Blog 25: A Wrinkle in Time

About 10 years ago Amanda and I visited an exhibit at the Houston Museum featuring the Terracotta warriors.  It was cool, I loved the lesson, and I bought a book.  In Xian, we got to see the real thing. 

We arrived in Xian at around 11pm and then got to our apartment around 12:30.  Everything takes longer than you expect especially when you don’t want it to. On this short trip to the apartment, the parking garage shutdown, the van died 3 times, and our guide seemed lost.  On the upside, Xian has a much cooler vibe than Beijing… Not sure what it was exactly; maybe cheaper, cleaner, friendlier… it just seemed nicer. 

This apartment was a lot nicer too;  33% cheaper, nice view of the goose pagoda, and the landlord was great.  At first we thought the hot water was out, but that moment of despair was quickly reversed.  And, the AC worked like a champ. 

The next morning, we started a bit late and didn’t really have breakfast… not a great start for the kids.  We tried to find something to eat at a local convenience store, but it just wasn’t great.  It set the stage for a couple of hunger meltdowns later, but looking back now, everyone did pretty well. 

Our first stop was the Terracotta Warriors.  This was a major bucket list item for me.  Ever since visiting Pompeii (which I still say is a slightly cooler place than this, but only slightly), I am a massive fan of archeology and experiencing the past.  There is just something cool about places that have been preserved for thousands of years. 

The terracotta warriors are no different.  At the age of 15, the first emperor of China (that united the country together) started to plan for his burial.  I think he was a bit presumptuous in his expectation, but I guess it paid off.  Ultimately, he built a massive army of individually carved, life-size clay soldiers and buried them in pits underground to protect him in the afterlife.  He placed tens of thousands of soldiers (infantry, archers, generals, chariots, horses, etc.) around his tomb… And then directly around his coffin, he built a lake made of mercury which still exists today. 

The project lasted ~35yrs and was lost for 3000 years.  In comparison, Pompeii was buried in the first century, but the warriors were buried more than 1000 years earlier in ~1000 BC.  Amazing.  He was the first emperor of china and started the Qin dynasty.  The site was lost for 3000 years until a young farmer had problems digging a well on his property and reported the artifacts to the Chinese Government.  The farmer was handsomely reward by the government with a paycheck the equivalent of 35 usd.  Yes!  35 USD! 

Nevertheless, the farmer has carved out a nice living for himself by writing a book and signing autographs.  We met the farmer in a restaurant right before lunch.  I gave him an extra 100 rmb because he got hosed. 

The actual sight is surreal.  It is so hard to imagine this stuff being buried for so long.  The craftsmanship is cool, the details on the clay solders are incredible, and the restoration effort is amazing.  As you go through the pictures, just imagine that nothing was there 40 yrs ago… it was just farmland.  But, now this place is teeming with tourist and restoration activity.  This was a major highlight for me. 

After the warriors we went to the Muslim street to experience the sights and smells… I would say more smells here that sights, but very cool nonetheless.  There was a ton of street food; most of it we bypassed, but some of it we tried.  I will admit that the open-air butchering of lambs on the street turned us off a bit. 

It was another long day with little sleep, but the warriors were worth every sacrifice.

The next day was our last.  And, we were ready to be done.  We spent the morning on the Xian wall (best ancient city wall left standing in China), ate at an over-priced and wildly over-promised dumpling restaurant, and then made a quick tour through the wild goose pagoda and a Xian museum.  All of this was good to see, but we were done.  It was time to go home. 

We finished a little early and spent the last 30 minutes at a Dairy Queen for a Blizzard finish and then headed to the airport.  We arrived home late again, but my drivers were ready for us and we didn’t waste a moment… you just can’t put a high enough value on good service. 

The last day was spent relaxing.  The Dixon’s flight left at midnight, so we had an entire day to unwind, repack, and purchase a few last minute souvenirs.  The kids and moms spent the afternoon watching “The Greatest Showman” and Scott and I watched a Mexican / American war series on the history channel.  Go figure, these are the things you remember.  

Having the Dixons visit was a dream come true.  We felt a strong family connection and it was pure joy watching them experience China.  Can't wait to plan the next trip.  

Picture 1 - Tourist trap:  Before we arrived, we stopped at a workshop where the mimmick the building process... and sell you lots of stuff.  Emily didn't quite figure this one out... or she did and didn't want to conform.

Picture 2 - Craftsmanship:  Its always cool to see people actually doing it... and for a fee we could have don it too.  We actually didn't have enough money in this shop because I got suckered into an overpriced chess set and Amanda broke too many dishes.

Picture 3 - China:  This doesn't have anything to do with Xian, but it is just straight-up China.  Most bathrooms have 4-5 squatty potties and one western style and none of them have TP.

Picture 4 - Unbelievable preservation:  The first view, as you walk in, is the best.  The scale is enormous (see map view).  I don't remember how many acres it covers, but it is a lot.  The warriors were set up under ground and then covered with a roof.  Over time the roof s collapsed (on most), but the warriors were somewhat in tact.

Picture 5 - Restoration:  Many (probably most) of the Warriors needed to be put back together like a puzzle.  Think about how hard that would be... putting together thousands of 3-D puzzles after they've been buried in dirt and grime for 3000 years.

 Picture 6 - Quality, Perfection:  Look at the detail on this stuff.  Every single warrior is unique... seriously, their like snowflakes, every face is different.  Consistent body types, but unique faces.

Picture 7 - Having fun:  The museums were integrated around the excavations sites... a really cool concept.

Picture 8 - Amazing farmer:  This is THE guy that first found the site.  He wasn't paid anything, but he does live like a celebrity now.  He was really cool, really open to engaging (not verbally), and seemed humble.  A genuinely cool guy.  

Picture 9 - Highlight of my trip:  Getting to meet this guy is like meeting a "once in an eternity" celebrity.  How cool is that?

Picture 10 - Vibrance:  The muslim street was full of life, color, smells, and fun.  We tried a few things, but not everything.  

Picture 11 - Who knows what they're doing:  The guy in the top right is making something, I don't know what, but he kept looping and pulling and looping and pulling... It looked like the stuff was getting harder... I think it may have been taffy of some sort, but I'm not sure.  

Picture 12 - Xian's famous wall:  China removed most historical references to the past during the Cultural Revolution, but for some reason the Xian wall was preserved.  Beijing had three walls around their city center and all of them are gone.  

Picture 13 - Zen moments:  After 5 days of travelling, we all needed some Zen moments.  Ava, Caroline, and Emily seemed to figure it out the best.  

Picture 14 - a duck and a chicken:  These lovely dumplings were shaped like their contents and cost us an extra 15 usd/person... total trap.  At least Emily learned to spell a word with noodles.  

Picture 15 - A cool story:  This isn't nearly the same scale as the Terracotta Warriors, but a similar story.  A farmer found the two clay pots in the buried somewhere on his property... but, these two pots were fill with treasures and a story.  I don't remember much about the story, but there was enough treasure to build an entire museum dedicated to the contents.  We didn't really get much out of this museum... we were just ready to go home.

Picture 16 - Budda Belly:  The Wild Good Pagoda was an easy relaxing end to the trip.  Kids fooled around, we all rubbed budda's belly, and we had fun.  

Picture 17 - a glimpse of blue:  We did see blue skies at the goose pagoda, but they only lasted 10 minutes before the wind blew in another dust storm.  Each of use are born to a year on the zodiac calendar... i don't understand the significance, but we all posed in front of our statues.

Picture 18 - a great picture:  Onward to Dairy Queen.. That picture is just perfect right... totally perfect.

Picture 19 - Final hours:  It was supposed to rain on Thursday, but the morning was pretty clear.  Scott and Emma wanted to get some practice after a couple of weeks of inactivity.  We all went and had a great time.