So far, we've been in Beijing for 4 days visiting Tiananmen Square, the surrounding buildings and monuments, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, the Ming tombs, the Summer Palace and Imperial Gardens. We've taken a rickshaw ride through the hutongs of old Beijing, seen the Beijing opera, and had Beijing duck. All in just 4 days!
In the morning, we fly from Beijing to Xi'an, home of the 8,000 terra cotta soldiers. We stay in Xi'an for two nights.
Xi'an - A Bit of History
Xi'an (also known as Chang'An in ancient times), one of the oldest cities in China with more than 3,100 years of history, is the capital of Shaanxi province. It is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, being the capital of 13 feudal-era dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties. Xi'an became a cultural and political centre of China with the founding of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BC). It was during this period that the Chinese first produced and used iron and Chinese bronze-ware reached its zenith. Chinese philosophers such as Confucius, founder of Confucianism, and Laozi, founder of Taoism, along with many others, came into prominence.
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| Beijing To Xi'an - About 800 Miles |
Xi'an was the beginning of the Silk Road, a trade network of 4,000 miles (6,450 km) that linked Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean coast, and North and East Africa to the lucrative Chinese silk trade. Starting with the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), the Silk Road passed through Syria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and on to Europe and Africa. Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe and Arabia. It was along these routes that many other goods were traded, and by which various technologies, religions and philosophies made their way West. And it was also the path that Marco Polo followed on his way to China.
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| The Silk Road - Xi'An To All Parts of The Then-Known World |
Since the 1990s Xi'an has become an important cultural, industrial and educational centre. With a population exceeding 7.2 million, it has become one of the 13 emerging megalopolises of China.
Shaanxi History Museum
Located to the northwest of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, the Shaanxi History Museum houses over 370,000 items including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects. Built in 1983, it was opened to the public in June of 1991. The museum is in an area of 65,000 square meters, with a building area of 55,600 square meters, cultural relics storerooms of 8,000 square meters and exhibition halls of 11,000 square meters. In a word...... HUGE!! The museum is architecturally in the Tang style, with a "hall in center, multi-storied buildings in corners". This combines traditional architecture with modern technology.
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| Entrance To Shaanxi History Museum |
The exhibition halls are divided into four groups:
- Preface Halls,
- Permanent Exhibit Halls,
- Temporary Exhibit Halls,
- Tang Mural Paintings Hall.
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| Layout of the Shaanxi History Museum |
The Permanent Exhibit Halls showcase the Shaanxi's culture through a timeline in three separate exhibit halls:
No.1 Exhibit Hall (1st Floor) - the history of Prehistoric Times (1.2 million years ago to the 21st Century BC), Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 771 BC) and Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC). Different original cultures are shown in prehistoric times. The Western Zhou and Qin Dynasty exhibits show the origin and rise of these two dynasties.
No.2 Exhibit Hall (2nd Floor) - the history from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386 AD-589 AD). The exhibits of the Han Dynasty compares and contrasts the architecture and culture of several other countries. Continuous wars and cultural integration of various peoples are the main themes of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
No.3 Exhibition Hall (2nd Floor) - the history of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and later years. The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of China and Shaanxi Province. Many different relics covering almost all aspects of this period are on display, ranging from splendid gold and silver articles, tri-color glazed pottery, to artifacts from the period of the Silk Road. While Xi'an lost its position as the capital city of China after the Tang Dynasty, it still remained a very important place.
The Temporary Exhibit Halls (to the west side underground) currently showcase the Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty. These treasures were unearthed from Hejia Village, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Other Temporary Exhibit Halls feature a variety of theme exhibitions.
The Tang Mural Paintings Hall (on the east side underground) showcases some of the more than 600 mural paintings recovered from more than 20 tombs of the Tang Dynasty nobility. These paintings depict the different aspects of the noble classes in the Tang Dynasty, illustrating how people lived during that time. Other related relics and painting in other dynasties are also shown as companions for the paintings so that visitors can understand the development of the murals. For additional information there is an inquiry system and electronic explanation system enabling you to not only enjoy the fantastic murals but also get some background knowledge. This hall is open to the public on an occasional basis each week.
The City Wall
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| Xi'an City Wall |
Located in the middle of downtown Xi'an, the wall stands 40' tall (12m), 40'- 46' wide (12m-14m) at the top, and 50'- 60' (15m-18m) thick at the bottom. It is 8.5 miles (13.7km) in length with a deep moat surrounding it. There are 98 ramparts every 300' (120m) which were built to defend against the enemy who would be climbing up the wall. Each rampart has a sentry building which protected the defending soldiers from enemy fire. The ramparts are placed so that enemy soldiers are within flight-distance of the defenders arrows. On the outer side of the wall are 5,948 battlements which allowed the defenders to have a clear and protected aim at the enemy. The top of the wall is lined with parapets that protected the defending soldiers from enemy fire.
As the only way to get inside the city was through the city gates, complicated gate structures were built within the wall. The Xi'an city wall includes four gates
- Changle (Eternal Joy) in the East,
- Anding (Harmony & Peace) in the West,
- Yongning (Eternal Peace) in the South,
- Anyuan (Forever Harmony) in the North.
Each of the above city gates has three gate towers:
- Zhenglou - the inner tower, is the main entrance to the city.
- Jianlou - the outer tower with small windows in the front and flanks was the defensive outpost.
- Zhalou - the furthest outside tower.
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| Map of Xi'an City Wall (Green) |
Chinese Dumpling Banquet and the
Tang Dynasty Music & Dance Show
With all of this activity during the day, we cap things off with a performance of the "Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show" as we munch on dumplings. Only these aren't your ordinary sticky, gooey, pasty North American dumplings. These are Chinese dumplings that are stuffed with all kinds of goodies - meat, shrimp, beef, pork, lamb, mixed vegetables - all wrapped up in a piece of thin dough. And then there's the performance that the chefs put on as they spin and twirl the dough up in the air, over their head, and ultimately into the pot on your table. The closest we come to it here in North America is "dim sum".
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| Chinese Dumplings |
And while this is goiong on, we are entertained by the "Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show", a group which recreates the music and dance of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).
Our Hotel - Sheraton Xi'an Hotel Xi'An, 262 Feng Hao East Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710077
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| Sheraton Xi'an |
Whew!!! That is going to be a really full day!!!
Tomorrow we visit the terra cotta soldiers.
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