The
minibus picked
us up from the
Hostel with
our guide Jia
Jia, a
diminutive
chinese girl
who even with
her arm raised
was impossible
to see in a
crowd. That
did cause some
difficulties
later as there
were lots of
crowds and she
was prone to
declaring
'here I am'
via our hi-tec
headsets
giving no clue
as to
direction or
distance from
anything.
The museum is
about an hour
out of town
and like all
the tourist
sites we
visited was
well geared up
for thousands
of visitors so
there was no
queing but a
bit of
jostling to
see some of
the
highlights.
This chap is a
general who
was standing
at the head of
a group to one
side of the
main army, his
hands resting
on the hilt of
a bronze
sword. There
was much
looting of the
site after it
fell into
disrepair so
the weapons
mostly
disapeared.
Apparently
the only
complete clay
statue was an
archer,
otherwise the
warriers have
been and are
in the process
of being
re-assembled,
the mother of
all 3D jigsaw
puzzles.
Archer
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The army is
arranged in 3
areas each
covered by
large space
frame sheds.
It is likely
that there are
more warriers
yet to be
discovered.
They are
guarding the
mausoleum of
Emporer Qin-
the 1st
emporer who
unified
china. He
aparently took
mercury to
cheat death
and so was
disapointed to
die relatively
young.
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As the pieces
are the same
colour as the
soil, the the
task of
sorting the
pieces,
locating the
warrier to
which they
belong and
finally
glueing them
together is
mind boggling.
No task
however is
beyond the
chinese
builders
ability
(apparently
they have
offered to
re-build Notre
Damme for the
french).
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This
is the main
army in shed
2. The
trenches were
covered with
timber beams,
reed and soil
so that when
the beams
rotted the
roof collapsed
and the
warriors were
buried and
smashed into
little pieces.
|
Shed 1 in the
early stages
of
re-assembly.
|
A horses bum
emerging from
the soil.
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There are 2
half scale
bronze
charriots in a
separate
building along
with
fasciating
artifcacts
recovered from
the site.
These were
also broken up
and have been
re-assembled.
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The mound in
the distance
is Qin's
mausoleum. Jia
Jia assured us
there is no
point in going
closer as
there is no
access into
the tomb.
Apparently the
risk of
mercury
poisoning is
still too
great!
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Lunch
was another
round of
delicous
chinese
dishes. It is
a very
civilised way
of eating. We
shared our
table with a
group from a
Kung Fu school
in Xi'An.
Mostly
students using
their gap year
to study
martial arts.
I tried to get
an argument
going between
the german and
american
students to
see if they
would
demonstrate
their skills
but they were
much too laid
back.
|
 The
top of the
wall.
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Back
in Xi'An we
had a walk
around one
quarter of the
city wall
(south gate to
east) and back
through the
town, picking
up a snack for
supper in the
muslim
quarter. This
is the East
gate.
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