Capital of 13 Dynasties

Trip Start Aug 29, 2006

Trip End Nov 10, 2006

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Flag of China Xian, China
Monday, October 16, 2006

So from the city of bad air we arrived to Xian! One would think an internal flight is no problem, Our agent in Lhasa told us that the flight is usually delayed, however we should be there in time for the original time of departure. Well our flight was at 10.35 so we planned to arrive at the airport around nine-ish. When we were at the check in we saw our flight was up already for boarding and the departure was at 9.35! So no Starbucks before departure but both of us saw some stars in front of us and we were the last ones to board the plane. Naturally when you are late your luggage will not be on the plane you are flying with. This is not the first time it happens to me that the belt stops moving and my luggage is nowhere to be found, my first experience of Schiphol was the same, from an 8 months working trip on a cruise ship I arrived at home with a bottle of Tequila and a Sombrero. My luggage had disappeared in Schiphol. But back to Xian, at the airport they told us that it will be on the afternoon flight and it will be delivered to the hotel we staying at

01. Big wilde goose pagoda

. Great but I was a bit skeptical, until I saw the backpacks in the room.
We booked a tour to the terra cotta soldiers the next morning with an English speaking guide. He was really good and it turned out that he teaches in Xian university. His knowledge was great. The site was discovered in 74 by a farmer whom was digging for water for his crops. To his biggest surprise he found more than just water. Pit one is the biggest in size and it holds more than six thousand live sized soldiers and horses. The other two pits were found two years later. I think the farmer does not have to worry about his crops anymore, I think he has other worries now...
The soldiers were destroyed by the Emperors opposition after the Emperor died, so the archeologists has a lot to do and a lot to glue together. There were weapons buried also with the soldiers and all of them were colored but after three days the colors disappeared from the clay. The weapons are still in great condition and the swords have a chrome plating so they are still sharp and not decayed! Just a footnote: chrome plating was implemented in the west in the fifties, in China was well known since 2200 years! So much for our superior knowledge in technology!
Otherwise Xian is grayer than Chengdu was, may be because it is October. My experience was that the Sun can not shine through the clouds and smog

02. Terracotta army

. We went to the Goose pagoda in the center of town but I was able to stare into the Sun at mid-day without damaging my eyes. You can see the picture I took by the pagoda, this is at two o'clock in the afternoon. I do not know the rate of suicide in this part of the world but I guess it explains the drinking habit of the people here, I would do the same I guess if I was living here, or try to get out somewhere else. Depressing.
However at the terra cotta soldiers you can purchase copies of the figures in three sizes if you think the full size is too big, but the material they use is the original clay it was used building the army. They are weather proof so it can go into the garden also and the price includes the shipping and all. For a full size horse one can bargain it down from 3500 Eros to 2000 Eros in about two minutes so if we were having a bigger house with a garden I guess we wold own a terra cotta horse by now, and a General together with a kneeling archer. A good reason to come back here again and go Crazy shopping! I think it is good that at the moment we live in a small apartment, otherwise... you know!
We're off to Beijing or Peking.

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