Outside Beijing another popular attraction is Xian, not only for its world-famous...
China
Xi'an
...protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife, but Xian also offers...
... a magnificent city wall...
...a gorgeous Drum Tower, a massive pagoda, and just outside the city one of China's...
...favourite tourist climbs, up holy Hua Shan mountain with a thousand other panting snappers.
Pictures left side: The Terracotta Army, foot soldiers, archers, cavalry, chariots and generals standing in battle formation; Xian's city wall; The Drum Tower. Right side: close up of the some of the Terracotta Army's 8,000 warriors, each one unique [fat bellies and bottoms included] and originally fully - even garishly - painted; Xian city wall from above; Hua Shan mountain and tourists.
The huge and bizarre buried Terracotta Army, constructed circa 210 BC but discovered as recently as 1974 is considered by some to be one of the 20th century's greatest finds. Along with Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb that the army guards this UNESCO World Heritage Site is 28kms from Xian city centre. Factoids: estimates put the number of Chinese needed to create the army and tomb at 700,000; estimated number of warriors and members of the imperial court, 8,000, buried in 600 pits; size of the site is 50 sq km; visitor numbers can reach a staggering 40,000 per day. Qin Shi Huang was first Emperor of China after uniting the country and creating a unified law, language, weights and measures. The name China may well be derived from Qin, which is pronounced Chin.
One hour east
of Xi'an is the newly opened Han Yangling tomb of Emperor Jing of Han [an apparently
benevolent Taoist ruler, unlike the dramatically well organised but cruel
Qin Shi Huang],
with visitor complex.
Nowhere near as busy as the Terracotta Army, Jing's
museum has been
extremely sensitively developed with partially exposed excavations under glass,
clever lighting
and all sorts of regal treasures on show, from soldiers to lacquered boxes.
Less overwhelming
than Qin Shi Huang's tomb, this place has a far more tranquil atmosphere and
far less tourists.
Nearby is Huaqing Hot Springs, spouting warm mineral waters favoured by emperors. You can soak tired bodies here but it's not an especially cultural experience. Other sights around Xi'an are the Banpo Museum's remains of a Neolithic Chinese village [4,500 BC]; the Famen Si temple with a Buddha's finger and its adjacent Tang dynasty museum; and the holy mountain of HuaShan [aka Mount Hua and Flowery Mountain] which you can partially ascend by cable car, with sufficient refreshment stops further up if you choose to keep on climbing.
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