The chemical smell in our room got too pungent last nite, so we changed rooms before we went to bed. We've been a bit surprised to find 2 double beds in our rooms (as opposed to Queen's or a King), but that's what we're getting, so "coupling up" is apparently not expected in Chinese hotels. Anyway, after changing floors, the smell was left behind - but so, too, were some electronics and a luggage lock that I forgot to transfer from one room to the other. I try to explain the situation to the front-desk attendant and she tries to understand my English, but can't help murmuring to herself "So FAST!" - at my blurted explanation. A quick phone call and our ever-available guide, Chen, immediately appears and helps me to explain the situation and I get admitted to the old room and find *most* of what I left - and Chen supplies another luggage lock out of a personal supply he keeps - just because tourists forget things like that. Real service. And, by the way, we've been *required* to lock all of our luggage anywhere in China: not just a suggestion. Anyway, crisis solved and a nice spread of choices for a buffet breakfast - is consumed.
A quick peek out our hotel window confirms that the air quality in Xian isn't any better than in Beijing.
Onto the bus and ride the half-hour out of town to the farming areas. As we drive, our local guide tells us that the entire area is just *full* of tombs and mounds - and that it is suspected that there are still *hundreds* of tombs which haven't been discovered - let alone excavated. Since this was the Capital of China - 2000 years ago, every leader made his own monument to himself, but when government moved away, the peasants intentionally covered the area: they resented the oppression of the leaders - and they needed the land to farm. In particular, the Qin (pronounced "Chin") emperor - who was responsible for killing one million people in the building of the Great Wall - and probably another 700,000 in the building of all of the "Terra Cotta Warriors" - was *not* beloved. So when he died, the farmers had a major uprising and they intentionally looted the tombs and Warriors of all of their weapons (great place to get weapons to stage an uprising!), then smashed, mixed, and burned the clay. So, to date, ALL of the recovered figures were in pieces at best. Dust at worst. So ANY figure you see whole - was laboriously *reconstructed* from the pieces. That's also why many of the figures are shown headless: their heads were so smashed that it was deemed best to not try to guess at what they had looked like. Meanwhile, the green fields we are driving past - probably cover a huge cache of yet-undiscovered tombs.
We pass some low-rise construction and I see what I think is bamboo scaffolding - but on closer inspection, it is steel pipe.
I suspect that construction *used* to use bamboo in the same configuration and they have just updated the building materials, but that is just a guess. We see this kind of scaffolding *everywhere* as we drive.We arrive at "The Site" and Odysseys again shows their "class": most buses are required to park in lots which are a half-mile walk from the actual site and museum. *We* get to pull right past the lot and right up to an interesting checker-board lawn - so that our walk is perhaps 500 yards.
With the hills in the background and the quiet morning, it is *very* peaceful and nice as we walk to the courtyard and the museum. 
Our local guide
tells us that we'll go thru the museum first before proceeding to 3 separate dig sites. The current estimate is that there are over ***8000*** figures buried in this 26 square-mile area (the same size as all of Disney World, coincidentally) - and that only about 2000 of the figures have yet even been uncovered. They are proceeding very slowly in order to try to develop techniques to prevent the deterioration when the figures are exposed to air. So *nobody* has seen at least three-quarters of the figures - for at least 1000 years.We're also told that the term "Terra Cotta" is a misnomer. The first reporter who came to the site - looked at the figures and decided that they looked like Terra Cotta - but the firing temperatures used to bake the figures - was much higher than that used for Terra Cotta - so the figures are actually closer to porcelain. But the name has stuck.
We file into the museum and encounter a *giant* reproduction of one of the soldiers - holding hands with a doll.
It is a representation of the collaboration and friendship with a major sponsor: Johnson & Johnson from the US. Note how small the people are - standing at the feet of the statues.Inside, we find reconstructions of a chariot for the Emperor - found in the tomb.
The umbrella is of note since the holder was quite versatile - able to be leaned nearly any direction to keep the sun off the Emperor - no matter what angle was required.The walls are filled with other artifacts, but they kind of blur together for me since the signs don't include English explanations. So I wander on out and wait for the group to collect - and walk over to the huge building which houses the first site.
OK. This is the one you've seen photos and videos of. We walk into a large building - and there they are.
All reconstructed and lined up. 
You can see the original "ground level" which is the smooth *top* of the walls. Not the ones with the "18" on it... even higher. 
So the Figures were lined up in long pits - with dirt mounds between them. Wooden roofs were built across the mounds to protect the figures before the whole thing was again buried to ground level - and, indeed, mounded up much higher than that. So the figures were actually a good 5-8 feet underground. 
Under wood roofs. All lined up. All fully armed with real weapons. And painted with bright colors. 
It is breathtaking. It is wonderful. It is amazing that these figures have been *reconstructed* from smashed pieces.
It is a testament to what can be built - and made to last for 2 millenia. And it is ultimately, again, a testament to a gigantic ego and, likely, someone very insecure - to have to build such monuments to *himself*. Really quite sad, though I suppose it certainly provided "full employment" during the period.We walk along the side of the dig and find that there is *active* excavation going on in the middle section.
It *is* a tomb, so there is a sort of hushed reverence to conversation as we exit the rear and make our way to the next entire *building* which covers the next huge *section* of the dig. In this building, the lighting is more subdued. They are trying to carefully control the light, humidity, and temperature - to have a better chance at recovering the figures without the deterioration when the air touches them. The work is slow. Vast pits of debris being uncovered and examined. 
And a reminder that there is yet a third dig site that we won't even see.We shuffle past the huge open pit - and back out into the warm Xian morning - to the obligatory Gift Shop. We watch a surround-movie which doesn't really add much - historically - and look at the opportunity to have your very-own Terra Cotta Warrior made - with *your* face - but it doesn't seem like something that would fit well in our luggage, so we collect back with the group and walk back thru the "checkerboard" to the waiting bus - contemplating the vast effort expended: how wonderful - and how awful.
Next: Dumpling Lunch!
No comments:
Post a Comment