"On the Trail"

The Journals from the Road

Sunday, July 8, 2001: The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an - Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China

Tad here...

This morning I slept in a bit, needing it after coming in late last night. Then I was up and at up and ready to go to visit the Terracotta Wariorrs. I rode on a bus with 3 young people from the USA who were teaching science and technology classes as an internship program to highschool students in China. We had a good talk on the way out about cloning, DNA, travel, and learning languages. I was having such a good time that I didn't think about checking where we were going. It turns out we were direct d to get off before the stop we wanted. 10 yuan for a taxi and that problem was solved and we were driven to the entrance of the Terracotta Warriors.

The entrance was full of hawkers and kids selling postcards. We paid the hefty 65 yuan entrance fee and went in. Soon the warriors were in front of us. They are near the tomb of the first Qin Emperor (Qin Shihuang) whose name was Ying Zheng. He ascended the throne at the age of thirteen (246 BC) and united the country, standardized the currency, and the written script. It seems that these terracotta warriors were designed to protect this emperor in his afterlife. I was amazed at how many there were

Each one was unique with its own face. Many believe that the faces of the warriors are the faces of the sculptors and their friends. AFter roaming for a while past hundreds of foot soldiers and clay horses it was time for a little lunch.

Two of the girls selling postcards told me they could help me find a cheap noodle spot with noodles for 3 yuan. It was on a side alley about 75 feet from main lane where tourists strolled and the noodles were great!

Later in the day I asked for an English guide at the guide service area. I decided that it was worth it for such a site and I could share more through the PeaceBike website via the information from a guide. Li Jong decided she was up for the job of guiding me and also helping me do a PeaceBike Interview.

Through Li Jong's information I noticed more detail on the figures. We also visited the room that held a chariot for Emperor Qin Shinhuang which was incredibly detailed, including a swiveling parasol to shade the emperial brow from the sun.

That afternoon I did an interview of eight year old Liu Yo Chi with Li Jong's translation help. Lee Jong and I then hopped a bus back towards Xi'an. I met many people who wanted to learn more about PeaceBike including a fellow fom the UK who generously chipped in some of his own money to spread help pay for this 'edu-venture' trip. Thank-you!

Back in Xi'an I met a number of friendly international travelers, four fellows from France, 2 gregarious guys from Denmark studying agriculture in China, and many more who were all busy creating great travel memories. I roomed tonight with a gal from Singapore and a fellow from California named Lok. He spoke a fair bit of Chinese and had a degree and work experience in economics. I find that so much of the challenges facing the cultures I travel through have their roots in economic challenges. We ha a great chat about development and growth in China and modern-day economic colonialism. Finally, I forced myself to go to bed even though the conversation could have gone on much longer. Best wishes Lok!

Tomorrow onto Guilin in Guanxi province, a tropical southern province,

TAD

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