We took a hard sleeper car for the 12 hour train ride, and it was really a lot of fun. The hard sleeper is an open car with no doors. There are a bunch of compartments with 6 bunks (3 on each side) to sleep in. We had the bottom four bunks in compartments next to each other, and stayed up playing cards and eating junk food until we all fell asleep.
Sleeping on the train was pretty cool, but we got to the station at about 5am, which was a little rough.
We found our hostel, which was in an excellent location – right near the Bell and Drum Tower, a Starbucks, and the Muslim Quarter. We explored the Bell and Drum Towers first and then walked around the Muslim Quarter, which was really interesting. It was made up of small brick lanes with street vendors and great souvenir stalls.
Then we went over to the Big Goose Pagoda, which was built back in 652 AD. Here is a picture of the pagoda, which we were not able to go into, unfortunately.
There was a really cool musical fountain in front of the pagoda which shoots the water in tune with the music. It was pretty similar to the fountains in front of the Bellagio in Vegas.
Then we went back to the hostel because we were pretty exhausted and really dirty. The hostel was really interesting, and felt a lot like camp. We had one big dorm room which had 4 bunk beds, and three shower stalls in a shower room/bathroom down the hall.
Then we went out to a famous dumplings restaurant, and fell asleep really early.
The next day we went on a tour to see the Hot Springs, a model of the Underground Palace and the Terracotta Warriors. Our tour was in Chinese, because it was cheaper than the English tour, and we had Wei Xi, Jane, Terry and Vickie to translate for us. We got on the bus with a bunch of Chinese people and left for the Hot Springs, which are about an hour outside the city. About 30 minutes outside the city, our guide announced (in Chinese) that we all had to pay an extra 45 yuan to go to a mountain, which wasn’t supposed to be part of our tour (and was going to leave us less time at the warriors, which we all wanted to see). A few people paid, but a lot of people were angry because the tour guide was basically ripping us off. Wei Xi told the tour guide we didn’t want to pay, and the tour guide said we had to and was very rude. So Wei Xi started yelling at the tour guide, and everyone on the bus joined in, and the tour guide started yelling back.
Katie, Scott and I had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty awesome. Wei Xi got the whole group organized against the tour guide, so everyone refused to pay or go to the mountain. The guide finally gave people their money back and said we weren’t going to go to the mountain. We all decided our motto should be “Viva Wei Xi!!!” and thanked her four leading our tour revolution.
We went to the Hot Springs first, which were a famous retreat for the emperors and concubines in the Tang Dynasty. It was pretty, but I was a little disappointed that some of the springs didn’t have any water.
Then we went to the terracotta warriors, which I was most excited to see! I had been wanting to see them forever, and it was one of the reasons I came to China.
The terracotta warriors were buried with the Emperor of Qin in 209-210 BC. He ruled from 247 BC to 221 BC, and was the emperor who unified China. The warriors are part of a big mausoleum built for Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Construction of the mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved over 700,000 workers. Although no one has seen the complete tomb, detailed records say that the Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, utensils and other wonderful objects, and 100 “rivers” made of jewels and mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened because scientists are worried that exposure to air will destroy parts of the tomb.
The warriors, which were placed around the tomb to help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. The figures are life-like and life-sized, and vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. No two soldier’s faces are alike – each was made to look like one of the Emperor’s personal soldiers. The warriors themselves were discovered accidentally by farmers in the 1970s.
Three pits of soldiers have been excavated so far. Pit 1 (the largest pit) has approximately 6000 warriors and horses standing in rectangular battle array, facing east.
It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Pictures don’t even do it justice, but I took about a million, so I can try to remember what it felt like to stand there and look at it.
That night, we went back to the Muslim Quarter, where I ate street food. I was very daring, and accidentally had some duck intestines while we were walking around. I also bought a silk jacket which was tailored overnight for me for only $30, which is an amazing deal. It is a really beautiful jacket too, and I am very happy about it.
The next day, we went to the Great Mosque, the Small Goose Pagoda and a museum containing ancient artifacts found in Xi’an.
Then we went to a Tang Dynasty park, took a lot of pictures, and watched a movie about the monkey king, which was shown by shooting laser beams onto a large fountain of water. It was pretty cool. I also got my picture taken with the monkey king, who is apparently a V.I.P. in China.
We also saw the best sign ever:
Everyone loves a good ho climb! haha.
The next day, we checked out of our hostel and went to the City Wall. Xi’an is one of the few cities in China where the old city walls are still standing. They were built in 1370 AD during the Ming Dynasty. You can walk around the whole wall, which is about 8 miles long. We all rented bikes and biked along the top of the whole city wall. It was SO much fun. As you bike along the wall, you can look down on the whole inner part of the city.
Then we ate lunch, took one last trip around the Muslim Quarter for some more souvenirs, and headed to the train station. Unfortunately, we had to take a slow train back to Nanjing. Terry, Jane and Vickie stayed an extra day to climb a mountain, but Katie, Scott and I had to be back to teach, and Wei Xi came with us. The train took about 21 hours, but luckily, we had a soft sleeper this time. The soft sleeper is a little nicer, has only 4 beds, and has a door you can close, so we were able to shut the door and hang out with each other. We talked about all different types of things, and played games, and ate junk food. It was actually a really great time! I LOVE the friends I have made here. They are all such amazing people, and I am so glad I’ve met them.
I finally got back to Nanjing around 2pm on Tuesday, and was very exhausted. But it was worth it! I had a wonderful time!!! I am so glad I went, I love the people I went with, and I am so blessed to get to have these wonderful experiences. I have made some good decisions and some bad ones, and when I was leaving, I wasworried that this might have been a bad one. But so far it has turned out to be one of the best things I have done in my life so far.
1 comment:
im so glad you are having a great time !! and being involved in your own little revolutions. china could use more of those i think.
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