Day 4
Beijing and 
Xian is about 910 kilometres apart, 11 hours by overnight train. We were in soft-sleeper class which has four soft bunk beds in the cabin. We were lucky to have the whole cabin to ourselves. The next morning I woke up to see passengers stroll through the aisles in pyjamas to the dining car. It is typical Chinese breakfast, porridge, salty vegetables and boiled eggs.
Xian is about 910 kilometres apart, 11 hours by overnight train. We were in soft-sleeper class which has four soft bunk beds in the cabin. We were lucky to have the whole cabin to ourselves. The next morning I woke up to see passengers stroll through the aisles in pyjamas to the dining car. It is typical Chinese breakfast, porridge, salty vegetables and boiled eggs. At about 8:30am, we arrived at Xian. This city was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China as it has been the capital of 13 dynasties and has more than 3100 years of history.
We went to the tickets office of train station to rebook the train tickets to Lhasa and then headed to our hotel to check-in and get settled. After taking an hour break, we caught the public transport out 50 km to visit the famous Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horse, it was much bigger than I expected. We first watched the 360 degree movie about the history of the Terracotta
Warriors and Horses. The history and discovery of the Army is as fascinating as the sight.
Warriors and Horses. The history and discovery of the Army is as fascinating as the sight. Three farmers discovered the warriors when digging a well in 1974. Since then more than 7,000 of these bigger than life-size terracotta warriors (each of their faces is entirely different) have been found in 4 different pits covering many acres. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
Pit 1 - the biggest with columns of soldiers at the front and war chariots at the back (what you see on TV and the travel brochures). However, only the first part of it is excavated, and many of the terracotta soldiers have been badly damaged.
Pit 2 - this contains a U-shaped layout of chariots, cavalry and infantry. Again the majority is unexcavated.
Pit 3 – the command centre of the armed forces to keep the emperor safe in his afterlife. It contains horses and chariots, but the chariots are made of wood.
Pit 3 – the command centre of the armed forces to keep the emperor safe in his afterlife. It contains horses and chariots, but the chariots are made of wood.
Pit 4 - is empty, left unfinished by its builders.
What an impressive sight! But it is sad to see someone exhausted so many resources and human lives to build such an elaborate army to guide him after death.
Xian is fa
mous for its dumplings, and tonight we were having a dumpling feast followed by
Tang Dynasty performance at Shannix Grand Opera House. We got to sample 20 different types of dumpling. They were different in shapes, flavors and textures. I have never eaten so many dumplings in one go. I was dumpling out by the end of the evening. We retired back to our hotel at 11 pm. Onward to Lhasa tomorrow!
mous for its dumplings, and tonight we were having a dumpling feast followed by
Tang Dynasty performance at Shannix Grand Opera House. We got to sample 20 different types of dumpling. They were different in shapes, flavors and textures. I have never eaten so many dumplings in one go. I was dumpling out by the end of the evening. We retired back to our hotel at 11 pm. Onward to Lhasa tomorrow!Our stay in Xian was short but well spent.
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