for four years. That wall measured 25.7 kilometres in length, 12–16 metres in thickness at the base, and the area within the wall was 36 square kilometres. The existing wall was started by the Ming Dynasty in 1370. It encircles a much smaller city of 14 square kilometres. The wall measures 13.7 kilometres in circumference, 12 metres in height, and 15–18 metres in thickness at the base.

Looking inside the old city wall. Although there are a mixture of old and new buildings here, there are also strict height restrictions in place, so inside the wall definitely has a different feel to it.

The city outside of the old city wall.

Next on the itinerary for today was a visit to Xi'an's Muslim Quarter. Just as its name implies, the Muslim Quarter is the hub of the Muslim community in Xi'an City. Located just north of the city centre, the quarter covers several blocks inhabited by over 20,000 Muslims. As the starting point of the famous Silk Road, Xi'an has attracted traders from the West since 1st century BC. During the 8th century AD, Xi'an was the largest city in the world with over one million inhabitants, among which one third of them were foreigners. The ancestors of these Muslims lived harmoniously in Xi'an with the Han people and ever since then Chinese Muslims (or Hui people), have been an important part of Xi'an. Beiyuanmen Street has a long history. It is said that in olden days, foreign diplomatic envoys and merchants lived here then they married and had children, so gradually the population increased. Today, most of the inhabitants here are the descendants of those immigrants.

The entrance into the Muslim Quarter

And again, a few shots from the bus as I was driving throughout the city:

Central air isn't very common anywhere in China

This must have felt like a good place to walk?

Nope, no accident - just having a chat.

Whether you are travelling in the north or the south of China, one delicacy you are almost sure to find on the menu is the dumplings. A universal favourite, the Chinese dumpling has a long history and is an essential part of celebratory meals such as those prepared for the Chinese lunar Spring Festival. The dumpling can be anything from a quick snack to a delicacy with which to entertain family and friends or the basis of a veritable feast. Xi'an, which has been the nation's capital during no less than eleven dynasties spanning more than a thousand years is regarded as the home if not the birthplace of the great dumpling tradition. It was here that the art of creating the most tasty and delicate of dumplings was refined and no visit to the city is complete unless you partake of a Dumpling Dinner. And so I did!

Now don't worry, I'm not going to show you photos of all 18 of the different dumplings I had for dinner tonight, but I did think these two were very unique, and pretty cute too!

"Panda" dumplings ... don't worry, the filling was pork.

"Duck" dumplings ... and this time the filling was duck.

My apologies now if you're getting a bit tired of the following types of photos, but again tonight I was off to a performance, this one entitled: "The Tang-Dynasty Court Music and Dances". You'd think I might be getting tired of performances like these but truly I'm not! Somehow each one is just a little bit different and they are all incredibly beautiful.
(I actually had a program for the performance tonight so I can tell you what each act was called.)