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Xi'anby Rod Lopez-Fabrega
This amazing 7,000-man army of life-sized foot soldiers, officers, war chariots and one kneeling archer (the excavation continues and squadrons of archers remain to be found) spreads out four abreast in row after row in pits that lay buried for more than 2,000 years under farm fields until discovered in the early 1970's by peasants digging a well. The kneeling archer, his hands in position to hold his weapons, has become the best known symbol of this remarkable army throughout the world. Three pits, the largest covering an area the size of a football field and a half, have been roofed and air-conditioned and have become one of the most visited tourism sites in China. Parapets around the pits allow visitors to look down on the army and on the continuing excavation. Most of the figures, once painted in life-like colors, are now faded to the warm earthen tones of natural terra-cotta, and most have been cleaned and reassembled as they once were from the rubble of mud and roots that centuries of weather collapsed on to the original army. Most amazing of all, the figures were sculpted with such skill that individual characteristics, facial features and personalities are discernible in each soldier. The officers may well have been rendered as portraits of actual men. The army is very likely only a small part of what still lies under a vast expanse of farmlands and several villages that makes up the huge necropolis surrounding the still unexcavated mound under which is known to be the actual tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. All of this is testament to the idiosyncrasies of this man who united ancient China, established its first dynasty, began construction of the Great Wall, and was so powerful that he could order up a burial necropolis for himself that took 700,000 men many decades to complete. Reportedly, everyone involved in the construction was killed in order to preserve the secrets of the site. The Chinese government has elected to preserve the tomb by leaving it undisturbed for the time being. Ancient writing suggest the tomb itself is incredibly sumptuous with a floor laid out like a map of the empire with rivers of flowing mercury, a "sky" studded with jewels representing the stars and all guarded by grave robber traps that would challenge Indiana Jones.
Another site of great interest to the amateur archaeologist is the Bampo Museum, a short taxi ride away from downtown Xi'an. The museum, much like the great warehouse structures that house the terra-cotta army, is actually the roofed over site of a 6,000-year-old Neolithic village where you can see the remains of 45 houses, corn storage bins, pottery, tools and a model showing the careful organization of a truly ancient and fairly sophisticated agricultural settlement, one of the best preserved sites of its kind anywhere.
The site of the terra-cotta army and the Emperor's tomb is actually not in Xi'an itself, but a 30-minute car ride away. At the site, after paying the admission price of several dollars, there is a 360 degree, Disneyworld style film presentation about the army. Then, when approaching the three structures housing excavated portions of the army, be prepared for the usual gauntlet of gift sellers offering wares ranging from garish "stuff" to museum quality merchandise. One of the better emporiums offers full-size reproductions of the warriors for sale (gladly shipped in a crate to your destination) along with smaller affordable versions of the soldiers and horses of the army (hard bargaining is in order). Make a purchase and you may be given the unique opportunity to be photographed with one of the farmers under whose field the army was found. While inside the structures enclosing the army, you will be disappointed to find that photography of any kind is strictly forbidden. You can try to sneak a picture at your own risk, but turn off the flash which will draw the guards. There are some museum cases with half a dozen of the terra cotta soldiers that can be viewed at close range--but still no pictures allowed. Commercial slides can be purchased at the gift stores and may be a better option than an unpleasant encounter with Chinese bureaucracy. All in all, China today is far more accessible than one would think. In spite of all the recent troubles with embassy bombings and suspected espionage, the political and economic interests of the United States and China remain strongly intertwined. China's culture is a unique one for Westerners to experience but is changing rapidly and becoming more homogenized along with the rest of the world as international travel, a moderating internal political climate, and the communications explosion bring down barriers. On their own turf, the Chinese people are friendly, eager to meet outsiders, courteous on a one-to-one basis (but not at all in crowds), and no, they no longer wear Mao coats and army boots. For more information on Xi'an, try Xi'an Online at http://www.ee.ust.hk/~eecyx/tourism.html and China Travel System at http://www.chinats.com/xian/ For details on travel to China and Xi'an, China International Travel Service (CITS/US) is a huge governmental travel ministry with an office in San Francisco. Try them at http://www.citsusa.com PHOTO CREDITS: Rod Lopez-Fabrega |
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TM
It was an appropriate gesture to China's ancient
culture that President Clinton chose the city of Xi'an (pronounced She-ahn) in
central China as his first stop on his trip there last year. The Chinese
appreciated the symbolism of that gesture. Xi'an, now a fairly modest city by
Chinese standards, was the first dynastic capital of China and remained so for
more than 1,000 years. Today it is possibly the richest archaeological area in
all of China and the site of one of the twentieth century's most spectacular
finds, the buried terra-cotta army of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, by some
accounts, the most powerful man in the world in his day. 
Getting
to the site of the Emperor's army is no longer difficult. China is opening to
tourism with enthusiasm, accommodations are excellent, and tourists are pretty
much free to travel anywhere they like, though for first-time visitors, a group
tour is still a good idea--if for no other reason than the language difficulty
and booking differences that can still bewilder the traveler trying to make
travel arrangements independently. Xi'an once was the central hub for trade
from the West and the beginning of the famed Silk Route that crossed China and
the Middle East, terminating in Western
Europe; it remains an important hub in central
China to this day, with air and rail access from the major cities. Internal air travel is extremely popular in
China, and there are at least 17 airlines serving this huge market. Western
carriers can get you to such major cities as Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and
now Guangzhou (the old Canton), but your best bets inside China are probably
Air China and newcomer with international credentials, China Southern Airlines
(direct flights from Los Angeles to Guangzhou). China Southern, in addition to
its international connections, is the largest internal airline in China and
flies mostly Boeing aircraft including brand new state-of-the-art Boeing 777's
on their transpacific and European routes. Either airline can arrange your
internal flights in terms you can deal with. If you deal directly with the
China International Travel Service (CITS), with offices in San Francisco, this
government-owned mega-travel service (the biggest inside China) can arrange a package deal for you to
Xi'an,
including two nights hotel, airport transfers, ground transportation and a
guide to show you the sights in Xi'an and the terra-cotta army, all for around
$350. The flights from either Beijing or
Guangzhou to Xi'an are additional and approximately 1-1/2 hours in duration.
Once
in Xi'an, you will find lots to see in
this ancient walled city. Accommodations will surprise you. With the great
interest that has brought droves of tourists to this city, hotel choices are
great. One that can be vouched for is the Grand New World Hotel featuring three-story high
statues of the Emperor and two of his generals, well appointed rooms to highest international standards and an adjacent
theater where nightly a beautifully staged musical presentation tells the story
of the Emperor and his court--admission is free to hotel guests.
One
of the must-see sites inside the walls of the inner city of Xi'an is the Pagoda
of the Great Wild Goose, built in the year
652 as a religious complex with 2,000 rooms to house 300 monks, now only the
pagoda remains, a multi-tiered structure intended to house sacred Buddhist
writings. These days, the main floor houses a gift shop. Times have changed. However, the gardens are beautiful
and the legend remains that during a famine, Buddha miraculously provided a
flock of geese to sustain the non-vegetarian members of the congregation.
Also
worth visiting are the Huaquing Hot Spring, during
the Qin dynasty, a spa for the royal family. Still in use as a health spa, the
bath can accommodate up to 400 people and the temperature of the mineral rich
water rises to around 109 degrees. In caves looking down on the spa,
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek hid for a period in 1936 during China's political
upheavals prior to communism. 
