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Day 7, The Terracota Warriors
Last night we checked into the newly renovated Orient Hotel
Xian. This hotel was rated 4 stars, but seemed more like 5, an indication that
things are a little cheaper in Xian. This was a welcome relief, as we had
pretty miserable accommodations back in ’85. Tourism is big here, because of
all of the historical sites, but this is also a large city, and we are
constantly reminded that the tourist are not the
center of attention here. Tourism is only 20% of the local economy, compared
with probably 80% in
Our guide is Maggie, (I did not get her Chinese name), and the first place she took us was to the archeological display of Neolithic settlement of Banpo. This was a prehistoric settlement, dating back 6,000 years, BC, but already exhibiting some elements that influenced Chinese history and culture. The next stop was to a factory making replicas of the terracotta soldiers, and we chose to purchase a few from this state run tourist factory, because of the superior quality, and the fixed prices, rather than having to deal with the street vendors, later on, even though the prices were ten times the RMB$5 that the street vendors wanted. With our souvenirs, out of the way, the next stop was the famous Terracota excavations. The kids had been reading about this in advance, and Stephanie even studied it in school, so they were quite anxious. It was a very hot day, probably around 38 degrees Celcius, so it was nice to be indoors. We found the BART style electronic tickets to be a reflection on the technology, and resources that go into this 8th wonder of the ancient world. As expected, the displays were much improved over our first trip, with the addition of new viewing areas, and a new building, housing the half size bronze chariots. They also added a restaurant, which had some of the best food of our stay in Xian. In the souvenir store, the farmer who discovered the soldiers, while digging for water, greets the tourists, and signs autographs. Michael bought a book and got his autograph.
On the way back to the city, we stopped at the Hot Springs
of Huaquing, where the Concubine Yang Guifei bathed. It was raining, so we did not linger very
long. By the time we got back to the city, it had stopped raining, and was hot
again. The tour is moving pretty fast, and we are at that point where if it’s
Tuesday, this must be