Of China (Part 3 - Xi’an and Surrounds)

The rest of the tour group had a 4:20am wake-up call. For some reason the flight I was on was scheduled much later. Excellent.We had a mad dash ride to the airport. Seriously, these people are truly insane drivers. I’m surprised I’ve not seen any accidents here.It was an uneventful flight to Xi’an where I was collected and delivered to the hotel and reunited with the tour party.We then went to the Wild Goose Pagoda. It is an amazing place of serenity. It is an active and practicing Buddhist temple with fifty monks present. I loved exploring it and its grounds, and taking time to breathe in the atmosphere after a busy few days.From there we went to an Art Gallery and school. We were shown Chinese art through the various dynasties culminating in being taught some calligraphy. This was a lot of fun.Then on to a Tang Dynasty show and dumpling dinner. This was really cool. A fantastic introduction to some of China’s history and tradition. The meal was superb. We ate through some sixteen different types of dumpling. Delicious.One thing I’ve noticed is the stark difference between Beijing and Xi’an. Beijing seems regimented and a little cold. It was very structured. Xi’an, on first impression, is lively. A lot of greenery and with the exposure to the Pagoda, a level of spirituality I didn’t see in Beijing. Conversations with my tour guide confirm this: Beijing is political, Xi’an is about heritage, Shanghai is about finance and trade.The day arrived! I was going to see the Terracotta Warriors!! This was something I have been anticipating since I booked my flights. On the way to the site we stopped off at a factory that makes miniatures and copies. It was interesting to see how they do it. Molds, clay, fired in a kiln. They produced a very high quality.The discoverer of the Warriors (March 1974) now works at the Museum signing autographs. He’s about 80 years old. There is quite a story about him with respect to fortune, fame, friends, and family. It's not all good sadly.The scale of the find is mind-blowing. As is how the Chinese Government was able to protect, cover, exhume, and touristify the site in such a short space of time. The amount of work the archaeologists needed to do to get it to a viewable state is amazing. Of about 7000 statues, only 1 survived the 2200 years intact.I was not disappointed by my visit here. I’m so glad that box is ticked.From the Warriors we returned to town to visit the Muslim District, and wander through the Great Mosque and haggle at the nearby markets. Then on to dinner. We all had our own hot-pot (heated by paraffin flame) and could select and cook what we wanted from the selection they brought us.If anyone is considering a visit to China, Xi'an is an absolute must-do. I loved this city.- S.