Our second stop in China was to Xian for the specific purpose of seeing the Terracotta Warriors!
These sculptures number in the thousands and comprise of armies and horses that were buried with the Emperor of China over 2,500 years ago for his protection in the afterlife. The full construction involved 700,000 workers, many of which were buried alive by the emperor "to keep his armies for the afterlife secret".
They are slightly larger than life-sized in order to exhibit power and force.
Hidden for thousands of years, these sculptures were only discovered in 1974 by a farmer digging a water well . Since then, several pits have been unearthed along with sculptures of other members of society such as musicians, officials, etc.
Not all pits are open to the public as the area is vast and preservation is key (the armies were painted in beautiful colors and with the exposure to air and other elements, the color is slowly fading). Pits are continually being discovered and open, and in another 20 years, more may be available for viewing. The history and stories about these warriors and the time period are amazing.
When you look at the warriors you can see the care and detail that was taken into creating each one. They are all different like humans, modeled on soldiers living at the time. Some are sad, happy, content, stoic, stern, etc. Various expressions are told from their eyes, mouth and wrinkles. Even their hair styles are different. A closer look shows the tread detail on their footwear, and the palm lines of their hands. Each one seems to have a personality and you can almost feel what it feels.
The only Archer discovered fully in-tact to date
Detail of shoe treads
Notice the hair detail
A worthwhile visit to one of the most incredible finds on earth.
Here is how we did it:
We visited the Museum on our own. It was very easy getting there from the Xian Train Station, you can take a bus. Facing the station, turn right and walk to the parking lot full of buses. Get on Tourism Bus 5 (306) - these are operated by the city. There is light blue sign in front of this silver/green bus. Take a seat, and when the bus is full it will leave. A person on board will sell you a ticket. There are other stops along the way, you will go to the end of the line for the Terra Cotta Warriors. One-way ride is 7Yuan and takes about an hour. When you alight the bus, the sign to the museum is on a chain link fence (we turned right once off the bus). It is a 5 min walk to the entrance.
As you approach the entrance, official guides (dressed in suits) will approach you to offer their guide services. On impulse we hired one. It was 200Yuan for the two of us (I'm sure we could have negotiated a better price). The private tour was very good, and very few of the guides are fluent in English. We learned a lot and it actually made our experience much more meaningful. It took over 2 hours to tour, and we visited the pits in reverse order saving the largest for the end.
The farmer that discovered the warriors visits the museum once a month to sign books. He was there the day we visited, and we got to see him! Very cool!
At the end of our tour, our guide suggested a restaurant to eat at, it was good, and the food was of local cuisine. It looked like all tours by these guides ended here, and you could decide to eat there or not. I'm sure we paid a bit more, but she helped by ordering for us.
Then she pointed out that when we were done, if we exited the restaurant, turned left and walked up the ramp, we could just wait on the side of the road for the 915 tourism bus (green). This is a different company from the one we took to the museum but one the locals will use, so we decided why not. It was a nicer bus and was 9Yuan one way. It was suppose to be faster but since the bus was not full when we got on, they would stop the bus along the way to pick up passengers. Once full, we continued with less stopping. It stopped at the Xian Railway Station as well. There are a lot of different buses to take, but I am not sure of the legitimacy of them.
We visited during off-season so it was not very crowded. Best time to travel if you can!
NOTE: there is a lot of pestering at this railway station. Say no thank you, and continue walking with purpose.
~ Christine
Experienced 30 October 2013
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