Around The World In 72 Days - Xi'an Two - The Terra Cotta Army

THE 'A' LIST site of A List sites in Xi'an (and maybe among all A-List sites in China) is the Terra Cotta Army. Here is how it is described in Wikipedia.

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE,^[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.^[2] Other, non-military terracotta figures have been found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.^[3]

 If you'd like to read more about the fascinating history of this site, here is a link to the entire article.

Here are two of the three pavilions open to the public.

However, if you would like to truly get a feel of the experience being here, watch these two videos.

 A look at the overall display

It takes painstaking work to reassemble each warrior or horse

Each person is an individual, not just their faces but their sizes. They are hollow on the inside in order to allow for even firing in the kilns when they were first made. Originally they were painted and covered in lacquer. But most of that has not survived exposure to air. 

Details

 

 

 

Around The World In 72 Days - Next Phase Change - On To Thailand

I am writing this to you from Krabi, Thailand (and praying...I mean really praying...that there is some place here that sells Sponge Bob themed Krabi Patties). Krabi is just up the coast from Phuket in the very Southern part of Thailand. While not as chi-chi as Phuket, it is definitely Tourist Land. But we didn't come to Krabi for our typical travel experience. We came here to rest!

When we planned this trip, we had a strong feeling that we would be pretty beat up after our four weeks in Taiwan and China. We were not wrong. Our mid-70's bodies were pushed to reasonable limits with all the places we went to with air, train, and car travel, along with walking, walking, climbing, climbing. And (for me) over indulgence with eating and drinking.

We flew out of Shanghai on Saturday. Saying goodbye was not so painful this time as the #2's are being posted in the U.S. for a year and will be in Albuquerque for a month. Another part of our travel planning alteration to accommodate our aged state, is breaking up long distance travel with layovers. All the direct connections from Shanghai to Krabi involved flights leaving around midnight with long layovers and high prices. While planning, I had checked self-transfers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur (KL). The best option was KL. We were able to take Malaysia Airlines leaving in the mid-afternoon arriving KL at night. KL has one of the better airport hotels, the Sama Sama, which we've stayed in multiple times. 

I have a love/hate relationship with KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). It is not the most convenient place to get to and from your flights, and things like passport control and security are always backed up. But, frequently I find I get the best prices and connections for what we are looking for. This is in large part because it is the hub of Air Asia, THE major discount airline serving SE Asia. Air Asia is a true discount airline with all the lack of amenities that implies. However, their prices are so crazy low that I can buy every single upgrade (priority access, seats, extra baggage, etc.) and still be paying way less than you'd pay for any U.S. domestic flight. 

Thankfully, our flight to Krabi was not until early afternoon as things were delayed getting into KL and we didn't get to sleep until 1am. But we slept late. I used a convenient Grab rideshare (SE Asia Uber like company) to get to the KLIA 2 terminal. This is the 'discount airline' terminal (which means it is 90% Air Asia) and is a shit show.  But we got through and got our flight which was smooth. Arriving in Krabi, we were picked up by a driver arranged by our Airbnb host. The place we've gotten is really good for the rest we have in mind (I will do a detailed post on it in the future). 

We are such seasoned SE Asia hands now that within an hour of arriving, we'd figured where the closest supermarket was, used Grab to go and come back, gotten unpacked, ordered dinner delivered through Grab (Grab! Pay Attention Here! Hire me as your spokesperson!), were settled in fed, alcohol supply replenished, and ready to crash and rejuvenate over the next two weeks.

Around The World In 72 Days - Xi'an One - Arriving and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Xi'an is an A-List traveler destination. It was the capital of the first emperor of China, Qin Chi Huang, the person who first unified all of China under a single rule. Subsequently, it was the capital city for the Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, which covered a time period of over a thousand years. During the Han and Tang periods, Chinese influence and contacts spread over the world. China was considered the most advanced country on earth during the Tang Dynasty. 

The A-List of A-List sites in Xi'an is the Terracotta Army exhibition. We got to that on our second day in Xi'an. On arrival we visited the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. 

Built during the Tang Dynasty period, it was a monument to the importance of Buddhism as a rising force in China. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Chinese: 大雁塔; pinyin: Dàyàn tǎ, lit. 'big swan goose pagoda'), is a monumental Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was built in c. 648 – c. 649 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and its exterior brick façade was renovated during the Ming dynasty. 

One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of Gautama Buddha that were brought to China from India by the seventh-century Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator Xuanzang. Today, the interior walls of the pagoda feature engraved statues of Buddha by the renowned 7th-century artist Yan Liben.  

PICTURES

How Many Pictures Can One Take of A Single Tower (a lot evidently)

 

 

 Spiritual Masters

Photographic Masters

Candid Shots

Other Parts of the Temple

Signs of the World

Xi'an is an important part of China's Corpus